Naturally, horror films affect the human psyche. But how do they influence? Horror films and other genres that use fear are designed to scare us. Cause fears hidden deep in the subconscious, they effectively concentrate on forbidden desires, fear, anxiety, the dark side human personality, war, famine. Horror films refer to primitive nature and primitive human fears: vulnerability, fear of another person, society, or separation from it, loss of self-identity, fear of death, the opposite sex. Those. the most primitive aspects that both attract and repel us. It is interesting that often teenagers take the methods from such films. For example, in China, The Death Diaries, The Ringer, and The Ringer 2 were banned as violence increased and teenagers copied the behavior of characters from the film. In Russia, there was also a case when a group of teenagers lured a girl into the forest, and then killed and drank blood after watching movies about vampires. But, I must say that in addition to horror films, there are other reasons for this behavior of children. Problems in socialization, lack of attention from parents and teachers, the state, etc. After all, films and books cannot completely replace education. Neither bad nor good. And some commit crimes and having read books, and take methods from there. Well, what can you do if people have no imagination?

Of course, the most important thinning in watching horror movies is fear. Fear is a negative emotion, and the effect of fear on the human body has been studied quite well. Strong fear and constant (but, it is strong), launches a program of self-destruction of the body). In 2009, RBC daily published the results of an experiment conducted by Biochemists from Washington. In this study, it was found that watching movies with scenes of violence affects people quite strongly. And it affects not only the psychological component, but also the physiological one, however, like any danger. Several volunteers were asked to watch 3 films: a melodrama, documentary, and a fighter. After each session, blood samples were taken from the volunteers. According to the results, the melodrama and the documentary had no effect on the composition of the blood, and the action movie made the blood boil. In humans, the amount of hormones and antibodies in the blood has sharply increased. Antibodies must fight the danger, but since the person was not distracted and watched the movie further, and did not react to the manifestations of his body, the antibodies began to look for a threat inside the body and fight it. Usually, the findings of such studies extend to horror films. In principle, this is logical, since the manifestations of fear are the same in any case, but it is only partially logical, since there are not so many specialized studies aimed specifically at horror films. In addition, horror films are also psychological, i.e. without violence, or with a minimum amount of it. For example, films based on the classic works of Stephen King, or any films where there are no bloody scenes.

Psychologists have noticed that horror movie lovers are more aggressive. Aggressiveness, a property of the individual, consisting in the willingness to use violent methods in the implementation of goals, and readiness for this. But, the aggression of horror fans, oddly enough, is primary. Secondary aggression is developed, on the contrary, less. Those. it is more difficult to bring them to a white heat, or to piss them off. When watching horror films, people experience, along with the characters of the films, the emotions of fear, horror, anxiety, and have the opportunity to overcome them, to cope with fear, i.e. the situation of watching a movie creates more or less comfortable conditions for the viewer. The events shown on the screen cannot cause real harm, and the viewer is in complete safety, and is aware of this. Those. he can cope with the threat, and adapt to such an imaginary-real threatening situation.

At the University of Texas, they also studied the influence of horror films (but horror films) on the human psyche and his aggressiveness and came to the conclusion that high-quality horror films are training for human nerves. Lead researcher David Rudd, a professor of clinical psychology, says that when we watch horror movies, we get a kind of pleasure, as our brain adequately assesses the reality of the threat. Realizing that in reality there is no danger, the viewer experiences an exciting sensation of adrenaline rush. In his opinion, repeatedly repeated similar fear causes a certain “habit” in the brain. The habit of adrenaline, and watching horror films, by the way, was noticed not only by him, but also by other scientists. Some believe this can translate into adrenaline addiction. And the constant watching of horror films and the desire to take risks. But David Rudd, says that the body "stops responding to threat, which can be an indispensable aid in the treatment of phobias and other mental disorders." That is, horror films can be used in clinical medicine. "Horror films and thrillers perform an important function - they are a good psychotherapeutic tool to cope with your fears. Horror films often help relieve stress and get rid of aggression. But I would not advise especially impressionable people to watch such films" Yulia Galanova, director of the psychological center "Psychologist and Me". The most interesting thing is that especially impressionable people will not watch it. It's scary indeed.

Another interesting fact is that every year the number of horror movie fans is growing. And in last years, horror movie views grew by 65%. This trend is due to the fact that the culture is becoming more humane, and people do not have enough adrenaline. Often, even in the literature you can see how, quite recently, threats and a belt were the main methods of education. And also in politics, threats and violence. Today, this is also used, but I must say, less and less. Although wars and a belt still occur in life today. Physical punishment is a symbol of our weakness in front of a child, and positive motivation lasts much longer and is much stronger. In addition, before the conditions for existence were much worse, and a person constantly faced danger in the form of predators, fatal and non-fatal diseases. Today this is practically non-existent. The development of medicine has gone far ahead, and we live in houses with central heating, and the predators that most can meet are a dog or a cat. The lack of adrenaline that comes with fear comes from mountain climbing, horror movies, hot air ballooning, base jumping, rides, and so on. And some give birth to crocodiles, bears, or tigers. In principle, all this is clear. People lack natural adrenaline. And they start getting it artificially. Small doses of adrenaline are good for people. Fear does no harm if it is not constant and not too strong.

Influences of horror films on children

There are a lot of people on the net who talk about the dangers of horror films inflicting on the child's psyche. There are many studies of the influence of information with elements of aggression and violence on the psyche of children and adolescents. But researchers generally don't separate violent films from horror films. And, there are no special studies on the impact of horror films on children. And there are psychological horror films where there is no violence at all, or there is little of it. There's probably more on the news. And no one forbids the news. I wonder if there were no studies, what are the conclusions about the dangers of horror films based on? Just a personal opinion? Therefore, all the insinuations about the harm done to horror films look a little strange. About the same as with a sect, or cannabis. Everyone is sure that they are dangerous, but practically no one knows what a sect is, and physiological changes from the use of cannabis are less than from tobacco. And who really needs it. We believe the rumors, it's easier that way. However, if a horror movie has a lot of scenes of violence, vampires, bloody scenes (this applies not only to horror), or if the child is under 6 years old, you should refrain from watching it with children. In addition, there is one argument for horror films, which is my opinion. If your child sits at the computer all day long, and watches what he wants, and when he wants, and then they influence him, it's worth considering, are horror films to blame? Or maybe you yourself? And why is your child being raised by horror films? Some children are raised by dogs, and no one blames them for raising him badly.

It must be taken into account that greatest wish view horror is caused in children from 6 to 12 years old. That's when at school or camp, kids start telling horror stories to each other. These are the same horror movies in miniature that your imagination imagined. You may still remember some of them. At least I remember. And I remember how everyone was afraid, and everyone listened, then they were afraid, covered themselves with a blanket, and fell asleep. Teenagers see much more terrible things on our TV screen. Nevertheless, there must be recommendations on the age limit: even teenagers of 16 years old should go to these tapes with their parents.

In general, horror films have and Negative influence, and positive, but positive, oddly enough, much more. Watch high-quality horror films, and preferably not every day. Happy viewing. And don't worry, your mentality will be all right.

Medium comprehensive school №22

Syktyvkar

RESEARCH WORK

The influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

Completed by: 8th grade students

Burtsev M., Chokinyuk P., Melekhova V.,

Scientific adviser:

Teacher-psychologist V.I. Zhdanov

Syktyvkar, 2014

Introduction

Chapter 1. Theoretical aspects problems of the influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

1 The concept of "horror film"

2 The influence of horror films on the human psyche

Chapter 2. Experimental work on the problem of the influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

1 Selection and justification of research stages

2 Analysis of conducted studies

Conclusion

Application

Introduction

AT recent times increased attention to the peculiarities of the impact of the media on the younger generation. Funds mass communication- this is not only a source of information or one of the many entertainments, which has great potential for influencing the personality of the child, his psyche and behavior. In this regard, the fact about the peculiarities of the influence of the media on the audience became interesting.

Films that show violent and intimidating behavior attract particular attention. It has been established that television shows of scenes of violence cause a significant increase in the aggressiveness of the audience.

Among the films that cause the most concern are "horror films", which include, in their plot, bloody scenes, characters of a frightening or disgusting appearance - zombies, demons, etc.

A lot of work has been devoted to the study of the content of horror films in Europe and the USA. Some authors pay attention to the content of films in terms of the characters present in them and also create classifications of monsters shown in such films. Others pay more attention to the cultural and historical aspects of the emergence of such films. Still others explore how the very perception of scenes of violence affects children, adolescents and young people.

All of these areas of research consider the audience as a passive object of influence from films. It is quite obvious that the audience showing a great interest in horror films is not only observers of what is happening on the screen. There is something that determines from the inside the choice of films of a particular genre, the characteristics of the perception of characters and plots, the behavior of viewers during viewing and, to a greater extent, the degree of influence that what they see has on them.

A lot of literature has been written about the influence of horror films on a person, but in order to determine what effect they have, it is first necessary to identify: why do people choose this genre?

The purpose of our study is to identify the reasons for choosing the genre of "horror" and determine their impact on the psyche of adolescents.

The object of the study is the interest of the target audience in horror films as a socio-psychological phenomenon.

The subject of the study was the psychological consequences of the manifestation of teenagers' interest in horror films.

The purpose and subject determined the following research objectives:

.To study the peculiarities of teenagers' interest in horror films.

2.Identify the target audience of horror films

.Determine the motivation for watching films of this genre

.Track the reaction while watching a horror movie.

We used such research methods as the study and analysis of the literature on the problem under study, the collection and analysis of material, and questioning.

Chapter 1. Theoretical aspects of the problem of the influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

1.1 The concept of "horror film"

Horror is a genre of feature film.

Horror films include films that are designed to scare the viewer, instill a sense of anxiety and fear, create a tense atmosphere of horror or an agonizing expectation of something terrible.

By and large, horror films are designed to scare, to evoke the fears hidden within us, often in a shocking ending. They effectively concentrate on the dark sides of human life, strange and disturbing feelings. Horror films reveal the original nature of man, primitive fears: vulnerability, fear of the unknown, fear of death. The darkest, most primitive sides that both attract and repel us are contained in this genre.

Fear is the main emotion that a person experiences when watching horror movies.

It is necessary to define the concept of fear in order to identify the reason for such a passionate desire to constantly experience it. Soren Kierkegaard in his book The Concept of Fear gives the following concept of fear:

“Fear is “sympathetic antipathy and antipathetic sympathy”, this is a feeling that takes possession of a person when a conjecture arises in him about the existence of some force that has completely unknown possibilities.

In the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by V. Dahl, the concept of “fear” is interpreted as “fear, timidity, strong fear, anxiety state souls from fright, from a threatening or imaginary disaster ... "

encyclopedic Dictionary medical terms interprets the concept of "fear" as follows: "Phobia is an obsessive state in the form of an overwhelming fear of certain objects, movements, actions, actions, situations."

In other words, fear is the stress that the body experiences when it faces a (real or imagined) danger.

So, for example, the need for security in children is manifested in their craving for constancy, for ordering everyday life. Abraham Maslow also points out that the average adult in our culture strives to live in a safe, stable, organized world, in a world where rules and orders are established once and for all, where dangerous surprises, disorder and chaos are excluded.

Thus, the question was formed about the need for security and the connection with the manifestation of interest in horror films, which should frighten, intimidate, and prevent the satisfaction of these needs. For the transgression of basic needs and intentional stress, there must be a motivation for such actions.

Motivation is the relationship between human behavior and the reasons that cause this behavior; totality psychological phenomena, which reflect the presence in the human psyche of a certain readiness that directs to achieve the goal. Motivation is closely related to human needs and is always accompanied by experiences, positive or negative emotions. The motives of each person are individual, but the motivation to watch horror films is great, as proof of this, the great popularity of this genre, but the goals that people pursue while watching these films are different.

Alfred Hitchcock said: “I have heard that I have long been known as a real monster, because I talk about crimes. Meanwhile, you can hardly find a person who would be more afraid of all this in life than me. Considering the difficult childhood of the director, it can be assumed that when making horror films, he experienced his fears "embodiing" them in the cinema, that is, he used cinema to overcome phobias. Perhaps in this context it is worth considering the desire to watch films of this genre, namely: people watch horror films in order to overcome their own phobias.

You can look at the problem from the other side: a person who sees horror films on the screen satisfies the need for violence, the historical roots of which can be traced in the article by A.P. Nazaretyan "Violence in the Media: Today and Tomorrow", where the author also tells that violence does not increase, but is sublimated from the physical into the symbolic and virtual spheres, and modern media play a significant role in the development of this trend.

From this article, we can conclude that people have long used violence as a method of education, using rude physical strength. With the development of technology, our society has become more humane, seeing violence only in virtual reality, television, newspapers. Consequently, films containing scenes of violence and horror have the auspicious goal of humanizing society, embodying the aggressive needs of a person in an unrealistic setting.

1.2 The influence of horror films on the human psyche

In order to determine the impact that watching horror films has on a person, it is necessary to consider different views on this problem. Scientists' opinions are divided into two expected types: negative and positive. As an example of the positive impact of horror films, the following article is offered: “…quality horror films are good training for human nerves. The leader of the study, Professor David Rudd, argues that when watching horror films, we get a kind of pleasure, as our brains adequately assess the reality of the threat. Realizing that in reality there is no danger, the viewer experiences an exciting sensation of adrenaline rush. Professor Rudd also argues that repeatedly repeated similar fear causes a certain "habit" in the brain, and it stops responding to it as a threat. According to the Texas scientist, this fact can provide indispensable help in the treatment of phobias and other mental disorders.

But there are other facts confirming the negative impact of watching horror films on a physiological level. For example, consider the following article: “Biochemists at the University of Washington found that watching violent action movies and horror movies triggers the body's self-destruct program. According to scientists, such pictures have a detrimental effect not only on the psyche, but also on human physiology. During the experiment, a group of volunteers were offered to watch several films - a melodrama, a documentary and a violent action movie. After each of the screenings, blood samples were taken from the participants. According to its results, the melodrama and the documentary had no effect on the composition of the blood, while the action movie made the blood of the test subjects “boil”. The subjects had an increased production of antibodies. These cells are usually produced in response to a virus or infection entering the body. However, sometimes antibodies can attack healthy cells in the body, further damaging and destroying normal tissues.

Scientists explain such destructive behavior of the body by the fact that strong fear and internal tension of a person when watching a movie saturated with cruelty are a signal of danger to the body. But since a person does not try to stop this stress and react in accordance with the natural program of self-preservation, the body believes that the stressor is inside. Antibodies are sent to search for the internal enemy, which begin to destroy healthy cells of the body.

Consider also the article from " Russian newspaper”, in which the director of the State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry named after V.P. Serbsky tells us about the true influence of horror films: “...Unfortunately, not only films, but also life around is such that a child sees too many horrors, not only on TV. Growing up, he turns from a victim of violence into a criminal. After all, he adopted such a norm of behavior from his stepfather, mother or mentors at school.

Films, of course, play not the first, but an important role here. One of the most serious crimes that passed our examination was related to vampire films, which, in my opinion, do the most harm. 14-year-old boys committed the murder of their classmate: they lured her into the forest, forced her to dig her own grave, cut her throat and drank warm blood. It's all taken from the movie. And the examination showed that they were all mentally healthy, sane. Moreover, one of them - the leader - was more fond of films about vampires than the others, and the rest - the followers - were forced to drink blood. They choked, but they couldn't help but do it. After all, the law of the pack is the specificity of adolescence.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that horror films affect a person at a physiological and psychological level, while it is both negative and negative. positive character. Namely, because of watching movies, uncontrollable reactions occur that affect the mental state of a person, his behavior, his actions. In addition, experiencing emotions of fear, horror, anxiety together with the characters of the film, he has the opportunity to overcome them, "rise" above them, "subdue" them and cope with his fear. In other words, the situation of watching a movie creates a comfortable environment for the viewer: the events on the screen cannot cause real harm, create a real threat, no matter how frightening they may be. The viewer is in a situation of complete safety.

Comfortable conditions when watching a movie, absolute protection from danger - the tip of the iceberg. In reality, our body reacts to an unrealistic danger as realistically as possible, adversely affecting our health. But still, over time, there is an “addiction” to cruelty and violence. There is also no empathy for the suffering of another being, and it becomes quite easy to overstep the ban on aggressive behavior.

In this regard, the term "aggression" should be introduced.

Aggression is a manifestation of aggressiveness in destructive actions, the purpose of which is to harm a particular person.

Aggressiveness is a personality trait that consists in the willingness and preference to use violent means to achieve one's goals.

Aggressive behavior is most often understood as motivated external actions that violate the norms and rules of coexistence, causing harm, pain and suffering to people. However, when dealing with aggressive behavior, it is necessary to remember other aspects of the manifestation of aggression. The emotional component of an aggressive state is feelings, and above all anger.

The most common types of aggression are:

· physical - manifested in specific physical activities directed against any person, or causing harm to objects (a person breaks, throws objects, etc.)

· verbal - expressed in verbal form (a person screams, threatens, insults others)

· indirect - indirect aggression (a person gossips, sneaks, provokes, etc.).

But aggression is not always accompanied by anger, and not all anger leads to aggression. Emotional experiences of hostility, anger, revenge also often accompany aggressive actions, but they do not always lead to aggression.

Thus, the need for security in people from the so-called “group of horror movie fans” manifests itself in an increased interest and desire to experience their frightening moments in a safe enough environment, which gives them the opportunity to cope” with the threat, at least in imagination, and more successfully adapt to such imaginary or real threatening situation. These aspirations remain, as a rule, unconscious; only interest in films of this genre is realized.

movie horror psyche teenager

Chapter 2. Experimental work on the problem of the influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

.1 Selection and justification of research methods

Exist various methods research, such as tests, questionnaires, focus groups, questionnaires, and others.

The survey is the most common method of collecting primary information. This is a psychological verbal-communicative method, which consists in the implementation of interaction between the interviewer and the respondents by obtaining answers from the subject to pre-formulated questions. In other words, the survey is a communication between the interviewer and the respondent, in which the main tool is a pre-formulated question.

The advantage of this type of research is the efficiency and reliability of the information received, but the negative side is the possibility of influencing the answer of the interviewee through the intonation of the interviewer, the manner of communication, and other factors.

The test is one of the most reliable research methods.

Focus - group - a sociological interview based on the use of real group dynamics in an artificially created group to identify the specifics and features of the ideas of a certain social group about the object of study.

The application of this method involves a group discussion under the guidance of a specialist (moderator) according to a pre-prepared scenario. The discussion is held in a specially equipped room and is recorded on videotape. Focus group participants are selected strictly according to specified criteria and are representatives of the target audience.

For us, the most preferable are the following types of research:

questioning;

research through focus groups.

We can justify the choice of research methods as follows:

.Through the survey, we will be able to obtain the necessary information about the target audience of horror films, find out the age of fans of this genre, and also be able to identify their attitude towards horror films, that is, horror.

2.Questioning is an excellent research method that can show us not only the attitude towards horror films, but also show the reasons that motivate people to watch these films, which genre is most preferred.

.By conducting a study using the focus group method, we will be able to see the emotions that fans of this genre experience while watching a film, track the reaction of viewers to exciting moments, and discuss with them their attitude to the film they have watched.

2.2 Analysis of conducted studies

At the beginning of our study, we conducted a survey to identify the target audience that prefers watching horror films, to determine their age and gender.

The survey was conducted on March 28, 2014, in the Maksi shopping and entertainment center in Syktyvkar. The respondents were asked the following questions:

surname and name of the survey participant;

Does he watch horror movies?

relation to this genre;

occupation.

The data we registered in the form submitted by us in Attachment 1. Poll results:

Interviewed 29 peopleWomen10Men19Age of respondents from 16 to 28Positive answers to the question "Do you watch horror films?"21Negative answers to the question "Do you watch horror films?"8

Next, we conducted a survey. The questionnaires were sent out via Email so that each participant can devote the necessary time to fill it out. The participants of the survey were young people aged 16 to 21 in the amount of 20 people. The main selection criterion was their passion for horror films.

Within 3 days, the participants had to read, fill out and send the questionnaire for processing the results.

The questionnaire form, which was sent to the participants, is presented in Annex 2.

The questions that were indicated in the questionnaire allowed us to understand the motivation for watching horror films, to find out the moments that fans like in this genre.

March 2014, we conducted a focus group study. The group consisted of ten people. The age of the audience was from 13 to 17. The main selection criterion was belonging to the group "fanciers of horror films".

The purpose of the focus group is to trace the reaction of the audience to the horror film they saw. Discuss with them what they have seen, what they liked and didn’t like about this film, what moments were especially scary, and what exactly they scared the audience.

The study was conducted in a cinema hall. The guys sat down and the film "Saw" was turned on. American-Australian horror/thriller film. The film was originally rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association for its violence. It was decided to cut some especially bloody episodes. After that, the film was re-rated and received an "R" rating.

During the viewing, the participants were calm, throughout the entire film they sat quite relaxed, occasionally changing positions.

After watching, we had a conversation. The respondents were asked questions.

So, for example, to the question " What are the emotions from watching? Liked the film?"the following responses were received:

Shevchenko Gleb: "... Normally, more boring, though, than the previous parts, but they told everything."

Roman Medvedev: “But I liked it, as interesting as the others.”

Moiseeva Anna: “It’s so boring for me, the plot is interesting, of course, but I don’t like psychological horrors, I never got scared anywhere.”

Question “Wasn’t it scary at all?» respondents answered as follows:

Moiseeva Anna: “Not at all, well, there is a lot of blood and that’s it.”

Diana Semyonova: “No, it’s disgusting, of course, but when severed heads fall, it’s even funny. So unnatural in my opinion, but definitely better than the "destination"! But here it makes sense ... in short, this is not a horror movie.

Other participants expressed similar opinions.

Question “Were you disgusted? After all, the film contains a lot of bloody scenes.we received the following responses:

Lozovoy Vadim: “Yes, it’s not particularly bloody, they only showed it twice when a peasant was cut with an ax, and in the end, what’s disgusting there. Blood and gore."

Smirnov Andrei: "That's right, it's not for us to cut off."

Moiseeva Anastasia: “I would rather say that when the blonde was cut off her head, it was more unexpected. It's a pity. And ugly - no.

Question "Did you feel sorry for the victims?"respondents answered as follows:

Borisov Vasily: “According to the idea, they are all either murderers or drug addicts, so in theory it should not be.”

Lozovoy Vadim: “I agree, it’s their own fault, they could all have escaped, but they killed each other.”

On request describe the main characterwe heard the following:

Medvedev Roman: "Maniac - killer, avenger, smart."

Borisov Vasily: “I don’t know. But in general, he is very smart, thoughtful, able to think through people's actions in advance.

Moiseeva Anna: “In general, considering the plot, if anyone remembers, he lost the child because his wife was hit in the stomach, in other words, he loved his wife very much, and now he is taking revenge. Avenger!"

Tavyakova Diana: “Nonsense, did the others also somehow offend his wife? He still mocked a lot of people, in my opinion, climbed into his own business, he has no right to judge someone. He’s crazy, it’s not for nothing that he had brain cancer.”

Question "What do you think is the point of the film?"the following responses were received:

Toncharov Sergey: “In order for people to appreciate human life».

Borisov Vasily: “Yes, and also in the fact that everyone is given a second chance, well, the saw did not choose the victim just like that, but because of some perfect deed, and, as it were, punished them. He gave me the opportunity to improve."

Moiseeva Anna: “He said that murder is terrible, and that after his trials, no one remains the same.”

Based on the research carried out, the following conclusions can be drawn:

First, of the majority of respondents, films of the "horror" genre are preferred by the male audience, and they have a positive attitude towards such films, and they want to both premiere and watch at home with pleasure. The age of fans of films of this genre varies from 16 to 26 years. This age characterizes the chronological boundaries of youth . By the end of adolescence, the processes of maturation of the human body are completed: body growth, the formation of the musculoskeletal system, puberty, as well as the most recent processes of neurophysiological formation of the central nervous system; acquire the certainty of facial features and appearance in general. At the same time, the degree of personal maturity of boys and girls in this period is still significantly inferior to the degree of maturity of the body. The psychological content of this stage is associated with the development of self-consciousness, the solution of problems of personal and professional self-determination, the beginning of entry into adulthood. But, unfortunately, those complexes, fears that were formed earlier do not go away, and each person fights them in different ways.

Secondly, horror films can serve as an auxiliary element in the fight against fears. If we consider this problem in this context, it becomes clear why this particular age category prefers horror films. The survey method of questioning not only shows us the reasons for wanting to watch this genre, but also finds out about the emotions that fans of these films experience while watching. After all, there are adrenaline-dependent people who go in for extreme sports, because they need to experience this invigorating feeling in the blood all the time.

Focus-group research revealed the most complete picture. After talking with the participants, we were able to conclude that they were immune to scenes of violence, and there was no feeling of compassion. But at the same moment, they are not aggressive, not asocial, but vice versa: open immediately, they found contact with each other, and sincerely expressed their opinion about the film.

We can assume that horror film lovers experience their fears in cinema, being in an unreal reality, they overcome their complexes, feel tension while watching, get rid of aggression, and after the end of the film, “renewed” can again live in the usual rhythm. But at the same time, the external manifestation often diverges from the psychological state of a person. Our focus group members are positive and open guys, and their mental state hides aggressiveness and resentment.

Conclusion

An analysis of the literature on the problem under study, as well as our research, allowed us to draw certain conclusions:

Horror movie fans are aged between 15 and 17 and their addiction to horror movies is due to age characteristics.

The motivational aspect of watching horror films is the desire to experience the thrill, to get away from everyday life. While watching, the fans are calm and do not react to sharp moments, they are not afraid of either the sight of blood or the scenes with cutting off parts of the body of the heroes, but the survey showed that 98% of them “sick” for the victim. With such a calm reaction to the bloody scenes, it is worth suggesting that, among fans of horror films, aggression is pronounced.

Thus, we investigated the tasks in the research work. Based on the above results, we can conclude that viewing horror films at the psychological level is weakly expressed, and in order to identify the influence of this genre on the mental state of a person, years are required, deeper psychological tests. But on this stage we were able to identify that people use horror films as a means of relieving stress, and as a source of new sensations.

Bibliography:

1.Abraham Harold Maslow. Motivation and personality

2.Questions of psychology: Nauch. magazine - M.: Vopr. Psychology, 1955, p. 114.

.Journal "Psychology"

.Definition of "motivation"

.Definition of a survey as a research method

.Definition of the Horror Film Genre

.Definition of focus groups as a type of research

.Psychological navigator. Article

.Soren Kierkegaard "The Concepts of Fear" Encyclopedia "History of Philosophy"

.Article on the impact of horror films

.Article about Alfred Hitchcock

.Age characteristic

.Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medical Terms:

Attachment 1

Registration form

Member Name Date of Birth Position Do you watch horror films? What is your attitude towards this genre?

Appendix 2

Application Form

Questionnaire form Last name First name Middle name Why do you prefer horror films to comedy films? What horror films do you prefer? Why do you like it? What emotions do you feel while watching it? Is it calm or is there a feeling of anxiety? Do you think that horror films affect the psyche? Annex 3

Questionnaire protocol

1. Nikolaeva Oksana, 01/29/93, student:

I watch horror movies, but not often. My boyfriend loves them. And I'm quite calm, sometimes it's very scary.

Niin Miroslava, 12/11/92, student:

no. I love melodramas, and horror movies are stupid movies.

Vlasov Dmitry, 21.25.88, student:

Yes. A good genre, positive attitude.

Lyutoeva Irina, 1.10.92, student:

no, it's very scary. I have a bad attitude and don’t watch, because then you can’t sleep.

Guryanova Evgenia, 02/8/90, student:

yes, I watch all the time, cool films, though not always scary, but there are moments that take your breath away.

Lyutoev Maxim, 03.11.93, student:

Yes, you need to get the adrenaline pumping. I'm doing great.

Grigoriev Mark, 02.03.93, student:

yes, but lately there's nothing worthwhile. I treat it well.

Morozova Anastasia, 01/23/91, student:

Yes, I like it, it's scary.

Usmanov Vladislav, 08/22/87, student:

No, then the head hurts after them. I'm bad, I'm scared.

Alekseev Artem, 08.11.84, manager:

not really, I sleep badly afterwards. I would say that I treat them more negatively than positively, sometimes you can look at them for a change.

Popov Andrey, 14.02.87, student:

no, I don’t have time to watch movies at all, I’m calm, I don’t remember a movie that would really scare me.

Pisarkova Anastasia, 07/04/90, student:

Yes, I watch it often, it's scary, but I really like it.

Dudina Anna, 10/21/93, student:

Yes. I feel great, with a guy we always watch in the dark in the evening, it’s scary to the point of eerily and I advise you to try

Timofey, 12/23/92, student:

no. Now there are no scary horror films, I just go to laugh.

Tsarev Ignatius, 09/08/88, student:

Yes, I watch it all the time, I have nothing against it.

Volkov Semyon 10.10.86, dryer:

Yes, and regularly, a shake-up for the brain, I have a positive attitude.

Morozova Svetlana, 06/28/93, student:

no, I prefer cartoons, they are kind. I feel a little uncomfortable when I watch bloody films, that is, those where body parts are cut off and the like.

Dzhugashvili Nazar, 03/21/87, seller:

I like horror movies, they are exciting, interesting and goosebumps.

Popova Marina, 09/1/87, student:

Yes, and I watch, because it's scary. I like that it's scary, because it's not really scary, that's their plus.

Shevchenko Mikhail, 23.01. 93, student:

yes, but in moderate doses, well, that is, not constantly. I take it positively.

Smirnov Andrey, 02/14/85, pizza maker:

yes, rarely, of course, something terrible happens, but in general it is better than the tearful films that my girlfriend watches.

Nikolaichuk Stepan, 10/30/88, student:

yes, they are cool. I treat them calmly, there is nothing terrible in them.

Orlova Svetlana, 01/17/92, student:

Yes, I love this genre very much, Japanese ones are best, I have a very positive attitude.

Vishnevsky Roman, 09/22/94, student:

Yes, but it's not my favorite favorite genre. I am generally positive.

Mikhailov Sergey, 12/1/86, taxi driver:

Yes, I watch my favorite zombie movies.

Zhdanov Sergey, 8.03.89, student:

No, but I love comedies and fantasy. And I hate horror.

Semyonova Victoria, 03/14/88, student:

yes, I grew up with them. I am extremely positive, and now there is little that can scare me.

Karpov Vyacheslav, 09.09.88, student:

in principle, yes, only there is nothing normal, but they like it that way.

Erlikh Daria, 06/08/86, manager:

I love them, but they are not scary at all, I want them to be really scary, I treat them well.

Tags: The influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents Other Psychology

The influence of horror films on the psyche of adolescents

scientific work

1.2 The influence of horror films on the human psyche

In order to determine the impact that watching horror films has on a person, it is necessary to consider different views on this problem. Scientists' opinions are divided into two expected types: negative and positive. As an example of the positive impact of horror films, the following article is offered: “…quality horror films are good training for human nerves. The leader of the study, Professor David Rudd, argues that when watching horror films, we get a kind of pleasure, as our brains adequately assess the reality of the threat. Realizing that in reality there is no danger, the viewer experiences an exciting sensation of adrenaline rush. Professor Rudd also argues that repeatedly repeated similar fear causes a certain "habit" in the brain, and it stops responding to it as a threat. According to the Texas scientist, this fact can provide indispensable help in the treatment of phobias and other mental disorders.

But there are other facts confirming the negative impact of watching horror films on a physiological level. For example, consider the following article: “Biochemists at the University of Washington found that watching violent action movies and horror movies triggers the body's self-destruct program. According to scientists, such pictures have a detrimental effect not only on the psyche, but also on human physiology. During the experiment, a group of volunteers were offered to watch several films - a melodrama, a documentary and a violent action movie. After each of the screenings, blood samples were taken from the participants. According to its results, the melodrama and the documentary had no effect on the composition of the blood, while the action movie made the blood of the test subjects “boil”. The subjects had an increased production of antibodies. These cells are usually produced in response to a virus or infection entering the body. However, sometimes antibodies can attack healthy cells in the body, further damaging and destroying normal tissues.

Scientists explain such destructive behavior of the body by the fact that strong fear and internal tension of a person when watching a movie saturated with cruelty are a signal of danger to the body. But since a person does not try to stop this stress and react in accordance with the natural program of self-preservation, the body believes that the stressor is inside. Antibodies are sent to search for the internal enemy, which begin to destroy healthy cells of the body.

Consider also an article from Rossiyskaya Gazeta, in which the director of the State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry named after V.P. Serbsky tells us about the true influence of horror films: “...Unfortunately, not only films, but also life around is such that a child sees too many horrors, not only on TV. Growing up, he turns from a victim of violence into a criminal. After all, he adopted such a norm of behavior from his stepfather, mother or mentors at school.

Films, of course, play not the first, but an important role here. One of the most serious crimes that passed our examination was related to vampire films, which, in my opinion, do the most harm. 14-year-old boys committed the murder of their classmate: they lured her into the forest, forced her to dig her own grave, cut her throat and drank warm blood. It's all taken from the movie. And the examination showed that they were all mentally healthy, sane. Moreover, one of them - the leader - was more fond of films about vampires than the others, and the rest - the followers - were forced to drink blood. They choked, but they couldn't help but do it. After all, the law of the pack is the specificity of adolescence.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that horror films affect a person at a physiological and psychological level, while it is both negative and positive. Namely, because of watching movies, uncontrollable reactions occur that affect the mental state of a person, his behavior, his actions. In addition, experiencing emotions of fear, horror, anxiety together with the characters of the film, he has the opportunity to overcome them, "rise" above them, "subdue" them and cope with his fear. In other words, the situation of watching a movie creates a comfortable environment for the viewer: the events on the screen cannot cause real harm, create a real threat, no matter how frightening they may be. The viewer is in a situation of complete safety.

Comfortable conditions when watching a movie, absolute protection from danger - the tip of the iceberg. In reality, our body reacts to an unrealistic danger as realistically as possible, adversely affecting our health. But still, over time, there is an “addiction” to cruelty and violence. There is also no empathy for the suffering of another being, and it becomes quite easy to overstep the ban on aggressive behavior.

In this regard, the term "aggression" should be introduced.

Aggression is a manifestation of aggressiveness in destructive actions, the purpose of which is to harm a particular person.

Aggressiveness is a personality trait that consists in the willingness and preference to use violent means to achieve one's goals.

Aggressive behavior is most often understood as motivated external actions that violate the norms and rules of coexistence, causing harm, pain and suffering to people. However, when dealing with aggressive behavior, it is necessary to remember other aspects of the manifestation of aggression. The emotional component of an aggressive state is feelings, and above all anger.

The most common types of aggression are:

physical - manifested in specific physical actions directed against a person, or damaging objects (a person breaks, throws objects, etc.)

verbal - expressed in verbal form (a person screams, threatens, insults others)

indirect - indirect aggression (a person gossips, sneaks, provokes, etc.).

But aggression is not always accompanied by anger, and not all anger leads to aggression. Emotional experiences of hostility, anger, revenge also often accompany aggressive actions, but they do not always lead to aggression.

Thus, the need for security in people from the so-called “group of horror movie fans” manifests itself in an increased interest and desire to experience their frightening moments in a safe enough environment, which gives them the opportunity to cope” with the threat, at least in imagination, and more successfully adapt to such imaginary or real threatening situation. These aspirations remain, as a rule, unconscious; only interest in films of this genre is realized.

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