Elevation in Response to Entertainment Portrayals of Moral Virtue

Abstract

Media psychologists have long puzzled over how individuals can experience enjoyment from entertainment such as tragedies that often elicit profound feelings of sadness. The present research examines the idea that a focus on ''meaningful'' entertainment and affective responses identified as ''elevation'' may provide a framework for understanding many examples of sad or dramatic entertainment. The results of this study suggest that many types of meaningful cinematic entertainment feature portrayals of moral virtues (e.g., altruism). These portrayals, in turn, elicit feelings of elevation (e.g., inspiration) that are signified in terms of mixed affect and unique physical responses (e.g., lump in throat). Ultimately, elevation also gives rise to motivations to embody moral virtues, such as being a better person or helping others.doi:10.1111/j. 1468-2958.2012.01427.x The assumed importance of positive affect in media enjoyment is reflected in a number of notable entertainment theories. For example, disposition theory generally argues that viewers experience the greatest pleasure (and hence enjoyment) when liked characters are depicted as triumphant and disliked characters as castigated or suffering (Zillmann, 1991). Likewise, mood-management theory conceptualizes entertainment consumption in hedonistic terms, arguing that the termination of negative moods and the maintenance of positive moods guide many entertainment choices (Zillmann, 2000).The emphasis placed on positive affect has resulted in considerable theorizing among scholars who have tried to understand the seeming paradoxical enjoyment of entertainment that fails to conform to hedonic considerations. In particular, scholars have presented a variety of explanations to try to account for the enjoyment of sad or tragic entertainment, and how or why viewers may experience gratification from entertainment that features beloved characters suffering and that successfully elicits sadness and tears among audience members. Among the many explanations that Corresponding author: Mary Beth Oliver; e-mail: mbo@psu.edu Elevation and Moral Virtuehave been considered are the idea that the experience and expression of sadness may be cathartic (Cornelius, 1997), that tragedies may provide viewers the opportunity to engage in downward-social comparison (Mares & Cantor, 1992), or that at a meta-emotional level, viewers may find some enjoyment or gratification in feeling sadness (e.g., ''wallowing in grief'') (Bartsch, Vorderer, Mangold, & Viehoff, 2008;Oliver, 1993;Zillmann, 1998).In this article, we do not want to suggest that extant research on the enjoyment of sad films or tragedies is misplaced. Rather, our intention is to provide an additional perspective on this seemingly puzzling enjoyment by broadening the conceptualization of audiences' responses. Specifically, in this article, we test the idea that many forms of meaningful entertainment (including many sad films) may elicit feelings of elevation-an other-praising affective response to witnessing moral beauty that ...

Entertainment as a Creature Comfort: Self-Control and Selection of Challenging Media

“…Initial evidence from forced-exposure experiments shows that challenging media can produce personal growth (Khoo, 2016;Oliver, Hartmann, & Woolley, 2012;Prestin, 2013). Future research should test not only selective exposure and immediate responses to recreational and challenging media, but also the long-term effects of selective media repertoires on personal growth and well-being.…”

Video games as meaningful entertainment experiences.

“…Our focus on insight is driven by the recognition that "meaningful" entertainment appears to frequently consist of stories that highlight fundamental values (e.g., compassion) or depictions of the human condition (e.g., mortality; Oliver, Hartmann, & Woolley, 2012). As such, meaningful entertainment provides the opportunity to reflect on important "lessons" such as the value of virtue, the beauty of compassion, or the resiliency of the human spirit.…”

“…Items were drawn from a variety of sources with the intention of including items that would represent a range of responses including meaningful, positive, and negative affect (Algoe & Haidt, 2009;Edell & Burke, 1987;Oliver, 2008;Oliver et al, 2012;Oliver & Raney, 2011;Schnall, Roper, & Fessler, 2012). …”

Fun Versus Meaningful Video Game Experiences: A Qualitative Analysis of User Responses

“…It is possible that the fulfilment of relatedness needs may be necessary for meaningful experiences, as well. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated that mediainduced feelings of elevation (a type of meaningful affective response, see Oliver et al 2012a) after viewing portrayals of moral goodness are associated with experiences of connection to humanity (Oliver et al 2012b). …”

“…More specifically, media texts that explore difficult life questions tend to evoke meaningful responses, while media texts that are more light-hearted tend to lead to enjoyment (Oliver et al 2012a). Oliver and Hartmann's (2010) qualitative analysis of viewer descriptions of film experiences demonstrated that viewers described meaningful films as those that contemplate fundamental moral values, life lessons and difficult questions of human existence.…”