Reflectiveness/Pensiveness

• In Event: Complex Emotions in Media-Psychology Research

Abstract

Most of the theorizing about affects in relation to media use and effects either refers to distinctive emotions such as fear or sadness or to rather unspecific but more long-lasting affective states such as moods. Media users’ exposure to narratives might serve as a example: There is now an abundance of theoretical concepts available that try to explain the selection of specific media content by referring to these affective states media users are believed to seek. In my view, these conceptualizations are either too broad (bad mood vs. good mood) or too specific (e.g., sadness). Most media experiences, I claim, are rather complex and dynamic, thereby either combining different affective states (subsequently or even simultaneously) and therefore can be best described by more abstract terms such as reflectiveness or pensiveness. I argue that what we often call eudaimonic entertainment is rather a state of reflectiveness that includes a diversity of different affective experiences.

Author

• Peter Vorderer, U of Mannheim