Being a surgeon who has cared for a range of motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, stabbing, and even a fellow severely bitten by a horse, my response to horror movies is a family joke. I was the only family member not able to watch as Nazis dissolved into skeletons in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark it remains a fact that can and is used against me. So this paper from Personality and Individual Differences made me wonder, why can I deal with real blood and guts, and real-life and death, but on the big screen, it freaks me out?
There is an underlying physiology that begins with mirror-neurons. These are neurons that fire when we carry-out particular actions or thoughts and fire when we see those actions or experience those thoughts in stories, written or visual. Those neurons allow us to share experiences indirectly, to give us practice with our responses in safer settings it is a mechanism for physiologic rehearsal. The researchers wanted to know whether movie choice could act as that type of rehearsal for the real thing, in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Horror fiction allows people to safely and frequently experience fear, which is typically experienced in the presence of real danger. By eliciting fear in a safe setting, horror fiction presents an opportunity for audiences to hone their emotion regulation skills.
The researchers questioned some 300 adult volunteers determining their film preferences, their experience with pandemic movies, and a resilience scale they developed to gauge participant concerns, anxieties, and confidence in our current situation. The study was done back in March, early in the pandemic, so apply as many grains of salt as you feel necessary. For the study, the researchers were interested in movie genres involving pandemics, viral, alien, or zombies what they described as prepper movies. They wanted to determine how much psychological stress was experienced, how prepared for societal changes we might be, and how resilient, turning that frown upside down, we were.
Stories, as it turns out, can prepare us for real life. That helps explain fandom for fictional work, be it Louisa May Alcotts Little Women, book or movie, same for J.K. Rawlings Harry Potter, and evidently even for the CDC and the Zombie Apocalypse. Horror stories help us reduce our psychological stress; once we vanquished Predator, COVID-19 may not be as stressful; but we still do not know the best way to control Predator or COVID-19 in our lives. On the other hand, those of us with a morbid curiosity can find the silver lining to the COVID-19 cloud. We might recoil with horror for a moment, but then curiosity kicks in, and we start baking bread, lots of bread.
[1] It is reminiscent of the line from Armageddon, a Bruce Willis movie about an asteroid about to destroy the earth, Its time to embrace the horror.
Source: Pandemic practice: Horror fans and morbidly curious individuals are more psychologically resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic Personality and Individual Differences DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110397
See the rest here:
How The Zombie Apocalypse Prepares You For The COVID-19 Pandemic - American Council on Science and Health
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- Zombie infection threat as country unlocks 50,000-year-old viruses - Yahoo News Australia - February 20th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie rises from his grave this March for PC via Steam - PC Invasion - February 20th, 2021
- Zombie Hit Train To Busan Is Getting A US Remake - GameSpot - February 20th, 2021
- Rob Zombie says the meat industrys future is unsustainable - NME.com - February 20th, 2021
- Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse - Yahoo Entertainment - February 20th, 2021
- Batista Wanted To Play A Zombie On The Walking Dead, Rejected For Being "Too Big" - Fightful - February 20th, 2021
- Dave Bautista told he was too big to play zombie on The Walking Dead - NME - February 17th, 2021
- Dave Bautista Offered To Play A Zombie For Free On The Walking Dead - Screen Rant - February 17th, 2021
- Is plurilateralism making the WTO an institutional zombie? - East Asia Forum - February 17th, 2021
- REVIEW: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 1 is a Comedic Zombie Apocalypse - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 17th, 2021
- Don't Eat Pete is a zombie survival game that's available now for Android in Early Access - Pocket Gamer - February 17th, 2021
- Call of Duty Warzone seems to be teasing Zombies - Gamesradar - February 17th, 2021
- James Gunn Weighs In On Whether Zombies Or Vampires Are More Dangerous - Looper - February 17th, 2021
- The Walking Dead back on the march - Stuff.co.nz - February 17th, 2021
- The Walking Dead Turned Dave Bautista Down for a Zombie Role - Superherohype.com - February 16th, 2021
- Army of the Dead Image Teases Zombie Heist Movie - /FILM - February 16th, 2021
- The Real Life Diet of Rob Zombie, Who Thinks Eating Vegan Is Metal - British GQ - February 16th, 2021
- Rob Zombie says veganism is about 'fighting the establishment' - Vegan Food and Living - February 16th, 2021
- The Next Generation of Marvel Zombies Is Already in the Marvel Universe - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 16th, 2021
- It Looks Like Zombies Are Coming To Warzone Season 2 | TheGamer - TheGamer - February 16th, 2021
- ROB ZOMBIE Explains Why He Went Vegan "It Is Anti-Establishment" - Metal Injection - February 14th, 2021
- Zombie Baseballs and MLBs Home Run Problem - The Wall Street Journal - February 14th, 2021
- Rob Zombie Thinks Eating Vegan Is Metal - GQ - February 14th, 2021
- This is what the DoD has planned for a zombie apocalypse - We Are The Mighty - February 14th, 2021
- 3 Cookbooks and guides to teach you how to survive during the eventual zombie apocalypse - Undead Walking - February 14th, 2021
- Call Of Duty Zombies: All Zombies Crews, Ranked - TheGamer - February 14th, 2021
- Tesla : Which is the best EV to own to survive a zombie apocalypse? - marketscreener.com - February 14th, 2021
- Here's How You Can Watch Every Season Of iZombie - Looper - February 14th, 2021
- What's The 1st Thing You'd Grab If Zombies Invaded Twin Falls? - kezj.com - February 14th, 2021
- Kennedy: Banks, communities need to collaborate on zombie property upkeep - The Daily Gazette - February 10th, 2021
- Zombies Attack Bend! [With Video] - The Source Weekly - February 10th, 2021
- Ten Zombie Comedies That Won't Rot Your Braaaaaaaains - tor.com - February 10th, 2021
- These Bulletproof Vehicles Are Perfect For Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse - HotCars - February 10th, 2021
- How a Left 4 Dead Remaster Could Revive the Zombie Shooter Genre - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 10th, 2021
- Rise of Barnegat Light's Zombie Whale; It Starts With Dead Bigfoots, the Devils - The SandPaper - February 10th, 2021
- The Senate should do everything it can to avoid a zombie impeachment trial - CNN - February 9th, 2021
- 8 Video Game Zombies That Break the Traditional Mold - Bloody Disgusting - February 9th, 2021
- Zombie Reddy Four Days Box Office Collection, Teja Sajja's Film Is Ruling The Box Office. - Sakshi Post - February 9th, 2021
- Colm O'Regan: The perfect Valentine's Day gift - a zombie plan for the one you love - Irish Examiner - February 9th, 2021
- Zombie Reddy Third Day Box Office Collection, Teja Sajja's Film Passes The Weekend On A Phenomenal Note - Sakshi Post - February 9th, 2021
- How to Play the Witch Role Mod in Among Us | Screen Rant - Screen Rant - February 9th, 2021
- Reanimation and Zombies: Discussion with author Frank Swain - WLNS - February 9th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie Is Returning In a Unique Re-release From Aspyr Media - Happy Gamer - February 9th, 2021
- Author discussion to explore reanimation, zombies - The Hillsdale Daily News - February 9th, 2021
- Not Ready to Die: These 5 'zombie' cars were sold alongside their replacements - Driving - February 5th, 2021
- Zombie Reddy movie review: When the zombies attack Seema - The Hindu - February 5th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie comes back from the dead in March, achievements revealed - TrueAchievements - February 5th, 2021
- Prasanth Varma: Zombie Reddy doesnt make a joke out of zombies - The Indian Express - February 5th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie Re-Release Launching in March | Game Rant - GameRant - February 5th, 2021
- Shang-Chi Finally Found the Cure for the Newest Kind of Marvel Zombie - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 5th, 2021
- Free-Roam VR Unleashed - The Source Weekly - February 5th, 2021
- Releasing Today: Zombie Attack On Box Office.. - Greatandhra.com - February 5th, 2021
- ROB ZOMBIE's New Album Was Completed A Couple Years Ago - Metal Injection - February 5th, 2021
- Zombie nation: Third of adults walking around in concussion-like daze due to stress, lack of sleep - Study Finds - February 5th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie Achievements Listing Hints a Re-release in March - The Nerd Stash - February 5th, 2021
- Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse Re-Release Hinted - NoobFeed - February 5th, 2021
- Splunking the Zombie Apocalypse - Security Boulevard - February 4th, 2021
- The Last of Us Meets The Division In Zombie MMO The Day Before - Screen Rant - February 4th, 2021
- Zombie-Bite Politics - The Dispatch - The Dispatch - February 4th, 2021
- World War Z & 9 More Of The Highest-Grossing Zombie Movies Of All Time - Screen Rant - February 4th, 2021
- AOC's terrifying account of the Capitol siege: 'It almost felt like a zombie movie' - CNET - February 4th, 2021
- Korean Zombie says he hit rock bottom and gained over 40 lbs after loss to Brian Ortega - Bloody Elbow - February 4th, 2021
- Varun Tej heaps praise on Teja Sajja at Zombie Reddy pre-release event - Times of India - February 4th, 2021
- Cold War Zombies: How to Upgrade The D.I.E Shockwave - Screen Rant - February 4th, 2021
- ROB ZOMBIE Releases New Single And Video 'The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man' | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz - February 4th, 2021
- THE WALKING DEAD Season 10 "Ties that Bind" Trailer (2021) Zombie Horror - JoBlo.com - February 4th, 2021
- Feeding monopolies and zombies: Made in the USA: Socialism for the Rich. Capitalism for the Rest - The Times of India Blog - January 30th, 2021
- Hear Rob Zombie's Raucous New Song "The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man" - Revolver Magazine - January 30th, 2021
- The Korean Zombie says he hit rock bottom and gained 20kgs following loss to Brian Ortega - BJPENN.COM - January 30th, 2021
- ROB ZOMBIE To Release A New Song This Friday - Metal Injection - January 30th, 2021
- The Day Before Is Basically The Division with Zombie-like Infected - Wccftech - January 30th, 2021
- USM Alumna's Novel Included on Best Fiction for Young Adults List - Southern Miss Now - January 30th, 2021
- Zombies and Neon Fury Star in Howie Lees Insane New Music Video - RADII - January 30th, 2021
- This $23 emergency radio is all you need to survive the zombie (or robot) apocalypse - CNET - January 25th, 2021
- The real zombie threat as the Arctic thaws and other climate briefs - Haaretz - January 25th, 2021
- When the zombies come, I will be ready - Rochelle News Leader - January 25th, 2021
- The information warriors fighting 'robot zombie army' of coronavirus sceptics - The Guardian - January 25th, 2021
- Tips To Survive An Infinite Number Of Rounds In Black Ops: Cold Wars Zombies Mode - TheGamer - January 25th, 2021
- Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly tease zombie film-inspired 'Acting Like That' video - NME.com - January 25th, 2021
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero