title: Emotional arousal when watching drama increases pain threshold and social bonding.
abstract: Fiction, whether in the form of storytelling or plays, has a particular attraction for us: we repeatedly return to it and are willing to invest money and time in doing so. Why this is so is an evolutionary enigma that has been surprisingly underexplored. We hypothesize that emotionally arousing drama, in particular, triggers the same neurobiological mechanism (the endorphin system, reflected in increased pain thresholds) that underpins anthropoid primate and human social bonding. We show that, compared to subjects who watch an emotionally neutral film, subjects who watch an emotionally arousing film have increased pain thresholds and an increased sense of group bonding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK; Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK.
authors.forename: R I M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9982-9702
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.affiliation: Calleva Research Centre , Magdalen College , Oxford OX1 4AU , UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Teasdale
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK; Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK.
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK; Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, 66 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LU, UK.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Budelmann
authors.affiliation: Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK; Faculty of English, University of Oxford, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, UK.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.affiliation: Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK; Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, 66 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LU, UK.
authors.forename: Evert
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Emde Boas
authors.affiliation: Calleva Research Centre, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU, UK; Faculty of English, University of Oxford, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, UK.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maguire
keywords: emotional arousal; endorphins; pain threshold; social bonding; tragedy