Emotional and Cognitive Responses to Theatrical Representations of Aggressive Behavior
Representation of human conflict is central to theater performance. In our study, we have used self-reported measures of emotional experience and a word recall task, in order to assess the effects of theatrical representations of violence. Forty participants were randomly assigned to the role of per...
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| Published in: | Frontiers in psychology Vol. 11; p. 1785 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A
14-08-2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Representation of human conflict is central to theater performance. In our study, we have used self-reported measures of emotional experience and a word recall task, in order to assess the effects of theatrical representations of violence. Forty participants were randomly assigned to the role of performer or spectator, in either a realistic representation of a script or in a version that recollected the same actions of the script in a series of intertwined monologs. The script represented an aggressive interaction between two work colleagues. Our results show both statistically significant differences in the levels of depression and positive emotions reported after enacting the script, as well as differences in the performance on the word recall task containing aggressive related and non-related stimuli. The results point to stronger effects for performing theatrical representations of violent actions, as compared to recollecting or watching such actions. The fact that actors experienced higher positive emotions is in line with the two-pedal model of aggressive behavior. This model suggests that negative emotions toward aggressive behavior might change to positive emotions due to the repetition in performing violent behaviors, as a key for the transition from reactive aggression to appetitive aggression. Other implications for the study of aggression in theatrical representations are discussed. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Reviewed by: Thomas Elbert, University of Konstanz, Germany; Pil Hansen, University of Calgary, Canada This article was submitted to Performance Science, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology Edited by: Corinne Jola, Abertay University, United Kingdom |
| ISSN: | 1664-1078 1664-1078 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01785 |