Underholdning, emotioner og identitet. Et mediepsykologisk perspektiv på underholdningspræferencer

Abstract

Underholdning er mere end adspredelse og alt andet end tidsfordriv. Mennesker er motiverede for at lade sig underholde, fordi underholdning rummer kvaliteter, der er af væsentlig betydning for deres fysiske, psykiske og sociale velbefindende. Ved at identificere disse oplevelseskvaliteter vil artiklen for det første præcisere underholdningens emotionsregulerende og identitetskonstituerende funktioner. Men ikke alle mennesker motiveres af og er motiverede for samme type underholdning og samme oplevelseskvaliteter. Artiklen vil derfor for det andet vise, hvordan individuelle forskelle i motivation i vid udstrækning er begrundet i personlighedsmæssige forhold, der får individer til at foretrække bestemte oplevelseskvaliteter frem for andre. Denne redegørelse munder ud i en psykografisk segmenteringsmodel, som artiklen for det tredje søger at beskrive forskelle i underholdningspræferencer ud fra. Det er artiklens pointe, at underholdningsprogrammer kan fungere som segmentknusere ved at rumme oplevelseskvaliteter, der er relevante for forskellige segmenter. Entertainment, Emotions and Personality Analyzing Preferences for Media Entertainment from a Media Psychological Perspective Entertainment is far more than a simple pastime and anything but a waste of time. On the contrary we are as humans motivated towards entertainment, as entertainment offers distinct qualities crucial for our psychical, psychological and social well-being. By identifying such experiential qualities this paper aims firstly at defining how entertainment regulates emotions as well as constituting our identity. Not all people are however motivated by or are motivated towards the same type of entertainment and the same experiential qualities. Therefore this paper aims secondly at demonstrating how individual differences in motivation to a large degree stem from differences in personality, determining preferences for certain experiential qualities rather than others. This analysis concludes in a psychographic model for segmentation, which is then utilized to describe differences in preferences for entertainment. By including experiential qualities that are relevant to different segments, entertainment programmes may transgress segments and can therefore be seen as segment-breakers.