Explanation of why young people like horror films – the psychology of horror

Young people enjoy horror because they like to be frightened and entertained. Dr Glenn walters speaks of the phycology of horror, said that people watch horror for the tension, mystery and shock. Dr Deirdre said that there are four main differences for why people like watching horror; he said that each person usually has something about them that encourages them to watch one. The first psychological theory being that thriller watchers usually have higher where as independent watchers had a high positive effect for overcoming fear.

Furthermore Marven Zukerman said that people who scored high in sensation seeking scale often reported a greater interest in exciting things like rollercoasters, bungee jumping and horror films. The gender socialization theory by Zillman consider the snuggle theory this found that boys enjoyed a horror film with their female companion who were visibly scared where as girls found that they enjoyed the film more when there boys were brave and could handle fear more.