Relationship between Watching Crime Thriller Movies and the Fear of Happiness

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between watching crime thriller movies and the fear of happiness among young adults aged 18 to 24. A total of 133 respondents filled out a questionnaire that included a ‘Yes /No’ question to determine if they watch crime thriller movies or not, followed by the Fear of Happiness scale. 120(90.2%) reported watching them while 13(9.8%) reported not watching them. The data analysis was done using Jamovi and it revealed a significant negative correlation between watching crime thriller movies and the fear of happiness (Pearson’s correlation = -0.285, p-value = 0.001), indicating that individuals who watch crime thriller movies tend to show lower levels of fear of happiness. The findings suggest that fear of happiness is not much exhibited by individuals watching crime thrillers which could be because they may become less sensitive to the emotional ambiguity surrounding happiness. The findings enhance our knowledge of how media consumption—especially that of crime thrillers—can affect emotional health and lays the groundwork for further studies on the psychological impacts of various media genres on emotional reactions.