Post Quotes Rios on Why People Watch Horror Films

Dr. Kimberly Rios

Dr. Kimberly Rios, Associate Professor of Psychology, was quoted in a Post article headlined “Seeking Scares: Why Do People Like Watching Horror Films?”

Kimberly Rios, associate professor of psychology and director of experiential training at Ohio University, discussed the science and psychology of watching horror films at a screening of The Shining at The Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St. Most of Rios’ work delves into how people respond to different threats and uncertainty — common themes in horror movies.

“Some of us, depending on certain personality traits and contextual factors, really find uncertainty to not be such a negative experience,” Rios said. “Some of us actually seek it out, then that absence of threat and that presence of uncertainty could be a large part of what motivates people to watch these things.”

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“Part of the differences in reactions might be that because the non-supernatural movies are potentially more realistic,” Rios said. “Depending on what they are of course, they could be something one could imagine happening to themselves. Sometimes that has the potential to be even scarier for people who actually put themselves in the mindset of the characters they’re watching.”

Read more in the Post.