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Context matters: How macroeconomic forces may alter the reception of negative emotions in art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2017

Hal Ersner Hershfield  and
Adam Lee Alter
Hal Ersner Hershfield
Affiliation:
Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making Areas, Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095. hal.hershfield@anderson.ucla.edu halhershfield.com
Adam Lee Alter
Affiliation:
Stern School of Business, Marketing Department, New York University, New York, NY 10012. adam.alter@stern.nyu.edu adamalterauthor.com
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Abstract

Menninghaus et al. offer a comprehensive model to explain why people pursue darker emotions in art, but we believe they underplay the considerable role of situational factors in driving these preferences. In particular, changing mood states are likely to shape artistic preferences, in large part because positive mood states act as a protective buffer against otherwise aversive experiences.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e365
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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