Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Morbid curiosity

Morbid curiosity:
What is it, what causes it, and how does it influence behaviour?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Morbid curiosity is an interest in subjects typically associated with fear, death, violence, or anything that evokes discomfort, fear, or disgust. While it might seem unsettling, this curiosity is a natural part of human psychology, manifesting in various forms throughout history and across cultures. Exploring morbid curiosity allows for a more profound insight into why people are drawn to taboo topics, how this curiosity shapes behaviour, and its potential impacts on mental health.

Morbid Curiosity and Media Consumption

This chapter educates on morbid curiosity's historical, cultural, biological, psychological, and social dimensions and its effects on media consumption, emotional responses, social interactions, and risk-taking behaviours. By fostering a deeper understanding of both the positive and negative impacts of morbid curiosity on mental health , this chapter encourages critical thinking and self-awareness in how individuals engage with dark or taboo topics.

Learning Outcomes: Understand what morbid curiosity is and the historical and cultural content surrounding it. Comprehend the biological, psychological and social factors contributing to morbid curiosity. Recognise how morbid curiosity influences media consumption, emotional responses, social interactions, and risk-taking behaviour. Explore the positive and negative effects of morbid curiosity on mental health.

What is Morbid Curiosity?

Morbid curiosity is the interest in unpleasant things, especially death (Scrivner, 2021). Morbid curiosity's origins as a subject of interest began in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, with early psychologists like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung examining the human fascination with death, suffering, and horror. Freud linked it to his death drive, theorising that people have an unconscious drive toward destruction, aggression, and death (Freud, 1930). Similarly, Jung explored the concept through his theories of the shadow self, suggesting that people are drawn to their darker, unconscious impulses (Jung, 1971). Social psychology studied morbid curiosity more by the mid-20th century. Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death" (1973) explored how people cope with their awareness of mortality, noting that individuals may confront death through morbid curiosity to manage existential anxieties (Becker, 1973). In the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries, cognitive psychology began to explore morbid curiosity, framing it within the broader context of curiosity and information-seeking behaviour. Neuroscientists have used brain imaging techniques to study how morbid curiosity manifests in the brain in recent years. Research has shown that viewing disturbing content activates the reward system, particularly the ventral striatum, linked to curiosity, pleasure, and novelty-seeking (Oosterwijk et al., 2020). Other studies have found that morbid curiosity is a natural part of exploratory behaviour, driven by a desire to learn about dangerous situations as a survival mechanism (Oosterwijk, 2017).

Historical Context

• Public Executions: In many societies across the world, public executions were popular events that attracted large crowds. People were fascinated by the spectacle of violence and often treated these events as communal entertainment (Foucault, 1977).
• Memento Mori: During the European Middle Ages, the artistic tradition of memento mori (latin for: "remember you must die") reminded people of their mortality. Skulls, skeletons, and other death-related imagery were typical in paintings, reinforcing the public’s morbid curiosity about death and the afterlife (Ariès, 1974).
• True Crime: In contemporary culture, the popularity of true crime documentaries, podcasts, and books reflects a widespread interest in criminal acts, violent events, and psychological mysteries. Shows like Making a Murderer or podcasts like Serial demonstrate how modern media capitalises on morbid curiosity (Surette, 2015).

What Causes Morbid Curiosity?

Biological Factors

• Evolutionary Adaptation for Survival: From an evolutionary perspective, morbid curiosity may have developed as a survival mechanism. Being drawn to dangerous situations, such as observing the aftermath of predatorial behaviour, may have helped early humans learn about potential threats and how to avoid them (Berns, 2010).
• Neurobiological Reward Systems: Morbid curiosity may also be linked to the brain's reward system. The dopaminergic system plays a role in curiosity and learning. When people engage with disturbing content, their brains may experience fear and pleasure, with dopamine release reinforcing the behaviour, similar to sensation-seeking behaviour (Zald & Zatorre, 2011).
• Fear Conditioning and Threat Monitoring: Research suggests that individuals might be drawn to morbid content due to heightened sensitivity within the amygdala to threat-related stimuli. By focusing on violent or dangerous events, the brain’s threat-monitoring system may stay vigilant, ensuring that individuals remain prepared for future threats (Dunsmoor et al., 2015).
• Opponent-Process Theory (OPT): The Opponent-process theory of emotions suggests that experiencing negative emotions, like fear or disgust, may be followed by positive emotions, like relief or excitement. This emotional cycle could drive morbid curiosity, as people may be attracted to disturbing content for the pleasurable relief or excitement that follows the initial discomfort (Solomon, 1980).
• Social Learning and limitation: In dangerous or death-related scenarios, morbid curiosity could be tied to social learning mechanisms, where observing the reactions of others to traumatic events teaches individuals how to cope or react in similar situations (Bandura, 1977).

Psychological Factors

• Terror Management Theory (TMT): TMT posits that people are uniquely aware of their mortality, creating existential anxiety. Individuals seek ways to manage death-related thoughts associated with fears of mortality by developing psychological defence mechanisms. Morbid curiosity may emerge to understand death in a controlled manner, allowing individuals to distance themselves from their fear (Greenberg et al., 1997).
• Sensation-Seeking Behaviour: Sensation-seeking is a personality trait that drives individuals to seek unique, intense, or dangerous experiences to experience fear, excitement or disgust. Individuals scoring high on sensation-seeking scales are more likely to be attracted to morbid content as it provides intense stimulation without harm (Zuckerman, 2007).
• The Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC): NCC is a psychological theory that explains why some individuals are driven to seek definitive answers to distressing topics. Morbid curiosity may stem from this need to resolve uncertainty about unsettling subjects, such as death, violence, or suffering. People with high NCC may feel compelled to investigate morbid topics to gain closure on the mysteries of mortality or tragedy (Kruglanski, 2004).
• Drive theory of curiosity (DTC): Daniel Berlyne suggested that curiosity is a primary human drive stimulated by different, complex, or obscure stimuli. Morbid curiosity can be understood as a response to these stimuli, as curiosity is driven by a desire to reduce uncertainty and arousal, explaining why people are drawn to disturbing situations like death and violence (Berlyne, 1954).
• Catharsis Theory: Proposed by Aristotle and later expanded by Freud, the catharsis theory suggests people have an unconscious drive to witness emotionally intense events to purge their own emotions (Scheff, 2012). Morbid curiosity functions as a form of catharsis, allowing individuals to release pent-up emotions like fear, anxiety, or anger by engaging with disturbing or violent content (Feshbach, 1955).
• Fear Regulation: People need to understand and control emotions related to danger and death. Morbid curiosity may be driven by the desire to master those fears. Exposure to morbid topics helps desensitise individuals so people can gradually gain mastery over their concerns in a controlled setting (Loewenstein, 1994).

Social and Cultural Factors

• Media Normalising Morbid Content: Mass media shapes public interest in morbid topics in modern societies. The increasing prevalence of crime shows, horror films, and disaster coverage has normalised and sensationalised these dark topics of fascination. Continuous exposure to such content can desensitise individuals to violence and suffering, reinforcing a cycle of engagement with morbid material (Surette, 2015).
• Cultural Attitude Towards Death: Cultural differences in death strongly influence how morbid curiosity manifests. Societies that embrace death may channel morbid curiosity into rituals, celebrations, and practices that emphasise respect and remembrance. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebrates death as a joyful process where families honour their past loved ones by creating altars, offering food, and decorating with skull imagery (Brandes, 1998). Societies that view death as a taboo subject may suppress expressions of morbid curiosity but see it emerge in more covert ways. In 19th-century England, morbid curiosity was channelled into practices that emphasised remembrance of the dead while keeping death physically present, such as post-mortem photography (Ruby, 1995).
• Taboo and Forbidden Knowledge: Morbid curiosity is often heightened by taboos, especially when death, violence, and suffering are considered uncomfortable topics. When discussing morbid subjects is restricted, this can increase curiosity as people become more drawn to what is controlled or limited. Freud described this phenomenon as the "return of the repressed". Repressed desires and fears resurface in distorted forms like morbid fascination (Freud, 1919). Dark Tourism is the desire to visit places associated with death and suffering. By visiting these sites, individuals seek to understand tragedy while challenging societal exclusion by confronting death and violence (Stone & Sharpley, 2008).
• Social Identity and Group Behaviour: Social identity theory suggests that individuals are influenced by the behaviours and attitudes of their groups. Morbid curiosity can be shaped by group norms, peer influence, and collective behaviours to normalise interest in death and violence. Goth and horror fan communities actively embrace morbid curiosity as a shared cultural trait, often exploring themes of death, decay, and darkness in literature, art, and fashion (Hodkinson, 2002).
• Trauma and Collective Memory: Trauma and collective memory shape morbid curiosity by influencing how societies remember tragic events. Communities that have experienced significant trauma may develop a collective fascination with these events as part of their process of remembering and understanding past horrors. This is especially evident in how countries memorialise violent events, like Holocaust memorials or war museums, which serve both to commemorate the dead and to satisfy a morbid curiosity about the atrocities of the past (Winter, 1995).
• In some religious contexts, morbid curiosity is tied to ideas of the afterlife, divine punishment, or moral judgment. Religious narratives that emphasise death, suffering, and damnation may heighten curiosity about these topics as individuals seek to understand mortality. In Christian traditions, stories of martyrdom, divine judgment, and the afterlife have historically fuelled morbid curiosity. Medieval Christians were often captivated by images of hell and depictions of saints, reinforcing religious principles while satisfying a fascination with death and suffering (McDannell & Lang, 2001).

Quiz

How Does Morbid Curiosity Influence Behaviour?

How Does Morbid Curiosity Effect Mental Health?

Positive Aspects

• Cognitive and Emotional Processing: Morbid curiosity may help individuals confront and process their fears, anxiety, and discomfort related to taboo subjects. Engaging with content that evokes fear or discomfort in a controlled environment may desensitise themselves to real-world anxieties, leading to better emotional regulation. Research suggests that consuming media with morbid themes can provide a form of "exposure therapy," allowing individuals to explore their fears from a safe distance (Solomon, 1980).
• Development of Empathy and Compassion: Morbid curiosity can stimulate empathy by encouraging the exploration of experiences of suffering and death from another perspective. True crime stories, documentaries, and horror films often provide a window into human suffering. When consumed, these narratives can foster a greater understanding of others' pain and challenges, increasing compassion and awareness of social issues (Vicary & Fraley, 2010).
• Enhanced Coping Mechanisms: Morbid curiosity can help individuals grapple with the existential anxiety of death. TMT suggests that people are motivated to manage the terror associated with mortality through cultural and psychological mechanisms (Greenberg et al., 1997). Engaging with morbid topics allows individuals to develop a familiarity with death, potentially reducing fear and enhancing resilience in the face of life's inevitable end. Studies have found that confronting mortality can lead to a more meaningful and reflective life (Oosterwijk, 2017).
• Personal Growth and Self-Understanding: Morbidly curious individuals may seek out uncomfortable or taboo topics to better understand themselves and the world around them. This process of self-exploration can lead to increased personal growth, particularly in facing vulnerabilities and gaining insight into complex emotions. A 2004 study found that curiosity, especially about difficult or complex emotions, can lead to personal growth and subjective well-being (Kashdan et al., 2004).
• Desensitisation and Avoidance: Engaging with morbid topics can counter the tendency to want to avoid them. Individuals may build resilience and reduce avoidance behaviours by voluntarily exposing themselves to content that elicits fear, disgust, or horror. This can be especially beneficial for those with anxiety or phobias, as avoidance tends to exacerbate fear over time. Research indicates that repeated exposure to negative stimuli in controlled settings can lessen the intensity of emotional reactions over time (Apter, 1992).

See also

• Morbid Curiosity (magazine) (Wikipedia)

• Motivation and emotion/Book/2018/Curiosity (Book chapter, 2018)

• Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Mass murder motivation (Book chapter, 2021)

References

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Brandes, S. (1998). Iconography in mexico’s day of the dead: Origins and meaning. Ethnohistory, 45(2), 181–218. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2tt3663j

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External links

• Journalist Hayley Campbell’s morbid curiosity saw her spend two years researching the death industry (ABC News)
• Morbid Curiosities (Laurence King Publishing)