In the study “Who Watches What?: Assessing The Impact Of Gender And Personality On Film Preferences”, researchers dove deeper into the relationship between movie genres and personality types using the “Big 5” personality traits backed by most psychologists: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
People who prefer comedies tend to be more open (more creative and adventurous), and less conscientious (less attention to detail and disorganized). According to sociologist Gerbert Kraaykamp, open personality types enjoy comedies because they’re often more original and unpredictable, and of course, humorous.
Horror fans are typically less agreeable (less kind and altruistic), less extroverted (more reserved), and more neurotic (more nervous and tense).
Those who are more agreeable tend not to like horror films, and prefer movies that display kindness (not brutality), in line with their personality traits.
More conscientious (thoughtful and hard working), less neurotic (less emotionally stable), and more open (creative and adventurous) people tend to favor action films.
Conscientious individuals typically prefer familiarity, which is compatible with the predictability of action films with the hero inevitably saving the day.
People who like romantic movies are usually more conscientious (thoughtful and hard working) and more neurotic (more emotionally unstable). Like action movies, rom coms have predictable plots and similar characters; hence compatibility with conscientious personality types.
Additionally, the ‘happy endings’ provide comfort to those who are neurotic and may be wanting to break free from the tension and anxiety they face in their real lives.
Those who like fantasy films are more open (creative and adventurous) and less extroverted (more reserved). Of course, open personalities gravitate towards fantasy because of the originality and creativity.
Researchers also explained that reserved personality types develop better imaginations than extroverts. Probably because we had to imagine our friends as kids; amiright?
