Correlations between personality traits and motivation for watching films

Abstract

The study presented in this paper aims to investigate the nature of correlations between personality traits of the viewer and his various psychological motives which derive satisfaction from certain kinds of film content. The sample comprised 511 students at the University of Novi Sad and three instruments were used: Uses of Film Inventory (UFI), Reinforcement Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ) and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V). The acquired results indicate the possibility of predicting the motivation for watching films based on personality traits. Negative Emotionalism, Impulsiveness and Reaction to Awards indicate a correlation with two components of motivation for watching films called Emotional Stimulation and Stimulation by Violent Contents. It is possible to predict Intellectual Stimulation during film viewing only in relation to Negative Emotionalism, while the predictive model was not proven to be significant regarding Social Stimulation in the context of film viewing.