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43 - Supernormal Stimuli in the Media

from Part X - Evolution and the Media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Deirdre Barrett
Edited by
Lance Workman ,
Will Reader  and
Jerome H. Barkow
Lance Workman
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Will Reader
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University
Jerome H. Barkow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
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Summary

This is a great example of what William James termed “making the natural seem strange” (James, 1890), which he suggested was the only way we could notice and reflect on human instinctual behavior. Entertainment media feel good; people do not question it. But why do we choose to sit in front of a plastic box? Evolutionary psychology has brought many insights from Darwin and ethological researchers to bear on such behavior. There is one concept that has been overlooked, however, which I believe has the very most to contribute to explaining why entertainment and news media enthrall: the supernormal stimulus. In this chapter, I will summarize the concept and then discuss how it can inform our thinking about modern human behavior in general, and especially how media operate.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 527 - 537
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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