A study has found that when it comes to watching a new movie, how we enjoy it depends on who we are viewing the film with. The research by a Kansas State University professor found that it is a fact especially if one is watching a movie’s steamy love scene with one’s parents, which can be unpleasant.
“The topic of sex seems to be the most difficult for parents and teens or young adults to talk about with each other,” Richard Harris, professor of psychology, said.
“Seeing a movie with a graphic sex scene forces both parties to confront this awkwardness and implicitly acknowledge each other as sexual beings, one of the hardest realizations for teens to admit about their parents or parents to admit about their children.
“It’s not easy, and apparently, not fun,” he stated.
Harris said such research is important because movies are a very common form of entertainment, particularly for teens and young adults, the largest movie-viewing demographic.
“We should know psychologically what the attraction of movies is, what the experience is like, and what the effects are,” he said.
Harris’ research is based on feedback from 400 participants and appears in an upcoming issue of the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
