Red rivers. Scientists have discovered why some people fear blood and others love bloody movies.

One of the intriguing things is that we humans react differently to blood – one may lose consciousness at the sight of even a tiny drop of blood, while others may enthusiastically watch horror movies where blood literally flows like a river. It’s IFL Science.

Scientists from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and New York University decided to shed light on this mysterious phenomenon and finally answer two main questions: why do we love bloody movies and why are we so afraid of seeing blood?

blood causes disgust

Researchers note that negative emotions at the sight of blood can be dictated by a banal concern for ourselves and others, because our blood, as a rule, should flow inside us, not outside.

Scientists also note that some people experience disgust and nausea – which is quite understandable. The disgust may stem from the fact that contact with blood can potentially lead to infection with blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis or HIV. In a 2018 study, scientists suggested that disgust in the face of injuries, blood, mutilation, or violations in the body’s shell is associated with “contagious potential.” However, at the same time, the authors suggested an alternative reason – people endure the observed trauma that causes internal negative emotions.

However, why do some faint at the sight of blood, for example? Researchers believe our blood pressure may be vascular. This is because irritants such as seeing blood can cause over-activation of the vagus nerve, leading to a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate, restricting blood flow to the brain, causing fainting.

blood phobia

Acting director of the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. According to Eric Bui, sometimes the fear of blood can become so strong that it turns into a phobia and interferes with a person’s life.

Sometimes this fear can turn into a specific phobia, also called hemophobia. Scientists note that this phobia is present in 3-4% of the world’s population as a whole. Previous studies show that the phobia develops on average 9.3 years in men and 7.5 years in women.

Fear of blood can be caused by a number of factors, such as an accident, traumatic events such as going to the doctor, or a strong childhood fear.

According to Bui, the main problem with hemophobia is that over time people become so afraid of seeing blood and tend to avoid doctors even if they need medical attention.

Why do people like bloody movies?

On the other hand, there are people who enjoy a lot of bloody movies. Some researchers believe this is due to “thrill-seeking”. However, psychologist Dr. According to Lee Chambers, this is because people rarely experience this in real life, and therefore with the help of movies, they can set the limits of their emotional response in a comfortable and safe environment.

In a 2014 study, researchers focused on why some of us find ugly things so appealing. During the study, scientists studied different types of disgust:

• socio-moral;
• “basic” reluctance to break the shell of the body;
• aversion to body products such as feces.

At the time, scientists assumed that disgust made us feel bad, but over time it evolved to grab our attention – as a result, it became one of the factors that could grab our attention.

In the study, the researchers selected 120 college students and asked them to indicate their emotional reactions to various videos and to identify a moment recognition task in which they had to determine whether a particular frame appeared in the video they watched.

The results of the study showed that any form of disgust causes a slowed heart rate, as well as strong attentional responses, improved memory for obnoxious content and information.

Researchers believe that, evolutionarily speaking, the tendency to focus on disgust better equips people to avoid harmful substances. This is why scientists believe that the emotions caused by seeing blood tend to focus on survival.

Previously Focus He wrote that scientists explain why they love horror movies.