Eudaimonic Media in Lived Experience: Retrospective Responses to Eudaimonic vs. Non-Eudaimonic Films

The present study examines the self-reported impact of viewing more versus less eudaimonic Hollywood films using a retrospective study design. We investigate the role of three novel constructs in understanding people’s lived experience of eudaimonic narratives. These include two outcomes: acceptance of the human condition, or the perception that a film helped the viewer accept that inevitable challenges in life contribute to a meaningful existence, and viewers’ self-report of the film’s impact on their ability to make sense of life’s difficulties. The third is a mediator: emotional range, or the breadth of emotions experienced during media exposure. Findings indicate that more eudaimonic films can increase viewers’ ability to make sense of difficulties, their acceptance of the human condition, and their motivation to pursue moral goals, relative to less eudaimonic films, thereby extending the Mediated Wisdom of Experience perspective. These effects are mediated by feelings of elevation, poignancy, and emotional range. Additionally, value congruence between participants and the film viewed increases perceptions that the film helped them make sense of difficulties, their acceptance of the human condition, and their motivation to pursue moral goals, irrespective of whether the film was a more or less eudaimonic one.