ABSTRACT
Surprise, suspense, immediate emotional involvement, and pleasure are the most important ingredients of entertaining activities such as reading a novel, watching a movie, or playing a game (Bryant, Roskos-Ewoldsen, & Cantor, 2003; Zillmann & Vorderer, 2000). Activities are pleasurable if they satisfy the actor’s values and needs. The focus of this chapter is on a value and need that has been linked with entertainment in Aristotle’s drama theory (Poetica), disposition theory (Zillmann, 2000; Zillmann & Bryant, 1975), moral sanction theory (Raney & Bryant, 2002), and structural affect theory (Brewer & Lichtenstein, 1982): justice.
