ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies various points of intersection between morality and entertainment media use. Numerous perspectives explain why people choose different media entertainment content at different times: mood management theory; self-determination theory and intrinsic needs satisfaction; social identity theory; uses and gratifications, to name a few. Moral considerations can also influence media selection. Synthesizing these ideas with the principles of moral foundation theory, Tamborini recently introduced the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) to explain how sensitivity to certain moral foundations might predict attraction to and enjoyment of media content. The line of reasoning just described is at the heart of affective disposition theory (ADT). The ADT literature supports this logic across a variety of genres: drama, soap operas, sports, humor, news, fright inducing entertainment, action films, and reality-based programming. Ultimately, those experiences reify, challenge, or perhaps encourage you to think about those parameters, which necessarily guide our social interactions.
