Some people actively seek out frightening experiences, from horror movies and haunted houses to terrifying video games and extreme rides. A study published in Psychological Reports on October 10, 2026, suggests that one reason people with stronger psychopathic personality traits may enjoy fear is that they feel less vulnerable to harm. This belief in personal invincibility may help explain why a frightening experience can feel exciting rather than distressing.
Researchers Angela Book, Beth Visser, Tori Wattam and Kirkland Johnston conducted two studies involving a total of 1,250 participants. They found that stronger psychopathic traits were associated with more positive emotional reactions to frightening footage. A sense of invincibility helped explain some of these relationships, while a tendency to become bored easily did not. The findings offer a possible explanation for differences in how people experience fear, but they do not mean that everyone who enjoys horror has psychopathic traits.
Key Takeaways
- A sense of invincibility may matter: People who believe they are less likely to be harmed may experience frightening situations as less distressing.
- Two studies, 1,250 participants: Researchers examined emotional responses to exciting and frightening video clips.
- Psychopathic traits were associated with fear enjoyment: Participants with higher scores tended to report more positive reactions to frightening footage.
- Boredom was not the explanation: Researchers found that boredom proneness did not significantly explain the relationship.
- The study has limits: Participants watched videos and reported their emotions; the research did not test their reactions to actual danger.
- Enjoying horror is not a diagnosis: Liking scary movies or roller coasters does not establish that someone has psychopathy.
What Did the New Study Discover?
The study, titled Psychopathy and Fear Enjoyment: The Role of Invincibility and Boredom Proneness, investigated why people with stronger psychopathic traits may respond positively to experiences that others find frightening.
Psychopathy is a research construct associated with traits that can include reduced empathy, interpersonal manipulation, impulsivity and sensation-seeking. It is important to distinguish measured personality traits from a clinical diagnosis: the researchers assessed participants using self-report questionnaires rather than recruiting a group diagnosed with psychopathy.
The research examined two possible explanations for fear enjoyment. The first was a sense of invincibility—the belief that one is unlikely to be harmed. The second was boredom proneness, or a tendency to become bored easily and seek more stimulating experiences.
The results suggested that perceived invincibility helped explain why participants with stronger psychopathic traits reported less negative emotional reactions to frightening material. In the second study, it also helped explain the relationship between those traits and positive reactions.
Boredom proneness, by contrast, did not significantly account for the relationship. This suggests that how people interpret a threatening experience may be more relevant than simply how much stimulation they want.
How the Researchers Conducted the Study
The research consisted of two studies with different groups of participants.
| Study | Participants | Main focus |
|---|---|---|
| Study 1 | 825 | Whether a sense of invincibility helps explain fear enjoyment |
| Study 2 | 425 | Whether boredom proneness helps explain fear enjoyment |
| Total | 1,250 | Examining possible explanations for the relationship |
In the first study, participants completed questionnaires measuring psychopathic traits and their belief that they could escape potentially dangerous situations unharmed. They then watched short videos, including an exciting roller coaster ride and frightening footage from the horror video game Outlast.
Participants reported their emotional reactions, including positive feelings such as excitement and negative feelings such as fear or distress.
The second study examined whether boredom proneness could provide another explanation for the association between psychopathic traits and fear enjoyment. The researchers again assessed participants’ personality traits and emotional responses.
The findings were published online in Psychological Reports. The original research is available through SAGE Journals, with the publication record also listed by PubMed.
Why Feeling Invincible Could Make Fear Enjoyable
Fear normally serves a protective purpose. When people perceive a threat, their bodies prepare to respond, and the experience can encourage them to avoid danger.
But the emotional meaning of a frightening situation depends partly on whether a person believes they are actually at risk.
Consider watching a horror film. The scene may trigger a racing heart, muscle tension and heightened attention. Yet viewers generally know they are sitting safely at home or in a cinema. That knowledge can allow them to experience the physical intensity of fear without believing they are in immediate danger.
A strong sense of invincibility could influence this interpretation further. Someone who expects to escape harm may experience a threatening scene as less distressing and more exciting.
The study supports this explanation as one possible factor, particularly for reducing negative reactions. It does not prove that feeling invincible directly causes someone to enjoy fear, because the researchers observed relationships between measured traits and reported emotions rather than experimentally changing participants’ beliefs.
The distinction matters: feeling safe while watching a fictional threat is different from accurately assessing risk in the real world.
Does Boredom Explain Why Some People Love Horror?
The researchers also investigated boredom proneness because people who become bored easily may seek intense experiences to feel stimulated.
This idea might seem plausible. Horror films, haunted houses and extreme rides offer suspense, novelty and strong emotional reactions. People who want more stimulation might be drawn to them.
However, the study did not find that boredom proneness significantly explained the relationship between psychopathic traits and enjoyment of fear.
That does not mean boredom has no influence on anyone’s entertainment preferences. It means that, in these studies, boredom did not account for the particular relationship the researchers were investigating.
Other factors—including sensation-seeking, past experiences, personality, social context and the type of frightening experience—may still influence whether a person enjoys horror.
Why Fear Can Feel Like Excitement
Fear and excitement can involve overlapping physical sensations. Both may produce a faster heartbeat, increased alertness and a feeling of heightened energy.
How a person interprets these sensations can influence the overall experience. In a controlled environment, physical arousal may be interpreted as thrilling rather than unpleasant.
This helps explain why someone might enjoy a roller coaster while another person finds the same ride overwhelming. Both may experience strong physical reactions, but their expectations, perceived safety and emotional interpretations can differ.
Researchers studying horror entertainment have also explored the idea that enjoyment may depend on finding a comfortable level of fear. Too little intensity can feel boring, while too much can become overwhelming.
The new study adds to this broader research by examining perceived invulnerability as one possible explanation for why people with certain personality traits report enjoying frightening experiences.
What the Findings Do—and Do Not—Mean
The research offers an explanation for a particular pattern of emotional responses, but several limitations are important.
First, the study relied on self-reported personality traits and emotions. People’s descriptions of their feelings may not fully capture their physiological responses or behavior.
Second, participants watched short video clips rather than facing real-life danger. A person who enjoys a fictional threat may respond very differently to an actual emergency.
Third, the study identified statistical relationships, not definitive causes. The results cannot establish that a belief in invincibility is the sole reason some people enjoy fear.
Finally, the findings should not be used to label horror fans or thrill-seekers as psychopaths. Enjoying scary entertainment is common, and the study examined differences in personality-trait scores rather than diagnosing participants.
Further research, including experiments using virtual reality and more direct measurements of emotional and physiological responses, could help establish how perceived safety shapes fear enjoyment.
The Bigger Picture
Fear is not simply an emotion that everyone wants to avoid. In the right circumstances, it can become a source of excitement, curiosity and even social connection. Horror movies and haunted attractions allow people to experience intense sensations while knowing they can usually leave the situation whenever they choose.
The new research suggests that perceived invulnerability may help explain why some people with stronger psychopathic traits find frightening experiences less distressing and more enjoyable. It also challenges the simplistic idea that such individuals necessarily experience no fear at all. Their responses may reflect differences in how fear is interpreted, not merely whether fear is felt.
FAQs
1. Why do some people enjoy being scared?
People may enjoy fear because it combines suspense, physical arousal, novelty and the knowledge that they are safe. Personality and how someone interprets the experience can influence whether fear feels exciting or unpleasant.
2. What did the 2026 study find?
The study found that stronger psychopathic traits were associated with more positive reactions to frightening footage. A sense of invincibility helped explain some of this relationship, while boredom proneness did not significantly explain it.
3. Does enjoying horror mean someone has psychopathic traits?
No. The study does not support that conclusion. Many people enjoy horror for reasons unrelated to psychopathic traits, and the researchers measured personality traits rather than diagnosing participants.
4. What does a sense of invincibility mean in this research?
It refers to the belief that one is unlikely to be harmed or is particularly capable of escaping danger. The researchers examined whether this belief helped explain why some participants reacted less negatively to frightening experiences.
5. What were the limitations of the study?
Participants reported their emotional reactions to videos rather than facing real danger. The results show associations and possible explanations, but they cannot prove causation or predict how every person will react to frightening situations.
Looking Ahead
Future studies may investigate whether the relationship between perceived invulnerability and fear enjoyment also appears in more immersive settings, such as virtual reality, and whether physiological measurements support participants’ self-reported emotions. Researchers will also need to examine how different types of fear, personality traits and perceived safety interact.
For now, the findings offer a useful insight into why fear can be pleasurable for some people. The key may not be an absence of fear, but a different balance between feeling threatened and believing that the threat can be managed.
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