Here’s another excuse to binge on Netflix tonight – apparently, watching TV makes you a better person. That’s the surprising results from a study published by Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts recently.
But as with all good things, there’s a catch – the type of TV you watch matters.
According to the research, watching high quality dramas – like Mad Men or The West Wing, for example – makes you more empathetic and will increase your emotional intelligence.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for your trashy reality TV addiction – so no more Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
The authors came up with the results after asking 100 people to watch either a TV drama, or a documentary. They were then asked to take a test to determine their emotional intelligence.
Participants were shown 36 pairs of eyes, and had to describe which emotion each pair was showing. The people who had watched the drama fared far better.
According to the researchers, “These results suggest that film narratives, as well as written narratives, may facilitate the understanding of others’ minds.”
In other words? TV actually IS good for us, and will make you a better human.
I wonder if The Bachelor counts…
What’s your favourite TV show at the moment?
TAP on the image below and scroll through the gallery to check out some photos of the most addictive TV shows of all time…
