The research on novelty and emotion has been conducted for decades, but it is still unclear how these concepts affect each other. Novelty refers to anything that is new or different from what you expect, while emotion describes an individual's response to an experience. People can feel pleasure, excitement, fear, joy, sadness, and more based on their experiences with things they perceive as novel or familiar. It seems logical to assume that new stimuli would always be more exciting than old ones since humans seek novelty in their everyday lives.
This assumption may not hold true when it comes to emotional "spark" which depends on several factors.
Factors Affecting Emotional Spark
When considering emotional spark, there are four main factors to consider: intensity, frequency, duration, and valence. Intensity refers to how strong the emotion feels; frequency determines how often someone experiences the same emotion; duration describes how long an emotion lasts; and valence describes whether the emotion is positive or negative. When people are exposed to novelty, all of these factors change due to various reasons.
A person might experience intense positive feelings if something surprises them because they did not anticipate it. On the other hand, they might also experience intense negative feelings if something unpleasant happens unexpectedly. Frequency and duration depend on the amount of time spent experiencing the same thing repeatedly; both tend to decrease over time until the individual becomes accustomed to the stimulus. Valence also changes depending on the context - sometimes what was initially pleasurable can become unpleasant after repeated exposure.
Novelty and Familiarity
Novelty is essential for arousal and attention but may not necessarily lead to greater emotional impact. In fact, some research suggests that novelty and familiarity can work together to create stronger reactions than either alone.
A study showed that participants who were presented with novel stimuli had stronger reactions than those presented with familiar ones. This finding suggests that combining new things with familiar ones creates an even more intense response than either separately. Another study found that novelty increased the likelihood of emotional engagement when paired with familiar elements. The combination of old and new elements led to longer-lasting memories compared to only one type of stimulation.
Emotional Spark vs. Novelty
While novelty affects emotional spark in many ways, there are several exceptions where familiarity leads to stronger responses. One example is nostalgia - remembering past events often triggers strong emotions in people because it involves recalling pleasant experiences from the past. Music plays another role here since certain songs or genres can evoke strong memories related to specific times or places. A third exception relates to ritualistic behavior like holidays, which can produce powerful feelings due to their repetition yearly. These examples show how familiarity can be just as potent as novelty regarding eliciting intense emotional responses.
How does the perception of emotional “spark†change when novelty becomes the dominant source of stimulation?
Emotional "spark" can refer to the feeling of excitement, energy, and enthusiasm that arises from encountering something new or unfamiliar. When novelty becomes the dominant source of stimulation, people are more likely to experience heightened levels of emotional spark as they become engaged with new experiences and discoveries.