SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— J. 405 



Mr. Denys W. Harding. — The desire for entertainment. 



A questionnaire responded to by some two hundred people, chiefly 

 workers attending adult educational classes, yielded information on (amongst 

 other matters) the psychological conditions in which the desire for enter- 

 tainment is most strongly felt. These fall into three strikingly different 

 classes : (a) tiredness after work, the emotional state not being especially 

 noticeable ; (b) unpleasant emotional states (boredom, depression, irrita- 

 tion, strain, etc.) ; and (c) states of elation, cheerfulness, energy, and 

 euphoria generally. The relations between these different conditions are 

 examined, and the kinds of entertainment that cater for them discussed. 

 Several considerations suggest that a feature common to the entertainment 

 demanded in all three states is that it should offer an immediate and direct 

 reward for the effort (whether great or small) that it requires. This is its 

 unfailing contrast with almost all modern work. The view that entertain- 

 ment is a form of ' escape ' appears to have only a very limited validity. 

 Another important aspect of the desire for entertainment is its connection 

 with the individual's social life ; the relationships between the two are 

 complex and various, and the material here presented throws some light 

 upon them. 



Mr. F. C. Thomas. — Basic mental mechanisms concerned in mass 

 entertainment. 



The field of mass entertainment to be discussed is limited to the types 

 of organised and commercialised amusements, typical of the modern fair- 

 ground, amusement park, or pleasure beach. 



(i) Mass entertainment as a means of giving expression to certain of the 

 ' innate propensities ' described by McDougall : 



(a) On the normal level. 



(b) On the slightly pathological level, the same propensities being 

 expressed in aberrated form, as regressions, fixations, compensa- 

 tions, displacements, etc. 



(ii) Theories of play and laughter. 



(iii) The roles of suggestion and imitation. 



(iv) The personal and social value of such types of entertainment. 



Rev. F. A. Farley. — The psychological types to whom mass enter- 

 tainment appeals. 



To what psychological types do the patrons of mass entertainment 

 belong ? We begin from the fact that they like a crowd, and that the 

 presence of the crowd is an essential part of their enjoyment. They are 

 gregarious ; but it is not enough to say that they are those in whom the 

 gregarious impulse is strong. That would be an explanation only if we 

 could assume a gregarious instinct in man, and that is called in question. 

 The real classification is not into those more or less gregarious but into 

 those of extrovert or introvert tendency. This covers other classifications 

 proposed, e.g. that into surgent and desurgent types. Mass entertainment 

 must look to those of extrovert tendency for its patrons, and it will also 

 encourage the extrovert tendency. 



The psychological characteristics associated with extroversion are ex- 

 amined and certain conclusions are drawn as to the social and personal 

 effects of mass entertainment. 



