Why We Love Movie Villains: Psychologists Uncover a Surprising Reason.

Why Do People Secretly Love Villains in Movies

Voldemort from 'Harry Potter', Damon Salvatore from 'The Vampire Diaries', or even Hannibal Lecter from 'The Silence of the Lambs': all these negative characters from films share one thing in common — empathy and a hidden affection from people. Psychologists have offered explanations for this strange phenomenon.

This was reported by

Daily Mail.

The University of Michigan in the USA conducted a study to understand why people empathize with negative characters in movies and often feel attached to them. They surveyed children and adults. They rated the antisocial, and sometimes horrific, actions performed by evil characters.

The results were surprising. It turns out that most people are still attracted to the dark side of personalities. They believe that inside, the antihero is entirely different. People think there is a discrepancy between the villain's external behavior and their true worldview, and they try to romanticize the actions.

Human psychology is such that people constantly seek justifications for negativity and believe that even the most wicked characters possess inner goodness. Moreover, many believe that negative characters in films are often pushed into bad actions. Various circumstances or psychological traumas may have influenced them, for example.

Another reason for the hidden love for negative characters is the rescuer syndrome. Many people think they understand why these terrible actions occur. They genuinely believe that they could help the antihero become better.

We previously wrote about the best psychological thriller of modern times that will simply blow your mind.

We also discussed what psychological type the main characters of the legendary series 'Friends' had.