The trait-consistent, affect regulation hypothesis states that people regulate their affect so that it is consistent with their traits. Thus neurotics are drawn to experience negative affect while extroverts are drawn to experience positive affect. The purpose of this research was to test the trait-consistent, affect regulation hypothesis with respect to entertainment choices. If this hypothesis is true neurotics should prefer entertainments that create negative affect while extroverts should prefer entertainments that create positive affect. In Study 1 participants filled out trait measures of neuroticism, extroversion, tendency to experience negative affect, and tendency to experience positive affect and then were asked to choose their three favorite songs, movies, novels, and TV shows and rate them with respect to whether they were sad and happy and whether they made the participant feel positive and negative affect. The results supported the hypothesis. Generally, extroverts and people who tended to experience positive affect chose happy entertainments and entertainments that produced positive affect while neurotics and people who tended to experience negative affect chose sad entertainments and entertainments that produced negative affect. The results were especially strong for songs and weak for TV shows. Study 2 replicated Study 1 for favorite song and tested an alternative explanation for the results of Study 1, that neurotics, extroverts, negative affect, and positive affect participants chose the same entertainments but experienced them differently so as to maintain trait-affect consistency. The results of Study 1 were replicated; support was not found for the alternative explanation.
