Mills (this issue) and Fultz and Nielsen (this issue) reported results indicating that people are attracted to emotionally distress situations. On the surface, these results seem contrary to hedonistic motives. However, both psychological and philosophical sources suggest that emotional suffering may serve some ultimate hedonic purpose. Why does it feel good to feel bad? I consider 10 speculative answers to that question.
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Mark Schaller (1993) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 4 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: