Willow Madison's Blog: Random Sh!t - Posts Tagged "psychology"

This isn't a rant or even a pulpit-thumping speech. Promise. I truly wanna understand a phenomenon that I've noticed.

***Why would a person continue to read a series of books that s/he finds unpleasant?***

I get reading the first book in a series and deciding that it's no gouda, just not the kinda cheese that particular mouse enjoys consuming. Fair enough.

...But then, why the subsequent book reviews/ratings??? Why keep going with a series that is obviously unpalatable?

Is there a psychological or sociological explanation for this phenomenon? Does OCD alone explain it and is there a preponderance of OCD among series readers? Is it an offset of masochism? Narcissism? Low self-esteem/high self-esteem? A fatalistic outlook? An optimistic one? ....I'm just really thinking that there has to be something that explains the mechanism behind this type of behavior.

I know for myself, that I'll cut off a series that is no longer working for me at any time within the book sequence. No compunction about it, I'll forgo the next book without a look back. I have no driving need to continue to the bitter end with something that just isn't for me.

So I'm at a complete loss as to an explanation for this phenomenon...