Jumpscares in movies and videos are meant to startle and surprise us. Our brains release chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol in response to unexpected events, as a way to prepare us to react to potential threats. Even though we know there is no actual danger, our brains still react as if there is a threat.
Jumpscare is our natural reaction to danger that has been throughout our evolution. If a predator suddenly jumps against us, do we not have time to think about what the appropriate reaction would be, we simply react automatically to get away. It has always been better to react even it was nothing then not react, and it suddenly was dangerous.
This is because we often detect a sound before we see the predator, so the sound is mostly what triggers us, while when we first are looking at the danger, is it too late.
OddBee3 t1_j1y91v7 wrote
Jumpscares in movies and videos are meant to startle and surprise us. Our brains release chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol in response to unexpected events, as a way to prepare us to react to potential threats. Even though we know there is no actual danger, our brains still react as if there is a threat.