Examining the relationship between series watching motivations and personalities of viewers of psychology-focused television series

After 2020, the rapid increase in television and digital platform series production has introduced various narratives to audiences, with psychology-focused series gaining particular popularity. Television viewership studies indicate that psychology-focused television series released during and after the pandemic period have reached a broad audience. These series portray the psychology and personality traits of main characters based on past life events, incorporating trauma themes to create extraordinary protagonists with psychological disorders. This study adopts a mixed-methods research design, where the qualitative phase involves analyzing Masumlar Apartmanı using thematic film analysis within psychoanalytic film criticism. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore viewers' experiences. In the quantitative phase, the viewing motivations of Masumlar Apartmanı audiences were examined in relation to demographic variables, and their relationship with personality traits was analyzed. In this context, an online survey consisting of three sections was conducted with 823 participants, and it was determined that 522 of them regularly follow television series. A portion of the research questions focused on 259 participants who watch Masumlar Apartmanı, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software. Quantitatively, psychological series viewers show higher viewing motivations than other TV audiences, and motivations differ across demographics. Significant relationships were also found between viewing motivations and personality traits. The findings indicate psychological series serve not only as entertainment but also help viewers understand trauma, develop empathy, and raise awareness of psychological. Moreover, these series were found to contribute to cognitive, social, emotional, and psychological processes, helping individuals make sense of themselves and surroundings.