Association between personality traits and the enjoyment of pimple-popping videos

Watching pimple-popping videos has become very popular, particularly on social media. However, the psychological mechanisms behind this novel and puzzling phenomenon remain largely unexplored. Two studies were conducted on this topic. A first study explored the validity of the Pimple Popping Enjoyment Scale (PPES) in terms of predicting viewing behavior during exposure to pimple-popping videos. A second study investigated the association between the PPES and other personality scales.

In Study 1, 104 participants (mean age = 26 years, 64% female) completed the PPES and watched pimple-popping videos with the option to skip forward and backward during viewing. In Study 2, 501 participants (mean age = 25 years, 79% female) answered the PPES and additional personality scales (e.g., benign masochism (BM), morbid curiosity (MC)).

Higher scores on the PPES were linked to fewer instances of skipping forward while watching pimple-popping videos, indicating reduced visual avoidance. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that MC and BM were positively associated with PPES scores.

The present findings help to understand a social media trend: why people watch and enjoy pimple-popping videos. This behavior is likely motivated by an interest in danger and potential death (MC) and the enjoyment derived from discomfort in non-threatening, controlled situations (BM).