The Seattle grunge band Nirvana contributed what may be the defining mantra of these postmodern times when they proclaimed, "Here we are now, entertain us!" As entertainment becomes a trillion dollar a year industry worldwide, as our modern era increasingly lives up to its label of the "entertainment age," and as economists begin to recognize that entertainment has become the driving force of the new world economy, it is safe to say that scholars are beginning to catch up with Nirvana and take entertainment seriously. The scholarly spin on entertainment has been manifested in traditional ways, as well as innovative ones. Without a doubt, the accumulating empirical evidence, theoretical formulations, and practical wisdom are contributing mightily to the emerging area of entertainment theory. "Psychology of Entertainment" promises to be the most comprehensive and up-to-date volume on entertainment. It serves to define the new area of study and provides a theoretical spin for future work in the area. Divided into three basic parts, this book: deals with those fundamental mechanisms and processes involved in orienting to and selecting entertainment fare, as well as receiving and processing it; explores the mechanisms and processes by which we are entertained by the media messages we select and receive; and provides an opportunity for the application of some well established, as well as some emerging psychological and psychobiological theories to be applied to the study of entertainment in ways that seldom have been utilized previously. "Psychology of Entertainment" will appeal to scholars, researchers, and graduate students in media studies and mass communication, psychology, marketing, and other areas contributing to the entertainment studies area.