Why do messages that get our attention please us?
This simple question hides one of the oldest theoretical problems of communication, but also one of the most important in the contemporary maelstrom of cultural, political, media, and entertainment content. This study faces this challenge through a new lens by using an interdisciplinary approach. It displays in a thought-provoking way the cognitive and social tools that shed light on the rationales of discourse production and reception of multiple messages - whether trivial or refined - competing for public attention. This clearly organized research allows us to follow step by step the stages of a fascinating quest stretching over twenty years. It examines discursive contexts as varied as journalism, literature or scientific and medical communications.
Through a methodical progression and with a thoroughness infused with humour, we discover how similar psychological and normative factors - known for a long time but rarely connected until now - work with each other, and how they contribute as a whole to shape, for better or worse, the ultracommunicative society we live in.
Published in French.
