Emotional Arousal and Behavioral Engagement in Mukbang Videos: Evidence from Engagement Metrics and Comment Analysis

Ronghui Chen

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: College of Liberal Arts

Major: BA.PSYCHOLOGY

Faculty Research Mentor: Rosalie Palaroan

Abstract:

Mukbang videos vary in stimulation intensity, ranging from routine eating content to challenge-oriented extreme consumption formats. This study examines whether high-stimulation Mukbang content is associated with stronger audience engagement, and how this relationship may operate within engagement-driven platform environments.The study also focus on how content characteristics and audience responses interact within engagement-based visibility systems, highlighting a potential association between content intensity and interaction-driven visibility dynamics.
Using a quantitative matched-sample design, the study analyzes 50 videos from 10 English-speaking creators across two mukbang categories, with all sampled videos and viewer comments produced in English.Creators were matched on approximate subscriber range. Video-level engagement indicators, including like-to-view ratio and comment density, are calculated. Viewer comments are further coded to assess emotional intensity as an indicator of arousal expression.
Results show that challenge-oriented videos are associated with significantly higher engagement rates. Comment analysis further indicates a higher proportion of high-intensity emotional expressions under high-stimulation content. The findings suggest that higher-arousal mukbang formats are associated with elevated levels of observable audience engagement. Given that platform visibility is often tied to engagement metrics, higher interaction rates may contribute to reinforcing conditions for similar content production. Rather than inferring individual psychological motivation.

Key words：mukbang, emotional arousal, online engagement, youtube comment.