Editing Method acting (section)

== Psychological effects ==
Method acting has been studied for the possible effects it has on the actor's physical and emotional well-being. Oftentimes, method actors delve into previous emotional experiences, be they joyful or traumatic.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Reference-idHamden2010|Hamden, Raymond. “Clinical and Forensic Psychology."]]</ref> The psychological effects, like emotional fatigue, come when suppressed or unresolved raw emotions are dredged up to add to the character,<ref name="ReferenceB">[[#Reference-idGrandey|Grandey, Alicia A. “When ‘The Show Must Go On’: Surface Acting As Determinants of Emotional Exhaustion and Peer-Rated Service Delivery."]]</ref> not just from employing personal emotions in performance. On the other hand, it has been suggested that actors have stronger [[Emotional self-regulation|emotional regulation]]. This may be due to the actor's constant need to conjure up certain emotions and have control over them.<ref name="Goldstien-2009" />

Fatigue, or emotional fatigue, comes mainly when actors "create dissonance between their actions and their actual feelings".<ref name="ReferenceB"/> A mode of acting referred to as "surface acting" involves only changing one's actions without altering the deeper thought processes. Method acting, when employed correctly, is mainly deep acting, or changing thoughts as well as actions, proven to generally avoid excessive fatigue. Surface acting is statistically "positively associated with a negative mood and this explains some of the association of surface acting with increased emotional exhaustion".<ref>[[#Reference-idJudge|Judge, Timothy A. "Is Emotional Labor More Difficult for Some than for Others? A Multi-level, Experience-sampling Study."]]</ref> This negative mood that is created leads to fear, anxiety, feelings of shame and sleep deprivation.

Raw emotion (unresolved emotions conjured up for acting) may result in [[sleep deprivation]] and the cyclical nature of the ensuing side effects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=psychneuro |date=2019-05-04 |title=Acting Raw |url=https://psych-neuro.com/2019/05/04/acting-raw/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=On Psychology and Neuroscience |language=en}}</ref> Sleep deprivation alone can lead to impaired function, causing some individuals to have "acute episodes of [[psychosis]]". Sleep deprivation initiates chemical changes in the brain that can lead to behavior similar to psychotic individuals.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> These episodes can lead to more lasting psychological damage. In cases where raw emotion that has not been resolved, or traumas have been evoked before closure has been reached by the individual, the emotion can result in greater emotional instability and an increased sense of anxiety, fear or shame.<ref>[[#Reference-idKonin|Konin, Elly A. “Acting Emotions: Shaping Emotions on Stage."]]</ref>

However, method acting and acting as a whole can also pose a lot of benefits to the actor. Research has found that actors have a strong [[theory of mind]] (The capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them), and improve one's skills in [[empathy]] (The capacity to understand other people's emotional states). It has been argued that children trained in the method can better understand their own emotions and the emotions of others.<ref name="Goldstien-2009">{{Cite journal |last=Goldstien |first=Thalia |date=February 1, 2009 |title=Psychological Perspectives on Acting |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232524220 |journal=Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=6–9 |doi=10.1037/a0014644 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Actors have also been found to have increased memory skills. A study found that when non-actors were taught the memorization techniques actors used, their memory increased significantly.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Noice |first1=Helga |last2=Noice |first2=Tony |date=2006 |title=What Studies of Actors and Acting Can Tell Us about Memory and Cognitive Functioning |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20183065 |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=14–18 |doi=10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00398.x |jstor=20183065 |s2cid=31489438 |issn=0963-7214}}</ref>