the Amazing ability of people to enjoy the negative experiences have been known for millennia. Some people like to again and again to listen to sad music songs related to memories. New sad instrumental music sometimes evokes a paradoxical sense of pleasure. Scientists from Britain and Finland presented a joint study, a new way to explain this phenomenon. Results published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
Measuring the sadness: music, pictures, heart rhythm
participated In the experiment 102 people (among them 65 women) aged 20 to 67 years, which made a stranger listen to sample sad music. For this study, we used a fragment length of eight and a half minutes of instrumental pieces Discovery of the Camp from the TV series “Brothers in arms”, which already successfully evoked sadness among the subjects in previous studies. This composition was chosen to ensure that the results are not distorted influence connected with music memories and the impact of textual information.
a person’s Emotional state before and after listening to the sample was determined using a special questionnaire. Participants learned if the music is emotional response, and if so, how strong. Then they were given two sets of adjectives. In the first case it was necessary to determine whether the epithet corresponds to listen to a piece of music, and the second is how he describes the feelings of the subject.
This method has been complemented by indirect measurements. Participants were shown 25 pictures, which depicted people with undefined facial expressions, and asked to tick which emotions they see. The researchers suggested that people who feel sadness at the moment, more inclined to indicate that in the pictures sad face.
while listening to music was also performed physiological measurements: to determine the heart rate and electrical activity of the skin. Were also taken into account the personal characteristics of the subjects, such as music preferences, a tendency to focus and nostalgia.
these are the Three pillars of sorrow
the Results showed that emotional response is determined by the combination of three factors: sadness associated with relaxation, the sympathetic nervous sadness and sorrow. The sadness associated with relaxation, is characterized by a sense of peace and some attraction. The sadness caused by empathy, reflects the significant experience of empathy, and sadness involves the nervous jittery feelings, transferred the fears and negative mood.
the Tendency to experience sadness-compassion was strongly associated with empathy and sensibility, the usual, “take everything to heart,
but not with the concentration and susceptibility of nostalgia, as previously assumed. The other two types of sad feelings, it was difficult to predict, based on personality characteristics and individual differences.
Test images showed that people experiencing nervous sadness, was strongly predetermined in relation to the depicted emotions: they are much less likely to chose the definition associated with happiness. Obviously, their own experiences during this time were negative. People who have dominated the sadness associated with relaxation, showed no preference in choice. Those who have experienced sadness, sympathy, definitely felt sad, but this emotion is not negative, but rather pleasant.
Lovers sadness empathize better
Scientists have named the members of the group, prone to sadness, sympathy, Sadness enjoyers — literally “those who enjoy the sadness.” Other signs of this type of people — well-developed imagination and the ability to take the perspective of another person, but for the other two types one of the few determining factors were the quality of life.
an Important point in the interpretation of the results was the sex of the subject, as predict, what type of participant of the experiment, were women more reliable. Perhaps this is due to the fact
that men are less likely (or at least not so much) empathize with fictional situations.
in addition, men driven by gender stereotypes that they’re supposed to show strength of character, subconsciously answered questions is not quite fair. On the other hand, the same effect could occur in women: they also could describe their feelings accurately, exaggerating their emotions in accordance with the gender pattern of behavior.
of Course, in life people reflect much more external factors than considered in this study. Important emotional state at the time of listening to music and the choice of track-related memories and associations. However, the work explains why the dizzying popularity of sad melodies: a particular type of people they allow to feel empathy where they have a touch of fun.
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