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UK Wedding News

16/05/2013

Listening To Sad Music Can Help With Break-Ups

Listening to sad music or watching a 'tear jerker' movie can actually help you get over a break up, new research has found.

The study, which appears in the Journal of Consumer Research, contradicts the popular belief that upbeat music and comedy films are the way to cure a broken heart.

The study found that people experiencing relationship problems are more likely to actually prefer experiences that reflect their negative or downbeat mood.

It added that people experience serious emotional distress when intimate relationships are broken and look for a 'surrogate' to replace the lost bond.

According to the Daily Mail, in one study, volunteers were presented with various 'frustrating situations' and were subsequently asked to rate angry music compared to joyful or relaxing music. Participants liked angry music more when they were frustrated by experiences such as being interrupted, or someone always being late.

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In another study, the volunteers were asked to recall experiences involving loss, with the preference for sad music proving to be significantly higher when the individuals had experienced the end of a personal relationship than when they had an impersonal loss, like losing a competition.

Study co-author Stephen Palmer, from the University of California at Berkeley, said: "Emotional experiences of aesthetic products are important to our happiness and well-being.

"Like a sympathetic friend, music, movies, paintings, or novels that are compatible with our current mood and feelings are more appreciated when we experience broken or failing relationships."

The authors added: "Interpersonal relationships influence consumer preference for aesthetic experiences.

"Consumers seek and experience emotional companionship with music, films, novels, and the fine arts as a substitute for lost and troubled relationships."

(JP/CD)

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"Listening to sad music or watching a 'tear jerker' movie can actually help you get over a break up, new research has found."