Regulating sadness: Response-independent and response-dependent benefits of listening to music

Abstract

Listening to music is a common method of regulating unpleasant emotions such as sadness, but music listening has not been compared to prototypical interpersonal emotion-regulation strategies. We examined music’s response-independent benefits (i.e., benefits that do not require a response from another person) and response-dependent benefits (i.e., benefits that do require a response from another person) and compared those to other regulation strategies such as talking to a friend and asking someone for advice. College students ( N = 353) completed an online survey in which they rated their likelihood of using eight different strategies to regulate sadness and the benefits of using each strategy. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed listening to music was the most likely strategy used when sad. Moreover, listening to music provided the most response-independent benefits of any strategy we examined, including talking to a friend and asking someone for advice. Talking to a friend provided more interpersonal support than listening to music did, but listening to music did not provide any less of a shared experience than talking to a friend or asking someone for advice. These findings suggest that listening to music shares much in common with interpersonal emotion-regulation strategies such as talking with other people when sad.

The Humanbecoming Concept Inventing Model: Feeling Sad

“…In this regard, a recent study by Kahn et al (2021) examined the benefits of listening to music in regulating sadness. The most telling finding of their research was that people who feel sad enjoy listening to music that affirms their current emotional experience (Kahn et al, 2021). Furthermore, sad people enjoy listening to music about "lost love or a particularly sad movement from a symphony" (Kahn et al, 2021(Kahn et al, , p. 1355.…”

“…The most telling finding of their research was that people who feel sad enjoy listening to music that affirms their current emotional experience (Kahn et al, 2021). Furthermore, sad people enjoy listening to music about "lost love or a particularly sad movement from a symphony" (Kahn et al, 2021(Kahn et al, , p. 1355. Parse (1997b) defined the joy-sorrow rhythm as a "pattern of health lived as the ups and downs, the highs and lows in life [that] arise simultaneously in interconnections with others, ideas, objects, and situations" (p. 82).…”

“…To present this standpoint, Knowles and Langley argued that feeling sad is a common and enjoyable emotion in different art forms, such as films and music. In this regard, a recent study by Kahn et al (2021) examined the benefits of listening to music in regulating sadness. The most telling finding of their research was that people who feel sad enjoy listening to music that affirms their current emotional experience (Kahn et al, 2021).…”

Musical retail therapy: toward a conceptual framework on the impact of musical elements on consumer mood, attention, and decision-making

“…Self-regulation involves managing one’s emotions, thoughts and actions in ways that are beneficial and productive (Vohs and Baumeister, 2004). Music aids in regulating moods, emotions (Kahn et al ., 2022), cognition and behavior (Jordan et al ., 2022), and is thus essential for internal adjustments and self-regulation. For instance, calm music can help regulate mood during moments of anxiety (Huang et al ., 2023).…”

“…Moreover, self-regulation can help consumers reach positive mood states (Rook and Gardner, 1993; Verplanken and Sato, 2011). Music, through its emotive properties, can influence impulses, change and regulate the self and bring about internal adjustments (Casas-Mas et al ., 2019; Kahn et al ., 2022; Stewart et al ., 2019).…”