TY - JOUR
T1 - Everyday crying over music
T2 - A survey
AU - Hanser, W.
AU - Mark, R.E.
AU - Vingerhoets, A.J.J.M.
N1 - Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Human emotional weeping, or crying, occurs in response to a wide array of antecedents. Although music is often mentioned specifically as a stimulus that may make individuals cry, few studies have systematically explored the characteristics of these crying episodes. The present study examines crying over music. Participants (N = 2778; 1716 women) completed a survey asking about the last time they cried while listening to music, their associated emotions and physical experiences, details of the song they were listening to, time of day, presence of others, and the overall experience of the crying episode itself. Crying over music appears to be relatively common and occurs mainly when the person is alone during the afternoon and evening. Participants cried over a wide variety of songs, and they attributed their crying to sad memories, nostalgia, the music itself, and the lyrics. They often experienced being moved, sadness, powerlessness, and nostalgia while crying over music. These findings are discussed in the context of music listening and how they compare with the findings of research on crying in general.
AB - Human emotional weeping, or crying, occurs in response to a wide array of antecedents. Although music is often mentioned specifically as a stimulus that may make individuals cry, few studies have systematically explored the characteristics of these crying episodes. The present study examines crying over music. Participants (N = 2778; 1716 women) completed a survey asking about the last time they cried while listening to music, their associated emotions and physical experiences, details of the song they were listening to, time of day, presence of others, and the overall experience of the crying episode itself. Crying over music appears to be relatively common and occurs mainly when the person is alone during the afternoon and evening. Participants cried over a wide variety of songs, and they attributed their crying to sad memories, nostalgia, the music itself, and the lyrics. They often experienced being moved, sadness, powerlessness, and nostalgia while crying over music. These findings are discussed in the context of music listening and how they compare with the findings of research on crying in general.
KW - Crying
KW - emotion
KW - emotional tears
KW - mood regulation
KW - music
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099375148&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1029864920981110
DO - 10.1177/1029864920981110
M3 - Article
JO - Musicae Scientiae
JF - Musicae Scientiae
SN - 1029-8649
ER -