Why Do We Like Sad Music?
English —
Unit 27
00:00
03:07
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| 0s | Translator: A. Bentahar Reviewer: Julie Quynh Nguyen |
| 14s | If you are an human being, chances are, |
| 17s | one of your primary aims in life is to maximise your happiness. |
| 22s | I did a quick search of Google books before I came here, |
| 25s | I have found an astounding two and an half million books on the subject of happiness. |
| 31s | When we are so interested in happiness, |
| 34s | and we do everything that we can in daily life |
| 36s | to avoid things that make us feel sad, |
| 38s | why is it? |
| 40s | When it comes to music we actually seem to enjoy feeling sad. |
| 45s | I will give you an example. |
| 48s | (Music: piano introduction of "Someone Like You", Adele) |
| 50s | (Laughter) |
| 60s | So that of course is a song that flew to the top of the charts |
| 63s | within weeks of its release |
| 65s | and it is known and loved by millions of people |
| 68s | all around the world. |
| 69s | So why is it that songs like these are so popular? |
| 74s | Why is it that we seem to enjoy feeling sad |
| 77s | when we are listening to music? |
| 79s | Well, that was the question that I set out to find the answer to, |
| 82s | and along with my colleagues, |
| 84s | we've interviewed probably thousands of people |
| 87s | about why they are enjoying music like this. |
| 90s | We've also surveyed people |
| 93s | and try to find out in-depth reasons |
| 96s | about how people use music like this in their daily lives. |
| 100s | And we've also done experiments where we've actually played sad music to people |
| 104s | and then measure the effects on them. |
| 107s | And what we actually found is that there is no single reason, |
| 111s | there is no single answer to that question |
| 113s | of why people like sad music. |
| 116s | I'll give you some examples of the kind of thinks that we've found out. |
| 121s | Firstly, some people have a really strong capacity for absorption, |
| 125s | or the ability to get so immersed in what they're doing |
| 128s | that they completely lose track of time and the sense of where they are. |
| 133s | This kind of people seem to be able |
| 135s | to just really enjoy the emotional journey of the music, |
| 139s | and they don't experience any displeasure in the way that you would, |
| 142s | if it was sadness triggered by real life events. |
| 147s | Another group of people are able to use the time listening to sad music |
| 151s | to reflect on their own lives. |
| 154s | I mean if you think about it, |
| 155s | sadness is actually an adaptive emotion from an evolutionary perspective. |
| 160s | It motivates us to think about our lives |
| 163s | and think about things that might need changes |
| 165s | and motivates us to make those changes. |
| 168s | So people who have strong capacities to reflection, the very reflective people, |
| 174s | they seem to have the ability to actually use the time |
| 176s | when they are listening to sad music |
| 178s | to process emotions that they might be going through |
| 182s | and to think about how they can address the problems |
| 185s | that might be triggering sadness in them. |
| 187s | Some of the additional psychological benefits they might get are catharsis |
| 192s | or being able to just get rid of all those pent-up emotions |
| 196s | that are building up, |
| 197s | and sometimes people are able to get a really nice feeling from the music |
| 202s | that they are not alone in what they are experiencing, |
| 205s | a nice feeling that they are other people out there |
| 207s | who understand how they feel. |
| 210s | So these are the types of psychological benefits |
| 213s | that reflective people seem to be able to get from listening to sad music. |
| 218s | But I said that sadness is an adaptive emotion |
| 221s | and like all adaptive systems, things can go wrong. |
| 225s | Mood disorders like depression are an example of how systems break down. |
| 231s | By its really definition, |
| 233s | depression involves an impaired capacity to regulate one's own moods and emotions. |
| 239s | So for people with tendencies to depression, |
| 242s | often negative emotions are more easily triggered in them, |
| 245s | so it only takes a very small thing to make them feel bad, |
| 248s | in comparison to other people, |
| 250s | and then it is much more difficult for them |
| 252s | often to break out of those bad feelings, |
| 255s | that it might be for somebody else. |
| 258s | And this is all related to a tendency called rumination, |
| 262s | and rumination is that thing that happens sometimes where you get, |
| 266s | your mind gets stuck in these cycles of negative thinking. |
| 270s | It is largely involuntary, |
| 272s | and this is something that happens to people |
| 275s | who have a tendency to depression. |
| 277s | So what that often happens with these people is |
| 280s | they start out with the same rational intentions |
| 283s | as the reflective person. |
| 284s | They think: "if I listen to this piece of music, |
| 287s | it is going to help me get all those emotions of my chest or, |
| 291s | really think through my problems." |
| 293s | But instead of helping them to work through their emotions |
| 295s | and come out the other side, |
| 297s | it can actually just perpetuate those cycles of negative thinking. |
| 303s | This is what happens when we do experiments with people. |
| 307s | So, you can see the bottom line, |
| 309s | these are the people who have high scores in rumination, |
| 313s | and you can see that they start out the experiment |
| 316s | with much lower mood levels than other people. |
| 320s | So they are more depressed than other people |
| 322s | at the beginning of the experiment. |
| 323s | We then play them a piece of sad music, |
| 326s | and their depression levels really increase, their mood level drop, |
| 331s | and they are much more depressed. |
| 335s | For the people who are low ruminatists, |
| 338s | that happens also, they get a little bit sad. |
| 340s | But that is probably just a minor blip in their day |
| 343s | and they recover from it quite quickly. |
| 345s | But if you already at this clinical levels of major depression, |
| 349s | and then you mood goes even lower as a result of a piece of music, |
| 353s | that can really be quite a dangerous situation. |
| 357s | Of course, ethically, we can't do that to our participants, |
| 360s | and then leave them feeling like that. |
| 363s | So we always ask them to listen to a piece of a happy music, |
| 366s | at the end of the experiment. |
| 367s | And what we found to our surprise is that their mood levels go right up. |
| 372s | In fact, they are feeling much better after listening to a piece of music |
| 376s | than they were when they arrived to do the experiment. |
| 378s | So that tends to suggest that |
| 380s | even though we might really feel like pulling out a piece of sad music |
| 383s | when we are feeling a bit down, |
| 385s | for some people, it is not always the best option. |
| 389s | So, what does all this tell us about why we listen to sad music, |
| 393s | well basically there is no single answer we do it for a variety of reasons. |
| 397s | Some people just enjoy being very immersed in the music |
| 401s | and there is no negative consequences. |
| 403s | Other people are able to obtain some important psychological benefits |
| 407s | from listening to music, |
| 408s | that really are good for them. |
| 410s | For a minority of people, |
| 412s | it may actually make them feel more depressed. |
| 416s | So how can we use music effectively, |
| 419s | to improve your mood if we're feeling a bit down? |
| 422s | With a the good thing about music is, |
| 424s | it can help you to really feel your emotions, |
| 427s | to really sit with what is going on inside you, |
| 430s | and to think about, maybe some strategies you could develop |
| 435s | for coping better with what is going on, |
| 437s | or some changes that you may need to make in your life. |
| 441s | But ultimately if you find that process is going on for too long, |
| 445s | and that it is very difficult to break out of that process for you, |
| 448s | it might be a suggestion that it is a good idea |
| 451s | to obtain some professional help. |
| 455s | And if you are in that situation, |
| 457s | be a little bit careful about the kind of music that you listen to. |
| 460s | You don't have to break out the party music ; |
| 463s | a lot of our participants say: |
| 464s | "I couldn't possibly listen to Pharrell Williams |
| 466s | when I am feeling so down." |
| 468s | But you can listen to something that is a little bit inspiring, |
| 472s | something that connects you |
| 473s | to a time in your life when you felt good about yourself |
| 477s | or with some really happy memories, |
| 478s | or something with a message, |
| 480s | that will reinvigorate you to carry on. |
| 483s | Thank you. |
| 484s | (Applause) |