Health 17:25 31/10/2014

Sadness lasts 240 times longer than other emotions, study claims

Getting over a break-up, mourning a loved one or generally feeling down in the dumps can feel overwhelming.

And now researchers have discovered this is because sadness lasts up to 240 times longer than other emotions, including feeling ashamed, surprised, irritated or even bored, the Daily Mail reports.

Sadness often goes hand-in-hand with events of greater impact such as death or accidents, explained the researchers.

And people therefore need more time to mull over and cope with what happened to fully comprehend it.

To test the length and effect of emotions, Philippe Verduyn and Saskia Lavrijsen from the University of Leuven in Belgium asked 233 students to recollect recent emotional episodes and report their duration.

The participants also had to answer questions about the strategies they used to cope with these emotions.

Out of a set of 27 emotions, sadness lasted the longest, whereas shame, surprise, fear, disgust, boredom, being touched, irritated or feeling relief were over much faster.

Typically, it took 120 hours to stop feeling sad, but just 30 minutes to get over feelings of disgust and shame.

Hatred lasted for 60 hours, followed by joy for 35 hours.

Boredom was also listed among the shorter emotions, and Professor Verduyn and Professor Lavrijsen claim this means that even though time seems to pass slowly when one is bored, an episode of boredom typically doesn't last that long.

Their research, published in Springer's journal Motivation and Emotion, is the first to provide evidence to explain why some emotions last longer than others.

The researchers additionally discovered that emotions that last a shorter time are typically elicited by events that have relatively low importance attached to them.

On the other hand, long-lasting emotions tend to be caused by events that have strong implications for a person's major concerns.

Professor Verduyn added some of these implications may only become apparent over time, which then causes the emotion to be maintained or strengthened.

The feeling therefore endures while a person rethinks the events and consequences over and over.

Duration was found to be a dimension that can differentiate between, otherwise very similar, emotions, too.

For instance, Verduyn and Lavrijsen found that guilt is an emotion that persists much longer than shame, while anxiety lingers longer than fear.

‘Rumination is the central determinant of why some emotions last longer than others. Emotions associated with high levels of rumination will last longest,’ said Professor Verduyn.

‘Emotions of shorter duration are typically - but, of course, not always – elicited by events of relatively low importance. On the other hand, long-lasting emotions tend to be about something highly important,’ Lavrijsen explains further. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:10
Opposition MP urges end to 'disgraceful' chapter of Pashinyan's rule
Opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan has reacted to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s threats against Armenia and “derogatory...
16:34
Armenia's Leo off to Madrid for Junior Eurovision
Participants from seventeen countries are travelling to Spain for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024.  Armenia’s...
16:02
Ex-Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan: Everyone knows that the primary reason for the defeat was the revolution
"Unless we acknowledge the defeat in the 44-day war as the heart of all our challenges - present and future; unless we realize the causes...
15:04
Warmer temps expected in Armenia next week
Clear weather is expected in Armenia over the weekend. Rain and snow are forecast for some parts of the country on Monday and...
14:36
At least 24 killed in bomb blast at Pakistan railway station
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including soldiers...
14:06
Catholicos Aram I, Armenian ambassador discuss Armenia-Diaspora relations
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia on Friday received Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Vahagn Atabekyan General...
13:30
World Youth Chess Championships drawing to a close
There is one round left until the end of the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships 2024 in Florianópolis, Brazil. Sona Krkyasharyan...
13:00
Nobel winner Daron Acemoglu says prize would be out of reach if he worked in Turkey
Daron Acemoglu, a Turkish-American economist with Armenian roots, said he wouldn’t have won the Nobel Prize in Economics if he had pursued...
12:30
Trump ally to take up a role aimed at strengthening US-Armenia ties
Joel Tenney, a member of the Evangelical Church and a supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, will be given a role in his administration...
12:00
Jordan drops film about Artsakh as its Oscar entry after pressure from Azerbaijan
Jordan has withdrawn Sareen Hairabedian’s documentary My Sweet Land as its official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th...
11:32
Earthquake hits Armenian-Georgian border
A magnitude 2.3 earthquake struck the Armenian-Georgian border area on Saturday morning. The quake was 14 km northeast of the village of...
11:15
Armenian church commemorates Archangels Michael, Gabriel
The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the Archangels Gabriel, Michael and the entire Heavenly Class on Saturday 9 November....
11:03
Dopey police take a month to discover cannabis farm four doors away from their own station
Dopey police officers eventually uncovered a large cannabis factory which was just four doors away from their own station, the Daily Mail...
17:15
Armenian authorities in no rush to leave EAEU, says senior Russian MP
The Armenian authorities will hardly rush to leave the Eurasian Union (EAEU), claims Russian MP Konstantin Zatulin, the deputy chairman of the...
16:45
It's been the hardest year of my life, Prince William says
The Prince of Wales has described the past year as the "hardest year" of his life. Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit...
16:36
Armenia inclined towards cooperation with Russia, former PM says
Armenia is inclined towards cooperation with Russia, former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said at the Valdai Club debates on Friday. When...
16:14
Dozens of French politicians call for boycott of COP29, demand release of Armenian hostages
Around three dozen French politicians have urged the French government to boycott the upcoming COP29 UN climate summit in Baku and demanded the...
15:34
Yerevan court allows cleric to visit Armen Ashotyan
A Yerevan court on Friday allowed Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan to visit opposition politician Armen Ashotyan who is currently under house...
15:12
Serzh Sargsyan trial judge to challenge his dismissal in ECHR
Judge Vahe Misakyan, who acquitted former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan earlier this year, plans to challenge his dismissal in the European...
14:36
Conference League: Chelsea defeats FC Noah 8-0
FC Noah suffered a crushing 0-8 defeat to Chelsea in the Conference League on Thursday.  "A tough loss in London....
14:14
Yerevan theater employees stage sit-in
Employees of Yerevan’s Goy Theater on Thursday resumed a sit-in outside the Gabriel Sundukyan State Academic Theater, demanding the...
13:33
Trump's second term will be different, expert says
Donald Trump's second presidency will look nothing like the first, political analyst Suren Sargsyan claims. “Times and realities...
12:46
Israeli football fans attacked in Amsterdam
Assailants attacked Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam on Thursday, with the Dutch prime minister vowing those responsible would be “tracked...
12:34
Armenia's Gyumri heading for snap elections
Snap municipal elections will be held in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri. In a statement on Friday, Knarik Harutyunyan, the...
12:05
Reducing sugar in first 1,000 days of life may protect against chronic diseases, study says
A study published on Friday in the journal Science found that reducing sugar in the first 1,000 days after conception – through...
11:30
Armenian sends 20 players to European Individual Chess Championship
The European Individual Chess Championship 2024 is being held in Petrovac, Montenegro from 7-20 November. The championship is an...
11:15
Iran to develop relations with neighbors regardless of US election results, leader says
Iran plans to expand partnership with neighboring and Islamic countries regardless of whom America elected as its new leader, TASS...
11:00
Pashinyan, Macron meet in Budapest
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Budapest on Thursday. The meeting was held on the...
17:03
Senator Jadot urges French government to boycott COP29 in Baku
French Senator Yannick Jadot has called on the French government to boycott the COP29 UN climate summit in Baku. “COP29...
16:32
Deputy FM: Armenia hopes for full normalization with Turkey
Armenia hopes for full normalization of relations with Turkey, including the opening of their shared border, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}