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Originalia

Love Lamentation in Pop Songs: Music for Unhappy Lovers?

Published Online:September 01, 2006https://doi.org/10.1026/1617-6383.16.3.116

Abstract

Abstract. The investigation builds on and extends demonstrations in the U.S. that romantically disenchanted men and women are attracted to love-lamenting music. The current focus is on preferences of young German adults (n = 52). Ascertainment of respondents’ romantic situation was followed by a period in which they could listen to top-chart love songs, with lyrics expressing either celebration of happy love or lamentation of unrequited/lost love. Songs were presented via computer in a private listening situation. For a restricted period, respondents freely sampled from available songs. Exposure to sad love music was unobtrusively recorded. Amorously frustrated men exposed themselves longer to love-lamenting music than did more content men. Romantically disenchanted women similarly favored such music more than more hopeful women did. However, women in happy relationships exhibited an unexpectedly strong preference for music denouncing love. Thus, regarding men, findings fully replicate earlier observations; regarding women, the replication was only partial.


Liebeskummer in Pop-Songs: Musik für unglücklich Verliebte?

Zusammenfassung. Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchung sind Befunde aus den USA, die zeigten, dass Männer und Frauen, die in romantischer Hinsicht unzufrieden sind, traurige Love-Songs präferieren. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht diesen Zusammenhang für junge deutsche Erwachsene (n = 52). Nachdem persönliche Zufriedenheit im Bereich Liebe/Romantik ermittelt wurde, konnten die Untersuchungsteilnehmer aus Top-Charts-Liebesliedern auswählen, deren Texte entweder glückliche und erfüllte Liebe oder aber unerwiderte oder verflossene Liebe behandelten. Die Pop-Songs wurden per Computer zur individuellen Auswahl und Rezeption dargeboten, die Zuwendungszeit war begrenzt. Die Nutzung trauriger Love-Songs wurde non-reaktiv aufgezeichnet. Männer, die in romantischer Hinsicht unglücklich waren, hörten länger traurige Liebeslieder als ihre zufriedeneren Geschlechtsgenossen. Frauen mit Liebeskummer hörten zwar ebenfalls länger Musik über unerfüllte Liebe als ihre hoffnungsvolleren Geschlechtsgenossinnen, jedoch zeigten auch Frauen in glücklichen Beziehungen eine unerwartet hohe Präferenz für diese Musik. Somit konnten frühere Befunde für männliche Probanden vollständig repliziert werden, für weibliche Probanden dagegen nur teilweise.

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