Listening to extreme music such as heavy metal can boost positivity among those experiencing anger, a new study has claimed.
Research by Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ), which involved 39 regular listeners of extreme music, revealed that listeners became more inspired and calm.
Participants were monitored during a baseline period following a 16-minute ‘anger induction’. They then spent 10 minutes listening to songs of their choice, ten minutes of silence followed by another monitoring.
Leah Sharman, UQ’s School of Psychology honours student and study co-author, said: ‘We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions. When experiencing anger, extreme music fans liked to listen to music that could match their anger.
‘The music helped them explore the full gamut of emotion they felt, but also left them feeling more active and inspired. Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt.’
The study was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Research by Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ), which involved 39 regular listeners of extreme music, revealed that listeners became more inspired and calm.
Participants were monitored during a baseline period following a 16-minute ‘anger induction’. They then spent 10 minutes listening to songs of their choice, ten minutes of silence followed by another monitoring.
Leah Sharman, UQ’s School of Psychology honours student and study co-author, said: ‘We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions. When experiencing anger, extreme music fans liked to listen to music that could match their anger.
‘The music helped them explore the full gamut of emotion they felt, but also left them feeling more active and inspired. Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt.’
The study was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
