Study Examines Why Sadness Lasts Longer Than Other Emotions

Human emotions are different for different individuals. Yet recent findings published in the journal Motivation and Emotion reveal that sadness is one of the most powerful and typically lasts the longest of others experienced.

For the study, researchers examined 233 high school students who were asked to recall emotional episodes and report their duration. Participants also had to state how they coped with the emotions.

Findings revealed that sadness typically lasts longer than 26 other emotions examined in the study, including the following and more: shame, surprise, fear, disgust, boredom, being touched, irritated or feeling relief.

Further evaluation also revealed that emotions that lasted a shorter amount of time generally triggered less important life events. However long-lasting emotions were more important and could cause long-lasting life implications.

"Rumination is the central determinant of why some emotions last longer than others. Emotions associated with high levels of rumination will last longest," said lead study author Philippe Verduyn, in a news release.

"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," concluded author Saskia Lavrijsen of the University of Leuven in Belgium.