Examining the impact of brief exposure to happy and sad music on ostracism recovery

Ostracism—being ignored and excluded—is a common experience. Although people often seek to recover from this experience, the effectiveness of brief music listening and whether this activity offers benefit beyond distraction are unknown. Thus, this study investigated the effectiveness of short-term exposure to happy and sad music on ostracism recovery relative to other distracting noise. After being ostracized, participants (N = 561) were randomly assigned to one of four audio listening conditions. Subsequently, they rated their satisfaction with psychological needs (belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, control, and certainty). Music—particularly happy music—was effective in improving one’s needs relative to a control baseline (but not distraction) condition. We examined whether effects of music were mediated through greater parasocial experiences (feeling a psychological bond to the audio), reduced rumination (thinking less about their exclusion), and/or heightened emotional engagement (being moved by the audio). Happy and sad music were shown to be similarly effective as other distracting noise in reducing rumination. Compared to baseline, the positive effects of distraction and music conditions on needs were explained by reduced rumination. Although music and distraction conditions led to similar amounts of recovery, there were benefits uniquely associated with music. In line with our theorizing, both happy and sad music provided greater parasocial experiences compared to the baseline. Findings highlight the role of happy—and sad-sounding—music as a potential substitute for social connection, suggesting that music improves basic psychological needs through a mechanism that other noise may not.