If Music Makes You Cry, You Have One of These Two Personality Traits, According to Science

Some songs hit like a storm, and tears just roll, right? Scientists now say that two personality styles sit behind those salty drops. If a melody unlocks the water-works, chances are the listener ranks high as either an Empathiser or a Systemiser.

This fresh insight, updated in 2026 with new brain-scan data, changes the way classrooms, clinics, and even streaming apps look at playlists. The stakes feel huge because people spend almost one fifth of waking life bathing in sound!

Music-evoked crying mapped to two thinking styles

The Cambridge team that tracked more than 4 000 volunteers keeps refining its model. Empathisers crave human stories and soft grooves; they melt for Norah Jones or Sampha, where low energy meets deep feeling. Systemisers chase patterns, intensity, even dissonance; think Scriabin or the snarl of modern metal. Both styles can spark tears, yet for utterly different reasons.

Empathisers: mellow chords, open hearts

When an Empathiser hears that minor-seventh piano line, mirror neurons go wild. Sadness in the lyric feels like a shared secret. Brain imaging at the Max Planck hub in Leipzig confirms bigger amygdala pulses and a longer dopamine tail. It’s not weakness, it’s a super-sensor for social colour.

Systemisers: complexity that cracks the dam

Picture a coder lost in Tool’s shifting time signatures. The logic, the surprise accents, the sheer math of the riff—then boom, emotion overflows. Researchers spotted a spike in the parietal lobe, the seat of pattern hunting, just before tears arrived. Systemisers report a feeling of “earned catharsis”, as if the maze finally opens a skylight.

What happens in the brain when the floodgates open

Across both tribes the nucleus accumbens lights up like Munich’s Christkindlmarkt at dusk. Tiny boosts of oxytocin join dopamine, weaving comfort with thrill. 2026 magnetoencephalography even caught micro-rhythms in the prefrontal cortex that mirror the song’s tempo, a neural dance that seems to tug at the tear ducts.

Chills, goosebumps, then tears

The sequence is fairly stable: skin tingles, breath pauses, eyes prick. Music therapist Carla Rossi notes patients describe it as “crying without sadness”. The body vents excess arousal, leaving a calm afterglow. That explains why people replay the same heart-breaker again and again; it’s emotional reset, not torture.

Why this matters for teachers, apps, and clinics

Schools can spot hidden musical talent by checking for high Openness plus those Empathiser tears. A shy pupil who sobs at a ballad might thrive in choir once given the chance. Streaming giants already test mood-based algorithms: recognising a Systemiser’s craving for complex jazz during study hours could raise engagement and, let’s be honest, ad revenue.

Therapists see real stakes. Trauma survivors often land in the Empathiser camp, using music to name feelings they can’t voice. Tailored playlists now join CBT in many German clinics, with early data showing shorter recovery arcs. Sound turns into medicine, but only when aligned with the listener’s mental wiring.

A tiny caution and a huge opportunity

Not every tear signals healing; for some, repeated exposure can deepen rumination. That’s why the new guidelines push for “balanced dosing” of sad tracks. On the flip side, recognising these two traits could cut through cultural divides. A punk fan and a soul fanatic might finally grasp they chase the same release, just by different sonic roads.

The road ahead sounds thrilling

Next up, researchers aim to fold wearable bio-sensors into concerts, catching live tear triggers in real time. Imagine a festival set that reshapes itself because half the crowd just welled up during the bridge! In a world craving connection, understanding why music makes some folks cry could be the sweetest recipe for unity.

Let the tears flow; they’re telling a richer story than words ever could.

Phyllis Howkins

At 38, I am a proud and passionate geek. My world revolves around comics, the latest cult series, and everything that makes pop culture tick. On this blog, I open the doors to my ‘lair’ to share my top picks, my reviews, and my life as a collector