Credit score: Alex P from Pexels
Inside each human tradition rests the potential for a distinctly optimistic emotional expertise that is variously characterised, in English, as feeling moved, emotionally touched, or heartwarming. Different languages depend on related contact metaphors to explain this sense, which has been labeled solely not too long ago by researchers as Kama Muta, a Sanskrit phrase for being “moved by love.”
Kama Muta is an emotional episode that produces physiological, cognitive and behavioral modifications—similar to a buoyant sense of heat, closeness, a lump within the throat or goosebumps—that contribute to fostering bonds and enriching experiences.
Students of Kama Muta argue that it emerges each time we take part in or witness a sudden enhance within the closeness of a relationship. This could embrace conditions as completely different as a burgeoning romance, a reunion after an prolonged interval of separation, or witnessing somebody sacrifice for one more individual.
Science is simply starting to know this profound and sudden surge within the connection power between individuals. Now, a analysis staff that features a College at Buffalo psychologist has additional expanded this understanding of Kama Muta by approaching the expertise as listening researchers.
Kama Muta could be elicited by way of high-quality listening, in keeping with Kenneth DeMarree, Ph.D., an affiliate professor of psychology within the UB Faculty of Arts and Sciences. By means of a sequence of research, the researchers discovered that high-quality listening—which includes consideration towards a speaker; looking for to know them and their expertise; and having optimistic intentions towards them—can improve Kama Muta.
“High quality listening is listening that tries to understand people and accepts them for who they are, without judging anyone’s experiences or perceptions,” says DeMarree.
He and his colleagues argue that when individuals share a private expertise with somebody who listens to them properly, it leads them to go deeper, subsequently sharing extra of themselves within the dialog.
“Listening offers an opportunity to create connections,” he says.
Throughout three research, the authors present proof supporting the correlation between high-quality listening in conversations and larger Kama Muta—for each audio system and listeners. The findings are printed within the journal Emotion.
“In terms of our daily lives, these results show how important good listening can be to shaping and developing all types of relationships, whether friendships, romantic partnerships or working relationships,” says DeMarree. “Listening can foster these positive, meaningful and important feelings that have implications for not only how we feel in that moment, but for our motivation to strengthen those relationships.”
5 particular dimensions affect Kama Muta, though it could solely be in additional intense situations of the emotion that an individual experiences all 5.
The primary is communal sharing, or the sense of closeness or togetherness. Secondly, Kama Muta is usually a optimistic feeling, like that related to pleasure, affection or delight. The third dimension constitutes a spread of physiological sensations the place individuals describe issues like a heat feeling within the chest, goosebumps, a lump within the throat or teary eyes. The fourth dimension is a dedication to have interaction in behaviors that additional strengthen the connection. And eventually, Kama Muta includes labeling the expertise as heartwarming or feeling moved or touched.
The three research, involving teams of 293, 513, and 318 contributors, all examined whether or not high-quality listening will increase audio system’ and listeners’ Kama Muta utilizing a scale for every of the 5 dimensions.
The primary was a state of affairs research that requested individuals to recall an act they regretted and to think about speaking with somebody about it with somebody who listened to them properly or not. The second research requested individuals to recall conversations from their precise lives and tried to get at each side of the dialog.
Particularly, contributors recalled an precise dialog through which both they or somebody they knew talked a couple of optimistic occasion the place the listener both listened properly or not. Research three used actual conversations between individuals the place one among them shared a significant expertise whereas the opposite listened to them: Every individual reported how properly they thought the listener was tuned into the dialog.
The patterns throughout the research have been principally the identical—higher-quality listening predicted larger stories of Kama Muta throughout all 5 dimensions. The ultimate research was an exception, as amongst audio system, perceiving larger high quality listening predicted three of the scale of Kama Muta, excluding the devotion and bodily sensations.
“High-quality listening allows us to go deeper in a conversation, which can lead to a greater degree of closeness,” says DeMarree. “Greater Kama Muta.”
The paper is printed within the journal Emotion.
Extra data:
Dvori Saluk et al, Harmonizing hearts: Excessive-quality listening and Kama Muta amongst listeners and audio system, Emotion (2025). DOI: 10.1037/emo0001555. psycnet.apa.org/report/2026-31812-001
Offered by
College at Buffalo
Quotation:
Listening properly can transfer you, actually, research finds (2025, July 21)
retrieved 21 July 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-07-literally.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Other than any truthful dealing for the aim of personal research or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is offered for data functions solely.
