Scientists say sharing sad emotions helps women bond . Pictured : Film The Fault In Our Stars . It has long been a mystery to men why so many women enjoy watching tear jerker movies with their friends . But now scientists have come up with a suggestion – sharing sad emotions helps women bond . A research team at Cardiff University found that by sharing their emotions women found the happy parts of films more joyful and the sad bits less sad . Job van der Schalk , a psychologist at Cardiff University , said : ‘ Our findings suggest that a negative emotional experience such as watching a ‘ weepy ’ is more positive when it is shared with a friend . ‘ And , at the same time , a positive emotional experience , such as watching a ‘ romcom ’ , should equally be more pleasant when shared. ’ The study involved 30 pairs of female friends aged between 20 and 33 who were shown emotionally powerful images and asked to rate them on a scale from ‘ very negative ’ to ‘ very positive ’ . The scientists put one of each pair in a brain scanner to monitor their reactions , and the volunteers were also asked to view and rate the images while on their own and also while together . The researchers found the images were seen more positively when the pairs were together , The Sunday Times reported . The study , published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience , said : ‘ When people go to the cinema to watch a film , they ... anticipate a positive subjective impact of sharing this emotional experience. ’ And Hollywood success seems to back the theory . The 2008 film Marley and Me , which surrounds a couple ’ s relationship with their dog , took £160m at the global box office , and last year ’ s film The Fault in Our Stars - about two teenage cancer patients who find love - took more than £200m . Aggie Romeril , 22 , a London beauty manager , said : ‘ I think we ’ re a “ stream it and weep ” age . You scroll through Netflix , find who ’ s got the biggest laptop and bundle into a housemate ’ s bed for a sob session. ’ Marley and Me , which surrounds a couple ’ s relationship with their dog , took £160m at the global box office . Pictured : Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in the 2008 film .
Cardiff University study found sharing sad emotions helps women bond . Research involved one pairs of female friends aged between 20 and 33 . Scientists used brain scanners to monitor their reactions to images . Results showerd images seen more positively when pairs were together .