People caught in the throes of divorce reveal how they cope with it -- not by what they say but how they say it.

Even complete strangers were able to guess how people were handling their emotions using snippets of information.

The University of Arizona study is one of a number of studies that examine interpersonal distress, in this case when a marriage ends, reports the journal Psychological Science.

'We wanted to know how much information people actually need in order to know how another person is coping,' said Ashley Mason, a university doctoral student who conducted the research.

Men and women who had recently experienced a romantic separation were recruited for the study, the university said in a statement.

They completed questionnaires and also provided audio recordings of their thoughts and feelings about their former partner and former relationships.