DOCSLIB.ORG

Individual Differences in Music-Perceived Emotions 253

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Individual Differences in Music-Perceived Emotions 253 Individual Differences in Music-Perceived Emotions 253 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN MUSIC-PERCEIVED EMOTIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF EXTERNALLY ORIENTED THINKING LIILA TARUFFI depicted by the music) are not culturally determined, but Freie Universita¨t Berlin, Berlin, Germany universal across human cultures. This idea is supported by a number of studies that showed that even young RORY ALLEN,JOHN DOWNING,& PAMELA HEATON children are able to recognize basic emotions represented Goldsmiths, London, United Kingdom by music, including happiness and sadness (Cunning- ham & Sterling, 1988; Dalla Bella, Peretz, Rousseau, & PREVIOUS MUSIC AND EMOTION RESEARCH SUGGESTS Gosselin, 2001; Kastner & Crowder, 1990; Nawrot, 2003), that individual differences in empathy, alexithymia, per- anger (Cunningham & Sterling, 1988; Heaton, Allen, sonality traits, and musical expertise might play a role in Williams, Cummins, & Happe´, 2008; Kastner & Crowder, music-perceived emotions. In this study, we investigated 1990; Nawrot, 2003), and fear (Cunningham & Sterling, the relationship between these individual characteristics 1988; Heaton et al., 2008; Nawrot, 2003). However, ques- and the ability of participants to recognize five basic tions remain about the extent that this ability is influ- emotions (happiness, sadness, tenderness, fear, and enced by listener characteristics. If such individual anger) conveyed by validated excerpts of film music. differences exist across the typical population (meaning One hundred and twenty participants were recruited that we are not all the same at recognizing emotions in through an online platform and completed an emotion music), it follows that the ‘‘universal’’ tendency to per- recognition task as well as the IRI (Interpersonal Reac- ceive musical emotions can be modulated by individual tivity Index), TAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), BFI factors. (Big Five Inventory), and Gold-MSI (Goldsmiths Musi- Preliminary evidence for individual differences in cal Sophistication Index). While participants recognized music-perceived emotions comes from research on the emotions depicted by the music at levels that were facial and verbal expressions of basic emotions. better than chance, their performance accuracy was Although healthy individuals generally perform well negatively associated with the externally oriented think- in recognizing basic emotion expressed in faces and ing subscale from the TAS-20. Our results suggest that voices, it has also been shown that there are consider- alexithymia, previously linked to a deficit in perception able and stable individual differences in the accuracy of of facial and vocal expressions of emotion, is also asso- people’s judgments (e.g., Bowles et al., 2009; Ekman & ciated with difficulties in perception of emotions con- Oster, 1979; Matthews et al., 2015; Miura, 1993; veyed by music. Palermo, O’Connor, Davis, Irons, & McKone, 2013). With regard to facial expression, the perception of emo- Received: September 26, 2014, accepted April 9, 2016. tional faces and pictures can be altered by temporary moods in an affect-congruent fashion (Bouhuys, Bloem, Key words: music-perceived emotions, alexithymia, & Groothuis, 1995; Isen & Shalker, 1982). For example, empathy, personality traits, musical expertise Bouhuys and colleagues (1995) demonstrated that induced sad mood leads to an increased perception of T HAS LONG BEEN DEBATED WHETHER, AND TO sadness in ambiguous emotional expressions. Further- what extent, music expresses emotions that are more, there is some evidence for sex differences, with I effectively understood across cultures (e.g., Balkwill female children and adults being more sensitive to non- & Thompson, 1999; Thompson & Balkwill, 2010). A verbal emotion cues than male children and adults (e.g., landmark study by Fritz and colleagues (2009) showed Allgood & Heaton, 2015; Briton & Hall, 1995). With that people from a native African population called Mafa, regard to verbal expression, research suggests that youn- naive to Western music, were able to recognize the three ger participants are more sensitive to emotional voices ‘‘basic’’ emotions of happiness, sadness, and fear con- than older participants (Allen & Brosgole, 1993; Brosgole veyed by Western music. Their findings strongly suggest & Weisman, 1995; Kiss & Ennis, 2001; Orbelo, Grim, that music-perceived emotions (i.e., the emotions Talbott, & Ross, 2005; Paulmann, Pell, & Kotz, 2008). Music Perception, VOLUME 34, ISSUE 3, PP. 253–266, ISSN 0730-7829, ELECTRONIC ISSN 1533-8312. © 2017 BY THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLEASE DIRECT ALL REQUESTS FOR PERMISSION TO PHOTOCOPY OR REPRODUCE ARTICLE CONTENT THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS’S REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS WEB PAGE, HTTP://WWW.UCPRESS.EDU/JOURNALS.PHP?P¼REPRINTS. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/MP.2017.34.3.253 254 Liila Taruffi, Rory Allen, John Downing, & Pamela Heaton Further preliminary proof that individual differences listener, emotion recognition may lead to deeper under- can influence perception of musically expressed emo- standing as well as greater aesthetic appreciation of the tions arises from music research investigating felt emo- music (Goodman, 1968). Therefore, it is important tions (i.e., emotions evoked in response to the music). to understand how emotions are decoded through A few studies have shown that listener characteristics music, and to identify which factors influence this consistently influence the individual’s personal emo- decoding process. As a contribution to this field of tional experience and enjoyment of sad music. For research, we examined the relationship between the per- instance, trait empathy (Taruffi & Koelsch, 2014; Vuos- ception of musical emotions and individual differences koski & Eerola, 2012; Vuoskoski, Thompson, McIlwain, in empathy, alexithymia, personality traits, and musical & Eerola, 2012) and the personality trait of openness to expertise. Such characteristics were chosen over other experience (Vuoskoski et al., 2012) are associated with plausible candidates, like mood, because they are the enjoyment of sad music and the susceptibility to strongly implicated in the recognition of musical emo- music-evoked sadness. Similarly, the enjoyment of sad tions, as the following review illustrates. music is positively associated with individual differences Empathy is defined as an individual affective response in musical empathy and absorption (Garrido & Schu- to the observed, imagined, or inferred experiences of bert, 2011, 2013), and is negatively associated with emo- others, involving both perspective-taking capabilities tional stability (Taruffi & Koelsch, 2014). As perceived or tendencies, and emotional reactivity (Singer & and felt emotions are intrinsically connected (Gabriels- Lamm, 2009). Apart from the literature on negative son, 2002), it is likely that such individual factors may music-evoked emotions, to date only one study has impact both types of musical responses. Moreover, the directly examined the relationship between trait empa- so-called ‘‘paradox of sad music’’ perfectly illustrates the thy and music-perceived emotions (Wo¨llner, 2012). In existence of individual differences in the perception of this study, a string quartet performance was video sad music (Garrido & Schubert, 2011, 2013; Huron, recorded, and the members of the quartet were asked 2011; Taruffi & Koelsch, 2014). Many listeners describe to rate their expressive musical intentions during the sadness conveyed by music as pleasant (positive the performance. Independent observers were asked to emotions associated with sad music include nostalgia, evaluate the musicians’ expressive intentions, and peacefulness, wonder, tenderness, and transcendence; observers with higher affective and overall empathy Taruffi & Koelsch, 2014), while others perceive it as scores performed better than observers with lower negatively valenced. scores on these measures. In line with this finding, To sum up, although previous studies have provided Resnicow and colleagues (2004) found a significant pos- substantial evidence for the role of individual differ- itive correlation between emotional intelligence (a con- ences in music-evoked emotions, research has yet to struct involving empathy) and correct identification of identify the individual characteristics influencing the emotions in music, suggesting that the correct decoding perception of emotional expressions in music. Impor- of emotions in music is an important aspect of emo- tantly, emotion perception may draw on more general tional intelligence. mechanisms of emotional sensitivity, which are neces- Several studies have highlighted an association between sary for adequate social functioning. For instance, alex- empathic deficits and alexithymia (Guttman & Laporte, ithymia – a personality trait characterized by a reduced 2000; Jonason & Krause, 2013; Moriguchi et al., 2007; ability to translate internal emotional experiences into Silani et al., 2008). Conscious understanding of one’s precise, explicit verbal form, common in autism spec- own emotions is linked to the understanding of another trum disorder (Allen & Heaton, 2010; Nemiah, Freyber- individual’s feelings (Singer et al., 2004), and it is unsur- ger, & Sifneos, 1976) - is linked to deficits in perception prising that alexithymia correlates with empathic deficits. of facial and vocal expressions of emotions (Heaton Alexithymia is found not only in psychiatric and psycho- et al., 2012; Jessimer & Markham, 1997; Lane
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Analysis of the Relationship Between University Stu- Dents' Attitude to Listening to Music and Their Level of Optimism
    Vol.9(18), pp. 719-723, 23 September, 2014 DOI: 10.5897/ERR2014.1906 Article Number: 230C64347272 Educational Research and Reviews ISSN 1990-3839 Copyright © 2014 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/ERR Full Length Research Paper The analysis of the relationship between university stu- dents’ attitude to listening to music and their level of optimism Aksoy, Nil University of Aksaray, Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts Education, Aksaray, Turkey. Received 12 August, 2014; Accepted 27 August, 2014 The purpose of this study is to analyse the relationship between university students’ attitude to listen- ing to music and their level of optimism. The study group for the research consists of 508 students who studied at Aksaray University in the 2012-13 academic year. Simple random sampling is used. In this study, the “Attitude Scale for Listening to Music” and the “Optimism Scale”, which were developed by the researcher, are used for measurement. According to the findings of the research study, there is a significant correlation at the level of .430 between students’ attitudes to listening to music and their lev- el of optimism. The level of optimism has a positive impact on the attitude to listening to music at the level of .184. Key words: Attitude, Listening to music, Optimism INTRODUCTION Music has been defined in many ways up till date. birth existence of an individual, evolves into a “direct According to an approach connecting the fundamental relationship” following birth, and continues to be a part of similarities among these definitions, music is an aesthetic human life by gradually diversifying, enriching, growing whole which narrates emotions, thoughts, designs and stronger and developing.
    [Show full text]
  • Music Listening in the Grieving Process After Losing a Child
    View metadata, citationMusical and Lifesimilar Stories. papers Narratives at core.ac.uk on Health Musicking. brought to you by CORE Centre for Music and Health Publication Series, Vol:6. Oslo: NMH-publikasjonerprovided by NORA 2013:5 - Norwegian Open Research Archives “Then Certain Songs Came”: Music Listening in the Grieving Process after Losing a Child Torill Vist & Lars Ole Bonde Would you hold my hand If I saw you in heaven? Would you help me stand If I saw you in heaven? Eric Clapton In this article we investigate the affordances of music listening during a parent’s grieving process following the loss of a child, and what these affordances may tell us about music and grieving processes more generally. The discussion is based on a as a mediating tool for emotion knowledge. narrative by Janne that is taken from a longer interview related to music experience at different stages in the grieving process and emphasises its relational aspects—that Janne describes her reliance upon music is, how she experienced the music as a process of ‘reaching out’ (or in) in the context of her chaotic ‘bubble of grief’. The interview was guided by principles derived from the hermeneutic-phenomenological tradition, and the present analysis draws upon this tradition as well but also integrates narrative theory and contemporary music psychology research. We then present the results in relation to theories of emotion knowledge, grief and receptive music therapy. Introduction Imagine yourself as a researcher, beginning ‘just another interview’: A while after the usual entrance question; “If I ask you to tell me about a music experience that is connected to rather strong emotions, what pops up in your mind then?” the inter- viewee says… “…when I lost my own child…”.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of Emotional Dimensions in Music Using Time Series Techniques
    Analysis of Emotional Dimensions in Music Using Time Series Techniques Emery Schubert Few who have experienced the thrill of emotional interactions with music would deny that such experiences are important and enriching. These intoxicating episodes can be superior to any heightening or soothing drug because they occur without unpleasant side-effects. The fact that music can express such emotions—move people to tears of lament and to teeth-clenching ecstasy—is, for many, a wondrous mystery. How is it that by manipulating combinations of innocuous acoustic parameters composers and performers can produce such potent effects? The question has occupied scholars and practitioners for over twenty centuries. One of the many problems that face researchers is the lack of objective data available for comparing music and emotion. Further, experimental research in this area has tended to treat music as a stimulus that can be dealt with by a single point response. While experimental methodology requires an element of reductionism, in this article I argue that it is possible to obtain an additional dimension to the understanding of emotion in music by tracking emotional responses to music continuously. My work is based on the fundamental assumption that there are underlying rules that govern the relationship between music and emotion within a given culture.1 The strength of the experimental approach has been summarised by Pike, who indicated the benefit of collecting responses from several people instead of the introspections of the 1 My approach implies both a reductionist and behaviourist approach. While the approach of the reductionist is present, I rebuff the claim of a behaviourist approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Emotion and Music: Inherent Responses and the Importance Of
    1 Emotion and Music: Inherent Responses and the Importance of Empirical Cross-Cultural Research Cory McKay Faculty of Music McGill University 555 Sherbrooke Street W est Montreal, QC, Canada, H3A 1E3 ABSTRACT of leaned associations themselves. A number of theoretical arguments have been presented that Although it is generally accepted that encul- contend that any emotional meaning gleaned turation plays an important role in the associa- from music is due entirely to enculturation. tion of emotions with musical stimuli, there is still debate over whether inherent pre- Meyer (1956) argues that musical expressiv- programmed responses to psychophysical cues ity is linked primarily to the structural aspect of also play a role. This paper reviews and evalu- music. Expectation and deviation from expecta- ates existing theoretical arguments and empirical tion lead to the perception of emotion. Since results and proposes ideas for future research. An these expectations must be learned, the implica- emphasis is placed on the importance of cross- tion is that affective responses to music are also cultural empirical studies. learned. Sloboda and Lehmann (2001) present a more recent illustration of this perspective. Although these arguments likely do have It is well known that certain types of music some validity in relation to W estern music, they are able to evoke emotional responses in certain are of limited applicability in a broader context, listeners. The mechanisms that cause these re- as the music of most cultures tends to place sponses are not clearly understood, however. It is much less emphasis on strict structure and for- also uncertain whether these mechanisms can malisms than W estern music (Nettle et al., operate across cultural boundaries or if they are 1997).
    [Show full text]
  • Kreutz, G., Lotze, M. 2007 Neuroscience of Music and Emotion
    In: Neurosciences in Music Pedagogy ISBN: 978-1-60021-834-7 Editors: W. Gruhn and F. Rauscher, pp. 143-167 © 2007 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter VI NEUROSCIENCE OF MUSIC AND EMOTION Gunter Kreutz and Martin Lotze ABSTRACT The chapter discusses recent studies of neural representations of musical emotions. Despite an increasing number of empirical studies on the emotional effects of music, there is paucity of brain research that has identified the underlying neural networks. It is argued that the representation of musical emotions might be based on similar structures as compared to emotions in other domains. Consequently, it is hypothesized that musical emotions recruit networks of emotion processing that are known to be involved in both visual and auditory (speech) perception and that are responsible for psychological as well as physiological responses to emotional stimuli. Beside the provision of theoretic and empirical accounts, the review addresses methodological issues of current imaging techniques that may be particularly detrimental for the study of neural correlates of musical emotions. However, research findings so far support the assumption of largely overlapping networks required for the processing of both general and music-specific emotions. They also corroborate the notion of closely interconnected networks for cognitive and emotional processing even within the same neural structures. Specifically, emotional processing of music most likely involves limbic and paralimbic structures that include amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, temporal poles, ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, and the cingulate cortex. It is further assumed that the behavioral distinction between perceptual and experiential (or feeling) aspects of musical emotions might be established within these neural structures.
    [Show full text]
  • Music, Feelings, and the Human Brain
    Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain © 2014 American Psychological Association 2014, Vol. 24, No. 1, 92–102 0275-3987/14/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/pmu0000033 Music, Feelings, and the Human Brain Assal Habibi and Antonio Damasio University of Southern California Music of varied kinds consistently triggers a large range of drives and emotions, which, in turn, induce a particular class of mental experiences known as feelings. The feelings are often pleasurable, though not necessarily. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies, in normal individuals as well as in patients with focal neurological lesions, reveal that music can change the state of large-scale neural systems of the human brain. The changes are not confined to brain sectors related to auditory and motor processing; they also occur in regions related to the regulation of life processes (homeostasis), including those related to emotions and feelings, most prominently in the insula and cingulate cortices, in the ventral striatum, in the amygdala, and in certain upper brainstem nuclei. The ease with which music leads to feelings, the predictability with which it does so, the fact that human beings of many cultures actively seek and consume music, and the evidence that early humans engaged in music practices lead us to hypothesize that music has long had a consistent relation to the neural devices of human life regulation. It is conceivable that, as a result, music-induced feelings can be informative and nourishing at the individual level and can also operate as significant promoters of sociocultural organization. We venture that the close relationship between music and feelings along with music’s effectiveness in certain personal and social contexts, that is, its roles in homeostasis, explain, at least in part, the considerable degree of selection and replication of music-related phenomena, both biologically and culturally.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology of Music
    16 Comparative Music Cognition: Cross-Species and Cross-Cultural Studies Aniruddh D. Patelà and Steven M. Demorest† ÃDepartment of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts; †School of Music, University of Washington, Seattle I. Introduction Music, according to the old saw, is the universal language. Yet a few observations quickly show that this is untrue. Our familiar animal companions, such as dogs and cats, typically show little interest in our music, even though they have been domes- ticated for thousands of years and are often raised in households where music is frequently heard. More formally, a scientific study of nonhuman primates (tamarins and marmosets) showed that when given the choice of listening to human music or silence, the animals chose silence (McDermott & Hauser, 2007). Such observations clearly challenge the view that our sense of music simply reflects the auditory system’s basic response to certain frequency ratios and temporal patterns, combined with basic psychological mechanisms such as the ability to track the probabilities of different events in a sound sequence. Were this the case, we would expect many species to show an affinity for music, since basic pitch, timing, and auditory sequencing abilities are likely to be similar in humans and many other animals (Rauschecker & Scott, 2009). Hence although these types of processing are doubt- lessly relevant to our musicality, they are clearly not the whole story. Our sense of music reflects the operation of a rich and multifaceted cognitive system, with many processing capacities working in concert. Some of these capacities are likely to be uniquely human, whereas others are likely to be shared with nonhuman animals.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 7 the Neuroscience of Emotion in Music Jaak Panksepp and Colwyn Trevarthen
    07-Malloch-Chap07 9/9/08 10:41 AM Page 105 Chapter 7 The neuroscience of emotion in music Jaak Panksepp and Colwyn Trevarthen 7.1 Overture: why humans move, and communicate, in musical–emotional ways Music moves us. Its rhythms can make our bodies dance and its tones and melodies can stir emotions. It brings life to solitary thoughts and memories, can comfort and relieve loneliness, promote private or shared happiness, and engender feelings of deep sadness and loss. The sounds of music communicate emotions vividly in ways beyond the ability of words and most other forms of art. It can draw us together in affectionate intimacy, as in the first prosodic song-like conversations between mothers and infants. It can carry the volatile emotions of human attach- ments and disputes in folk songs and grand opera, and excite the passions of crowds on great social occasions. These facts challenge contemporary cognitive and neural sciences. The psychobiology of music invites neuroscientists who study the emotional brain to unravel the neural nature of affective experience, and to seek entirely new visions of how the mind generates learning and memory— to reveal the nature of ‘meaning’. The science of communicative musicality—the dynamic forms and functions of bodily and vocal gestures—helps us enquire how the motivating impulses of music can tell compelling stories. This also leads us to ask how human music relates to our animal emotional heritage and the dynamic instinctual movements that communicate emotions. Research on the emotional systems of animals is bringing us closer to explanations of the still mysterious aspects of human affective experiences, and hence the emotional power of music.
    [Show full text]
  • Why We Listen to Sad Music: Effects on Emotion and Cognition
    Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie der Freien Universität Berlin Why We Listen to Sad Music: Effects on Emotion and Cognition Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktorin der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) vorgelegt von Liila Taruffi (M.Sc./M.A.) Berlin, 2016 Erstgutachter: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stefan Koelsch (University of Bergen) Zweitgutachter: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Arthur M. Jacobs (Freie Universität Berlin) Disputation: 21. Dezember 2016 II In memory of Riccardo Taruffi 1922 - 2013 III Eidesstattliche Erklärung Hiermit erkläre ich an Eides statt, • dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig und ohne unerlaubte Hilfe verfasst habe, • dass ich mich nicht bereits anderwärts um einen Doktorgrad beworben habe und keinen Doktorgrad in dem Promotionsfach Psychologie besitze, • dass ich die zugrunde liegende Promotionsordnung vom 02.12.2008 kenne. Berlin, den 30.05.2016 Liila Taruffi IV Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................VIII English Summary ............................................................................................. IX Deutsche Zusammenfassung ........................................................................... XI List of Figures .................................................................................................. XIV List of Tables .................................................................................................... XV List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of Music Training on Emotion Perception in Childhood" (2013)
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2013 The ffecE t of Music Training on Emotion Perception in Childhood Emese Maroti University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation Maroti, Emese, "The Effect of Music Training on Emotion Perception in Childhood" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 920. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/920 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Effect of Music Training on Emotion Perception in Childhood The Effect of Music Training on Emotion Perception in Childhood A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Music By Emese Maroti Eotvos Lorand University Master of Music in Choir Conducting and Music Teaching, 2002 Eotvos Lorand University Master of Music in Solfeggio Teaching, 2003 Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Master of Music in Composition and Teaching, 2006 December 2013 University of Arkansas This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. _____________________________________ Dr. Elizabeth Margulis Thesis Director _____________________________________ ____________________________________ Denise R. Beike Dr. Martin Nedbal Committee Member Committee Member 1 Abstract Numerous studies found evidence that music training can enhance cognitive abilities both for children and adults. However, no evidence was found yet, whether music training can enhance abilities in emotion perception. I tested 8-9 year-old children on emotion perception in visual and musical contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Brain Correlates of Music-Evoked Emotions
    REVIEWS Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions Stefan Koelsch Abstract | Music is a universal feature of human societies, partly owing to its power to evoke strong emotions and influence moods. During the past decade, the investigation of the neural correlates of music-evoked emotions has been invaluable for the understanding of human emotion. Functional neuroimaging studies on music and emotion show that music can modulate activity in brain structures that are known to be crucially involved in emotion, such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. The potential of music to modulate activity in these structures has important implications for the use of music in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Music Music is a universal feature of human societies: in all hippocampal formation is involved in emotions related Structured sounds that are cultures that we know about, humans make (or made) to social attachments. The power of music to change the produced by humans as a music. Newborn infants show limbic responses to music1, neuronal activity within these brain structures has impli‑ means of social interaction, and 5‑month-old infants enjoy moving in synchrony cations for the development of music-based therapies expression, diversion or with music2. For adults, the prime motivations for for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric dis‑ evocation of emotion. engaging with music are experiencing, and regulating, orders associated with dysfunction
    [Show full text]
  • Compose Yourself: the Emotional Influence of Music One of the Most Important Motivations for Listening to Music Is Its Emotional Effect on Us
    1 Dr Hauke Egermann Director of York Music Psychology Group (YMPG) Music Science and Technology Research Cluster University of York [email protected] www.mstrcyork.org/ympg Compose yourself: The Emotional Influence of Music One of the most important motivations for listening to music is its emotional effect on us. Listeners often report that they listen to music to calm them down, to stimulate them, to bring them into a positive mood, or to experience emotions such as melancholy or nostalgia. Therefore, listening to music is a unique way to experience and engage with different contrasting emotions, helping us to understand and regulate our mood in conjunction with many different situations. This makes music an important part of our overall mental wellbeing. We at the York Music Psychology Group teamed-up with Bang & Olufsen to find out how music creates emotional responses in us. We conducted a study that shows, how listening to selected pieces of music elicit contrasting subjective and physiological responses that are emotionally-varied and at the same time enjoyed by listeners. When studying emotional responses to music, researchers often ask their participants to rate the intensity of several basic emotions that are thought to be culturally universal and often include happiness, fear, anger, sadness, and peacefulness (Zenter & Eerola, 2010). In addition to that, they also measure how these emotions are accompanied by physiological changes in heart rate or skin conductance, which are both indicators of the arousal of the autonomous nervous system. 2 But why would music be able to induce such responses? Well, first we might have learned to associate certain musical characteristics with certain emotions.
    [Show full text]