Listening to classical, pop, and metal music: An investigation of mood
CHRISTOPHER REA,
1
PAMELYN MACDONALD,
1
GWEN CARNES
2
1. Department of Psychology, Art Therapy, Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, Emporia State University,
Emporia, KS 66801 (cr[email protected]) ([email protected])
2. Department of School Leadership/Middle & Secondary Teacher Education, Emporia State University, Emporia,
KS, 66801 ([email protected])
We investigated the effects of different types of music on moods. Participants were (N = 54) undergraduate college
students enrolled in psychology courses. We hypothesized that type of music condition would influence participants’
moods. Results showed several statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test reported moods in each of
the three music conditions. Specifically, classical music increased participants’ feelings of ease while heavy metal
music increased feelings of tension and nervousness. Pop music had a similar effect to classical music as participants
reported increases in feelings of ease and decreases in moods related to worry and tension.
Keywords: Music, mood, heavy metal, classical, pop music, musical preference.
EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 46, no. 1, p. 1-3 (2010)
Previous research has found that music may be capable of
influencing the mood of listeners in a positive or negative
manner depending on the type of music (Krumhansl, 1997;
Scheel & Westefeld, 1999; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). In
addition, people often have different reasons for listening to
music when dealing with different emotions (Stratton &
Zalanowski, 1997; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003). People may
listen to a certain genre of music to seek a more positive
mood, the listener may seek understanding from music similar
to their mood, or they may listen to music they know will
enhance their misery. Those possibilities relate to the issue
of whether music elicits emotional responses in listeners
known as the “emotivist” position, or whether music just
expresses emotions that listeners recognize while listening
to the music known as the “cognitivist” position (Krumhansl,
1997; Schubert, 2007). In addition, fans of a particular genre
of music may be drawn to that type of music due to existing
emotions or problems (Scheel & Westefeld). Different genres
of music may not affect each person in the same way.
One rather unique quality of music as compared to other forms
of media such as video is the lack of visual images in music
(Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003). The volume at
which music is played is also an important factor to keep in
mind regarding potential affect on mood (Staum & Brotons,
2000). Investigating the relationship between music and mood
is an important topic of study as people are constantly
surrounded by music which they choose to listen to as well as
music they are exposed to involuntarily in their daily lives (i.e.
television, department stores).
We were inspired to conduct this study after reading a similar
investigation of the influence of classical and heavy metal
music on mood (Jordan-Mena, 2007). The results of Jordan-
Mena’s study found that positive moods increased and negative
moods decreased following exposure to classical music and
positive moods decreased, while negative moods increased
following exposure to heavy metal music. However,
participants were exposed to only four minutes of two types
of music, and mood was measured by an instrument created
by the researcher rather than a standardized measure. In the
present study, we exposed our participants to approximately
10 minutes of music and investigated three types of music. We
measured mood using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for
Adults (STAIS-AD Test form Y). That measure has been
standardized and has excellent test-retest reliability.
H
YPOTHESES
We hypothesized that participants who listened to classical
and pop music would report more positive moods, and those
who listened to heavy metal would report more negative
moods. Further, in order to account for musical taste possibly
influencing mood, we predicted that there would be
correlations between different categories on the Short Test of
Musical Preferences (STOMP) and mood reports on the post-
test. For example, participants who indicated a preference
for energetic and rhythmic musical styles on the STOMP
would report lower levels of negative moods on the post-test
in the heavy metal condition.
METHODS
Participants
Participants in this study were 54 undergraduate students
enrolled in psychology courses during the fall of 2008 at
Emporia State University. There were 16 men, 37 women,
and one participant unspecified. Participants included 28
freshman (51.9%), 16 sophomores (29.6%), seven juniors
(13.0%), one senior (1.9%), and two participants unspecified
(3.7%). The age range for participants was 18-30 years (M =
20.07, SD = 2.7). Participants received partial course credit for
their participation. We obtained participants by posting sign-
up sheets on the research bulletin board on the third floor of
Visser Hall.
Materials
The materials we used included a compact disc player with
three compact discs. Each disc was for an individual condition
of the experiment, with approximately 10 minutes of music
on each. Music song titles and artists for each condition were:
Pop
Peaches, The Presidents of the United States
Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and The Waves
Hey There Delilah, Plain White T’s
Heavy Metal
Entombment of a Machine, Job for a Cowboy
Devoured By Vermin, Cannibal Corpse
When All is Said and Done, Napalm Death
Classical
Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, 2nd Movement, Mozart
Instruments
The Short Test of Musical Preferences (STOMP) is a 14-item
measure. Participants are asked to rate how much they like
certain types of music (e.g., classical, pop, heavy metal and
jazz) on a Likert scale ranging from one to seven; 1 being
strongly dislike, 4 neither like nor dislike, and 7 strongly
like. Each of the 14 items is scored into four music preference
dimensions with the highest possible score being a 28 and the
lowest possible score on any dimension being a three. The
music preference dimensions are reflective and complex,
intense and rebellious, upbeat and conventional, and energetic
and rhythmic. Test-retest reliability for the measure ranged
from 0.77 - 0.82 (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003).
The Self-Evaluation Questionnaire STAI Form Y-1, also
known as the STAI-AD, is composed of 20 statements that
people use to describe themselves (i.e. “I feel calm”, “I am
relaxed”). For each statement, participants select: 1 not at all,
2 somewhat, 3 moderately so, and 4 very much so. Test-retest
reliability for the STAI-AD ranged from 0.73 to 0.86 (Spielberger,
Gorsuch & Lushene, 1983).
Design and Procedure
Institution Review Board approval was obtained before
conducting this experiment. The experimental condition
included one independent variable, music condition with three
Emporia State Research Studies 46(1), 2010 2
levels: classical, heavy metal, and pop. The dependent variable,
change in mood, was measured by the STAIS-AD. The third
variable, musical preference, was measured using the STOMP
and included to measure correlation between the subscales of
the STAIS-AD and STOMP.
We assigned participants to one of the three music conditions
based upon three sign-up sheets (one for each condition).
The first author read and provided participants with an
informed consent form. Participants then completed a brief
demographic form we developed thus leaving the STAI
instrument devoid of identifying information to protect
confidentiality. Students then completed the STOMP, and
finally the STAIS-AD. Students were then exposed to one of
three music conditions and afterwards completed the STAIS-
AD a second time. The first author then distributed and read
to them the debriefing statement, encouraged and answered
questions, and thanked them for their time.
RESULTS
A test of homogeneity for pre-test scores indicated no
significant differences between the groups on the STAI-AD.
A one-way ANOVA indicated a statistically significant
difference in post-test moods scores based on music condition,
F (2, 51)
= 18.79, p <0.001. Post-hoc Tukey tests indicated
that the students nested in the heavy metal music (M = 46.28)
condition had significantly higher scores (indicating higher
anxious moods) than those in both the classical (M = 31.52)
and pop music (M = 33.53) conditions.
As we were interested in individual moods, rather than simply
measuring overall anxiousness, we also employed independent
samples t-tests on the individual items of the STAI-AD. There
were several statistically significant effects of music on
individual moods, using a Bonferroni adjustment of p <0.0025
to reduce the risk of a Type I error. For the classical condition
(n = 19), participants reported increases in feelings of calmness
and relaxation and decreases in reports of worry. Participants
in the heavy metal condition (n = 17) reported increases in
jitteriness, and decreases in calmness, security, satisfaction,
comfortableness, relaxation, contentedness, steadiness, and
pleasantness. The pop condition (n = 17) elicited increased
reports of comfortableness and relaxation, and decreased
tension, worry, and confusion.
In order to test the hypothesis that musical taste is correlated
with mood, Pearson Product Correlations were conducted
between the subscales of the STOMP and reported moods on
the post-test by musical condition. For the classical condition,
results revealed a negative correlation between an upbeat and
conventional musical preference and reported feelings of
misfortune (r = -0.56, p = 0.01). Results for heavy metal condition
showed negative correlations between energetic and rhythmic
Rea, MacDonald and Carnes 3
musical preferences and reports of feeling strained (r = -0.57, p
= 0.01), and upbeat and conventional musical preferences and
reports of pleasant feelings (r = -0.53, p = 0.02). We found
positive correlations between intense and rebellious musical
preferences and feelings of satisfaction (r = 0.64, p = 0.005),
and between energetic and rhythmic musical preferences and
reports of relaxation (r = 0.51, p = 0.03).
DISCUSSION
Overall, our hypothesis that music would affect mood was
supported. We found there were statistically significant
differences in mood based on the effects of classical, heavy
metal, and pop music. These findings support the work of
other researchers (Krumhansl, 1997; Scheel & Westefeld,
1999; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003) who found relationships
between different types of music and mood.
Given that people are exposed to music on a daily basis, often
not of their choosing (e.g., background music in a medical
office or department store), the implications of the effects of
music on mood are important areas of study. Those who make
musical selections might take more care if the results of studies
investigating the relationship between mood and music are
well known. Familiarity with anecdotal reports of the
relationship between music and mood, if not empirical studies,
may be why a medical office often chooses classical music
for the waiting area, while a movie track uses different genres
of music to elicit feelings in the viewer.
It is difficult to generalize our findings across other
populations since our sample came from a distinct group of
college students, unequal in gender and limited by age range.
There is also a possibility of unknown gender bias toward
genres of music in this study which was not explored. Another
possible bias in this study is that the classical selection was
the only music condition that did not include lyrics. Music
with lyrics may be experienced differently than music without
lyrics.
Future studies of this topic could be expanded to include a
larger sample size, a wider range of ages and a more equal
distribution of men and women. Inclusion of more genres of
music, such as jazz, new age or country, and more emphasis on
personality, perhaps utilizing a full personality measure, would
add to the design of this study. Gender differences and
differences in the experience of music with and without lyrics
may also be worth exploring.
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