The Future Of MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY

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In the same way that some musicians are inclined to create music or other art with a specific intended effect, many people have also been studying the art and science of music as an attempt to understand how it can affect our emotions. In particular, there has been considerable interest in investigating the connections between mood, emotion, and listening to certain types of music and natural freckles clothing reviews.

This guide will discuss what differentiates this type of study from music psychology as a whole, including research methodology and results from studies on adults and children. It will then continue on by discussing how these findings may be used for practical purposes in order to help people develop their own sort of “mood music,” a soundtrack that can enhance your mood whenever you need it most.

Music psychology is the scientific study of how music affects our emotions. This is not to be confused with musical training, which is the application of musical knowledge in performance. Music psychology involves the same procedures as many other scientific disciplines, including gathering evidence and conducting research. However, in opposition to other fields of psychology, much of the work in music psychology is conducted with a distinct emphasis on music and other art forms like literature and poetry.

Since it has been a relatively new discipline that has only existed for about 50 years, there are still many questions relating to what differentiates it from other fields, like cognitive science or musicology itself. One of the key components that separates music psychology from the other fields is the fact that it places a strong emphasis on using methods that are primarily empirical and quantitative.

In contrast, there has been a rise in popularity of qualitative methods within other psychology fields that rely more on description and narrative, such as art therapy or psychoanalytic music analysis. This could be due to a shift towards digital technology over traditional pen and paper, as well as a lack of knowledge or preference for quantitative methods among those who study music. However, many researchers have argued for some time that the main focus in both worlds is not so much on methodology as it is on generating specific hypotheses or questions relating to how music affects our moods and emotions.

While it is easy to discuss the different approaches that research in music psychology can take, it is also important to acknowledge that there are a number of specific major topics discussed in this particular field. One topic is related to how music affects our emotions and moods, especially with regards to how certain pieces of music may trigger certain moods or emotions. Another topic is how individuals differ in reactions to similar types of music, even if it elicits similar emotional responses from everyone listening. In a sense, these two main topics represent the main focus points for studying musical psychology as an entire discipline.

Music has been shown to be able to influence our moods and cognitive abilities on numerous occasions. One of the first among these studies was conducted by researcher Ray Gibbons in 1966. Gibbons had a session with a group of 5 children and asked each child to draw pictures that were related to a particular piece of music.  The children were present in his laboratory for just an hour and half per day, following which they would draw their pictures. After several weeks, the researchers analyzed the drawings of each child and found that each had drawn similar images when listening to the music they were used to (e.g., the children usually drew images related to colors or shapes). In other words, music can affect our moods even if it is only played for short periods of time or has not be previously experienced by an individual before. While this study was the first of its kind, many other studies were conducted to go along with it and attempt to uncover more about the ways that music can affect our moods. One of these studies focused on how children were influenced by music in different countries. The researchers took two groups of children from Brazil and England, both of which were 10 years old, and played them either a tribal music or classical music piece for one hour in a quiet room. After playing the music, both groups were asked to fill out questionnaires about their emotions.  The results showed that the Brazilian children reported significantly more negative emotions (e.g. sadness) while listening to the tribal music than they did while listening to classical music.  Meanwhile, the children from England experienced no such differences in how their moods were influenced by the different types of music.

Another study showed that music can influence our cognitive abilities, showing how individuals may pay more attention to a specific piece of music than another. Essentially, the researchers took two groups of adults and played them either a Mozart piece or Beethoven piece for 10 minutes before asking them to complete a speech task.  For those who listened to Mozart, they were able to perform better on that task compared to when they listened to Beethoven (and vice versa).

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