Emotional Effects of Music

Question 1

What is an example of expressing emotion in music?

Answer 1

“This music sounds sad to me”

Question 2

What is an example of eliciting emotion through music?

Answer 2

“This music is making me cry”

Question 3

What is the emotivist perspective of music’s ability to induce emotion?

Answer 3

Music expresses and induces emotion

Question 4

What evidence do we have that there are physiological changes that accompany music listening that is indicative of an emotional response?

Answer 4

Krumhansl’s (1997) evidence showed that compared to the rest, there are significant effects on a physiological state of an individual. Sad song excerpts slowed the heart rate, slowed the heart rate, and temperature decreases

Question 5

What parts of the brain are associated with listening to pleasant music?

Answer 5

Ventral striatum and Insula

Question 6

What is an emotional response?

Answer 6

Relatively brief, through intense, affective reaction to potentially important events or changes in the external or internal environment

Question 7

What is the neural basis of emotional processing?

Answer 7

Dysfunctions and lesions occur in the limbic and paralimbic systems

Question 8

What are the potential mechanisms underlying music’s ability to elicit emotional reactions?

Answer 8

Brain stem reflexes (stimulating vs relaxing, consonance vs dissonance) and evaluative conditioning (unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response)