examining musical preferences in psychotherapy...
TRANSCRIPT
MUSIC AND ITS INTERPLAY WITH EMOTIONS, PERSONALITY, AND SOCIAL
IDENTITY.
IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT.
A doctoral project submitted to the faculty of the
California School of Professional Psychology
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Psychology
at Alliant International University, Los Angeles, California
By
Carlos Alberto Protzel
September 10, 2007
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ALLIANT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSTIY, Los Angeles
The doctoral project of Carlos Protzel, directed and approved by the candidate’s Committee, has been accepted by the Faculty of Alliant International University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
__________________ Date
Doctoral Project Committee:
________________________________________________________________________
Walter B. Brown, Ph.D., Project Supervisor
________________________________________________________________________Nicholas Noviello, Ph.D., Academic Consultant
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DEDICATION
I would like to thank my family for everything they have done for me. I dedicate this doctoral project to all of you, as none of this would be possible without all of things you have done for me.
Dad, I appreciate your smarts, commitment, and support. I know you have always cared and believed in me, and that has gone a long way. You always told me I could be whatever I wanted and I just needed to do what I was best at. You were right I am a “people person”, and I think I found a “people person” career that fits just right. I know you haven’t always been a close drive away, but you’ve always been with me in my thoughts.
Mom, I appreciate everything, I don’t know where to start. Through the good times and tough times you were there for me. You always made me feel loved, and that has helped me to love myself. I know I put you through some stressful times, so the least I can do is get my life together and make you proud. Thanks for stoking my interests in music and psychology
To my younger brother Alex, thanks for being you and supporting me. This project is definitely for you as well. In the early days when I was far from a role model, you were the big brother and you showed me how to be right. Your intelligence and academic abilities, inspired me to challenge myself and figure out what being a good student was all about. Your integrity and strength let me know that we can do this. This project is only one step towards showing you the way and being the big brother I have always wanted to be.
To grandpa Wally and grandma Junsie, thanks for everything. Grandpa thanks for showing me what “SISU” was all about. Your commitment, work ethic, selfless social working, and competence gave me something to aspire to. Grandma thanks for the love and the good talks, you helped me figure things out. I told you I wouldn’t end up a “shiftless skunk”.
To my family in Peru, you’re a world away, but you’ve always been in my heart. You all are missed. This project is for the many Protzel’s and Jamsen’s who’ve also battled their way through college.
To my Finnish family members spread across the Midwest, connecting with you in Copper Harbor makes it all worth it. Your own commitment to academics and career helps to motivate me to just go for it.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ..........................................................................................................................iiiAcknowledgements ...........................................................................................................viiVita ..................................................................................................................................viiiAbstract ………………………………………………………………………………......ix
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1
History of Psychological Assessment.........................................................1 Psychological Assessment and Social Variables........................................2 Historical Overview of Music and the Healing Arts..................................3 Music and the Healing Arts........................................................................4
Recent Centuries...........................................................................4 Twentieth Century to the Present..................................................4
Music and Assessment................................................................................6 Historical Connections.................................................................6
Purpose of the Study................................................................................................7Emotions as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment....................8
Personality as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment.................9 Social Identity as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment..........11 Assessment of Emotions, Personality, and Social Identity........................11Goals and Objectives.............................................................................................12
CHAPTER II METHODS ..............................................................................................14
CHAPTER III COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..............................17
Music and its Connection to Emotions..................................................................17Assessment of Client Emotional States.................................................................19 Music and its Effect on Emotional Arousal.....................................20 Music and its Biological Correlates to Emotional Arousal.........................21 Music and its Specific Effects on Physiology..............................................22 Cognitive Mediation, Physiological Arousal, and the “Chills”...................23Music and Emotional Activation...........................................................................25 Emotional Activation during Consonance and Dissonance.........................25 Music’s Emotional Activation and the Impact of Gender Roles.................27 Preference for Musical Genres and Music Dynamics..................................27Emotional Symbolism within Music.....................................................................28Music and its Role in “Mood Management”.........................................................29 Music and its Anxiolytic Effects..................................................................30 Music and the Work Setting........................................................................32Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions.................................................33 Meyer’s (1956) and Lehman’s (1997) Theories on Music and Emotions...34 Mandler’s (1984) Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions..........35
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Berlyne’s (1971) Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions...........36Integration of Music within Clinical Practice........................................................37Musical Preferences: An analysis of Early Influences..........................................38 The Early Mother-Child Relationship and Music........................................39 Evolutionary Theory, Music, and Emotion..................................................41Quotations to Help Understand Music and Emotions............................................43
Music and its Connection to Personality...............................................................45 Operationalizing the Concept of Personality...............................................45 Psychology’s History Integrating Music and Personality............................46“Sensation Seeking” and its Connection to Music................................................47“Novelty-Seeking” and “Harm Avoidance”, Connections to Music.....................48Gender Roles, Musical Preferences, and Sensation Seeking.................................50“Psychoticism” and its Connection to Music.........................................................51“Extraversion” and “Introversion”, their Connection to Music.............................53“Openness” and its Connection to Music..............................................................54Social Psychology’s Contributions to Understanding Personality and Music.......55
Music and its Connection to Social Identity..........................................................60 The Pervasive Influence of Music in Modern Society.................................60An Overview of Social Identity Theory.................................................................61Social Identity and Erikson’s (1993) Theoretical Contributions...........................63Predictive Value of Social Identity Theory and Music..........................................64 Adolescent Communication, the Role of Social Identity and Music...........65Identity Development and Musical Preferences....................................................66Positive Inter-Group Attitude Development, SIT, and Music...............................67Closing Thoughts on Social Identity Theory and Music.......................................68
The Clinical Utility of Music as an Assessment Variable.....................................69Musically Guided Psychological Assessment, a Chapter Primer..........................69 Musically Based Psychological Assessment, Verbal Inquiry Methods.......69 Musically Based Psychological Assessment, Questionnaire Guided Inquiry Methods........................................................................................................70Essentials of Standardized Psychological Tests....................................................74 Standardized Music Based Psychological Assessments..............................75The Field of Music Therapy and their Music Based Approaches to Assessment. 84Psychological Assessment, Music, and Self-Report Limitations..........................87Archival Research and the Integration of Music in Assessment...........................88Digital Audio Player History, and the Emergence of the iPod..............................90 Overview of Apple iPod Specifications.......................................................93 IPod and iTunes, Potential Integration in Music Based Psychological Assessment...................................................................................................94
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CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION........................................................................................96
Summary.................................................................................................96 Limitations............................................................................................105 Future Directions for Research.............................................................108
CHAPTER V FIELD CONSULTANT PROJECT FEEDBACK...............................114
CHAPTER VI PERSONAL PROCESS.......................................................................125
REFERENCES................................................................................................................139
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank Dr. Brown for helping guide this project from start to finish. The feedback on chapter content was quite helpful and the suggestions for revisions helped to push my writings forward. Also, allowing me to ramble on and discuss the multitude of ways in which music and psychology can be synthesized, helped me to expand my ideas and generate plans for the future
I want to thank Dr. Sagogian for her assistance in editing this project. Your extensive knowledge of APA style, technical writing, eye for detail, and enthusiasm, is appreciated. Your help leaves me with a much more refined and satisfying final product.
I want to thank all of the field consultants and my academic consultant, who took
time out of their busy schedules to provide me with strong feedback and support. I am indebted to you for the time spent listening, the motivating comments, and the offering of new perspectives on a topic we were both excited about.
I want to thank all the musicians, DJ’s, bands, singers, club owners, concert
promoters, conductors, who have been instrumental in shaping my musical preferences, influenced my use of music, and provided me with life changing musical experiences.
Last but certainly not least, I must thank and acknowledge my girlfriend Susie for her part in this project’s completion. I know my immersion in this project has been a test of patience and will for both of us. Thank you for listening to my ideas, helping me to reformulate plans, editing my drafts, for dealing with my long hours in the library or in front of the computer, helping me to pursue my dreams, and for just being there to support me through the ups and downs.
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CURRICULUM VITAE
CARLOS A. PROTZEL
August 26, 1971 Born Lansing, Michigan
1995 B.A. Bachelor of Arts, PsychologyCalifornia State University, Long Beach
1995-1997 Counselor, Teacher, InterventionistCharis Youth CenterHayward, California
1997-1998 Social Worker, Case ManagerKeweenaw Youth AcademyMohawk, Michigan
1998-1999 Social Work Intern, TherapistFamily Consultation and Treatment CenterClawson, Michigan
1999 M.S.W. Master of Social WorkUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2000-2005 Clinical Social Worker, TherapistState of Michigan, Maxey Training SchoolSocial work certified and licensed. 2003-present (LMSW)NASW national accreditation. 2003-present (ACSW) Whitmore Lake, Michigan
2006 Psych. TechnicianPassages Substance Abuse Treatment FacilityMalibu, California
2006-2007 Practicum Intern, TherapistKaiser Permanente Hospital, Department of Psychiatry
Lomita, California
2007 M.A. Master of Arts, PsychologyAlliant International University,California School of Professional PsychologyLos Angeles, California
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ABSTRACT
MUSIC AND ITS INTERPLAY WITH EMOTIONS, PERSONALITY, AND SOCIAL
IDENTITY. IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT.
By
Carlos A. Protzel, LMSW, MA
The California School of Professional Psychology PsyD program atAlliant International University, Los Angeles
2007
Project Supervisor: Walter B. Brown, Ph.D.
The purpose of the current project was to offer a comprehensive examination of music and its interplay with emotions, personality, and social identity. The relevance of these connections were examined as they relate to psychological assessment. A historical overview was presented (from the dawn of mankind to current times), detailing the influence of the many musically focused assessment and therapy processes which have been developed.
A comprehensive literature review was conducted to obtain an in-depth analysis of the project topics. A total of 150 sources of information were utilized in the body of the literature review. The sources were primarily peer reviewed scientific journal articles. In addition a qualitative analysis was conducted. Subjective evaluations on the projects topics (from three licensed psychologists) were presented. This information was gathered to ascertain the clinical utility of this projects topics in the therapy and assessment settings. Participants’ responses were gathered through the completion of a questionnaire developed by the researcher to address project topics.
The information gleaned by this project is presented specifically for licensed psychotherapists. This is in efforts to increase their ability to assess clients, through integration of research and theory regarding client musical preference, experience, and use. A full range of complementary musically oriented psychological assessment approaches have been examined, including verbal inquiry, questionnaires, standardized tests, and archival research through use of a client’s iPod.
The results of the current study showed that there is a significant connection between music and emotions, personality, and social identity. There is empirical support that these connections are evident in the musical preferences, experiences, and use of an individual. There are evolving theories, methods, and tools currently available to help assess an individual’s emotions, personality, and social identity based upon certain musical factors.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
History of Psychological Assessment
Of essential importance to any therapeutic relationship, is the initial foray into
assessment. Across all therapeutic disciplines, a productive assessment of an individual
seeking help is the essential first step in developing an understanding of the issues to be
addressed. For psychotherapists in general, there is a great degree of variance in the way
they initially evaluate their clients, but with rare exception, some form of assessment is
always administered to assess the client and to begin developing a case/treatment plan
formulation. In the earliest days of psychology, pioneers such as Freud, Adler, and Jung
utilized unstructured interviewing techniques on new patients to gather information on
personal history, symptomatology, and personality traits (Groth-Marnat, 2000) In the
early 20th century, standardized psychological tests began to be developed and along with
the clinical interview, more structured methods were devised to evaluate a patient seeking
psychotherapeutic services. From the 1930’s into the 1950’s, psychological testing was
almost exclusively a psychologist’s profession, and client assessment continued to be a
mixture of standardized tests and clinical interview techniques (Anastasi & Urbina,
1997). During this period, a surge in the development and use of projective tests was seen
in assessment. Projective tests began to see a decline in their use around the 1960’s, as
research regarding their validity and reliability cast a shadow of doubt on their utility in
client assessment. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, behavioral therapy began to gain in
popularity and more formalized and structured ways to evaluate clients were developed.
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This movement helped develop behavioral checklists, behavioral analysis, physiologic
testing machines, and self report tools which expanded the ways in which one could
evaluate a client (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002). Currently, the methods which a therapist
may employ to assess a client may include one or a mixture of the many assessment tools
which have been developed over the past century. What may look quite different from
past decades of assessment though, is the integration of computers in the administration,
scoring, and interpretation process. This is a trend that will continue, as many tests and
assessment procedures are converting to computer based, and some new tests are only
offered in a computerized format (Groth-Marnat, 2000). The particular assessment route
a therapist may take will typically be affected by their theoretical orientation, training,
educational degree (social worker, psychologist, etc.), client demographic (age, culture,
etc.), presenting problem, and other variables which present as the therapist and client
come together (Groth-Marnat, 2000). Obviously there are many variables at play when a
therapist and client meet for the first time, so proper preparation and focus on the
therapist’s part is essential to make the assessment procedure productive.
Psychological Assessment and Social Variables
In addition to determining the general methods for assessment, the assessing
clinician needs to figure out which areas they are going to pursue for assessment.
Typically, an assessing clinician will opt for a symptom oriented assessment and/or
insight oriented assessment (Othmer & Othmer, 1994). One route which seems to be
overlooked or little used, is to assess the client among relevant social variables. This is
puzzling, as many of the day to day activities which a person involves themselves in can
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tell you much about the internal world of the person. It appears that a salient yet often
overlooked area of assessment, is an examination of a client’s social activities. One
particular social activity that is a common element of social interaction, is listening to
music (through stereo in car, home stereo, playing instruments in a band, etc.). Across
time and culture, people listening to music privately and getting together to listen to
music has been quite common.
At the core of this social interaction lies a person’s musical preference. A client’s
musical preferences are generated through a complex synthesis of culture, personality,
social experience, age, and ego functioning (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Since this is an
activity which is personal and social at the same time, unraveling this activity gives the
assessing clinician an opportunity to gather information which sheds light on personal
and social variables of their client.
Historical Overview of Music and the Healing Arts
Going back to the beginning days of modern civilization, there remains some
evidence that music was utilized (by individuals skilled in the healing arts of their time)
in assessing and treating ill patients. In preliterate civilizations, music was utilized to
remedy the effects of “spirits” invading the body (Gaston, 1968). Going as far back as
1500 B.C. there is some evidence that Egyptians utilized music to help heal common
ailments amongst their people (Nelson & Weathers, 1998). During the Greek era (400
B.C.), Hippocrates would bring individuals with physical and mental illnesses to a
temple, to receive the healing effects of music performances. In fact, the Greeks
emphasized music education and made it a core element of study in their schools (Paul &
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Staudt, 1958). Aristotle found that some individuals could experience an emotional
catharsis through playing or listening to the flute. The effect of singing and playing music
was also examined by Pythagoras. He noted that changes in anger, worry, sorrow, and
fear were possible through exposure to music (Nelson & Weathers, 1998).
Music and the Healing Arts
Recent Centuries
During the Renaissance period, there was some early examination into the effects
of music on breathing, blood pressure, digestion, and muscular activity (Munroe &
Mount, 1978). In the 16th century, Burton’s seminal work “The Anatomy of Melancholy”
described music’s psychological healing properties (Paul & Staudt, 1958). From the 17th
century to the 19th century, there remains evidence of a few innovative medical healers
incorporating music as a therapeutic tool. There is no evidence of in-depth scientific
inquiry, rather there appears to be sporadic experimentation at best (Mackinnon, 2006).
From the 19th century to the early 20th century, music was utilized in “asylums” to help
treat the mentally ill and during the many major wars to heal the mental and physical
ailments of wounded soldiers (Paul & Staudt, 1958).
Twentieth Century to the Present
In the early 20th century, music began to be incorporated as a healing agent in
more and more United States hospitals. These medical and psychiatric interventions were
guided by the American Medical Association (AMA). These interventions were deemed
necessary to facilitate the treatment of wounded soldiers returning from World War 1
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(MacKinnon, 2006). During this time the AMA determined that advanced training in the
clinical use of music was indicated, degree programs were established at over seventy
universities, and professional music associations began to organize. Music therapy soon
became a viable health profession, and to this date, it is practiced by over 4300
internationally board certified clinicians (Thaut, 2002). In 1944, The Music Research
Foundation was founded in Washington D.C. and formal music training programs began
to be developed throughout the United States.
From mid 20th century to the present, the field of music therapy has become well
established, and music therapy has become its own distinct discipline. Music therapy is
not simply psychology with music inserted; it has its own specific model viewpoint and
scope of practice. Currently, Board certified Music Therapists must passed standardized
examinations which validate competence in music theory, perception, skills in clinical
practice, assessment/treatment planning, implementation of bio-psycho-social treatments,
maintaining professional boundaries/ethics, providing on-going documentation, and
ensuring treatment efficacy (Thaut, 2002). A specific example of Music Therapy’s
unique and distinct focus is the evidenced based therapy practices of Neurologic Music
Based Therapy Techniques (NMBT) developed at Colorado State University’s center for
biomedical research in music (Thaut, 2005). NMBT is a music therapy modality which
integrates sensori-motor training, speech-language communication training, and cognitive
training. There are international and U.S. based music therapy organizations currently in
existence, but there is only one credential issued by the certification board for Music
Therapists (Thaut, 2005). Another governing body of music therapy, is the American
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Music Therapy Association (AMTA), which accredits educational programs and
professional organizations in the United States (Thaut, 2005).
This general overview of mankind’s historical use of music produces only a
cursory examination of examples where music was used for assessment or treatment
purposes. Obviously, the ability to accurately assess mankind’s historical use of music is
limited by the chance that it was documented, whether it was documented accurately, and
if the documentation was kept intact and usable throughout the ages. If anything, a brief
review of music’s history as a therapeutic agent illuminates the fact there has always been
some interest throughout history by creative and innovative minds, in utilizing music to
heal the body, mind, and soul.
Music and Assessment
Historical Connections
Within the field of psychology’s history, there is little mention of the concept of
music and its utility as a client assessment variable. More specifically there is little
mention in the literature about client use of music and the utility of examining this
variable through psychological assessment. There appears to be a much richer body of
literature and interest in exploring music as a therapeutic tool for clients. There has been
much work since the 1920’s regarding music and its use in helping heal psychological
and physical problems (Paul & Staudt, 1958). The use of music in the field of psychology
(to assess a client), appears to have been curiously overlooked though. This is in contrast
to the field of music therapy, which for many years has effectively utilized music to
assess psychological states. Unfortunately, there does not appear to have been much
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collaboration between the field of psychology and music therapy to integrate this
innovative and effective process. Music’s near absence in the field of psychology is
surprising, as music is a phenomenon that has been an essential part of human experience
since civilizations earliest days. Music is a part of every culture on earth, and music
continues to be an important part of human existence to this very day. Music’s influence
and integration into the lives of humans would make it nearly impossible for one to exist
without the influence of music. Assessing a person’s interest and involvement with music
would appear to be a relevant part of any psychological assessment, as an assessment
strives to understand the person as they are and in the environment they exist (Groth-
Marnat, 2000). An important consideration in this process is the option to refer to a board
certified music therapist, and to gather their expertise and services to complement the
assessment process.
Purpose of the Study
The primary purpose of this project is to develop an understanding of how music
is related to a person’s emotions, personality, and social identity; and determine how this
understanding can help inform proper psychological assessment. An overview of current
practices and research in psychological assessment clearly shows that client emotional
experience, personality, and social identity are key variables in order to develop an
understanding of the client and how they function in the world. Next, an examination will
follow of the research which supports these three variables as key to proper psychological
assessment.
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Emotions as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment
The assessment variable of “emotions,” is one which any comprehensive
psychological assessment must include. However, the concept of emotions is one which
is not without some controversy, as competing theoretical orientations each have their
own interpretation and definition of what they feel truly constitutes “emotions.”
Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981) offer the most comprehensive definition of emotions,
which was based upon a review of 92 definitions found in textbooks, dictionaries,
articles, and other sources. This operative definition is as follows:
Emotion is a complex set of interactions among subjective and objective factors, mediated by neural/hormonal systems, which can (a) give rise to affective experiences such as feelings of arousal, pleasure/displeasure; (b) generate cognitive processes such as perceptually relevant effects, appraisals, labeling processes; (c) activate widespread physiological adjustments to the arousing conditions; and (d) lead to behavior that is often, but not always, expressive, goal-directed, and adaptive. (p.42)
This definition helps to best define the complex interaction that this project
attempts to examine. The word “emotions” is also being used as a general and all
encompassing term, which includes the specific effects denoted by the words “mood”,
“arousal”, “feeling”, and “affect”.
Emotions which have been found to be crucial indicators in determining an
individual’s well-being; consist primarily of anxiety, depression, and anger (Butcher,
1995). The level of intensity of these emotions within the individual and their ability to
regulate them, are critical to psychological assessment, diagnostic clarification, and
treatment planning (Beck, 1976). Butcher (1995) further illustrated the importance of
emotional assessment:
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We will argue that emotions are the critical vital signs of psychological health and well-being, and that measuring the intensity, duration, and frequency of emotional reactions must be an essential, practical, consideration in the clinical assessment of personality. (p.42)
This quote lends support for the assessment of emotions and personality during
psychological assessment, and illustrates the connection between the two. Butcher
(1995) further illustrated the importance of proper assessment of emotion, stating that:
As the mainsprings for motivating behavior, emotions have a significantimpact on health and personal effectiveness. Therefore, in evaluating psychological well-being, it is essential to monitor emotional states, just as physicians routinely measure pulse rate, blood pressure, and temperature in medical examinations. (p. 52) Overall, assessment of a person’s emotions and personality, really equate to
evaluating the person’s “state” (emotions) or “trait” (personality) (Cohen & Swerdlik,
2002). There is a great deal of research on “state” and ‘trait” assessment, which further
supports these two variables as key elements of psychological assessment (Butcher, 1995;
Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002; DeRubeis & Beck, 1988; Funder, 1991; Gaudry, Spielberrger,
& Vagg, 1975; Tellegen, 1991).
Personality as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment
In the past century personality has been a variable which has received significant
psychological research, beginning with the personality theorizations of Sigmund Freud
(Butcher, 1995). Through the 1920’s and 1930’s pioneering personality theorist Gordon
Allport noted the beginnings of a movement he called “the psychology of personality”.
During that time his work began to synthesize and focus existing research on personality
theory and assessment (Allport, 1937). Through the 20th century, the prevailing concept
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of personality changed as the theoretical paradigms shifted through the decades. Marvin
Acklin (Butcher, 1995, p.19) summarizes the influence of personality testing in recent
years, “the use of tests together, with the goal of a comprehensive personality assessment,
could perhaps be called paradigmatic in clinical psychology for the past forty years”.
Surveys of psychological test usage also support personality testing as highly important
in assessing an individual. The top ten tests psychologists have commonly used to assess
an individual, have remained primarily the same in the past four decades (Kamphaus,
Petoskey, & Rowe, 2000). These top ten tests include the Minnesota Mulitphasic
Personality Inventory, Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test, Millon Clinical
Mulitaxial Inventories, and California Psychological Inventory. All of these tests contain
a significant amount of content which focuses on assessing personality and personality
traits of an individual (Groth-Marnat, 2000). Even though some debate regarding
personality’s validity continues in the scientific community, the theoretical orientations
that have provided definitions (Eysneck 3 factor model, Cattell 16 personality factors,
McCrae & Costa Big Five, etc.) continue to be useful theoretical frameworks to guide
personality theory and assessment. Cohen and Swerdlik (2002), define personality
assessment as crucial in “measurement and evaluation of psychological traits, states,
values, interests, attitudes, worldview, acculturation, personal identity, sense of humor,
cognitive and behavioral styles, and/or related individual characteristics” (p. 324).
Clearly, personality assessment is a key element of assessing an individual, and this is
supported by a century of research, theory, and practice.
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Social Identity as a Key Component of Psychological Assessment
The assessment variable of “Social Identity” is also one which is crucial to assess
when conducting a comprehensive psychological assessment. Many social identity
theories have been generated in the field of social psychology, but the one which will be
used to operationalize the concept of social identity will be Tajfel and Turner’s (1978)
Social Identity Theory (SIT). The use of this particular social theory, is utilized due to the
fact that the small existing research on music, assessment, and social identity appears to
often cite and utilize SIT when examining concepts which include emotions, personality,
and social variables (Crozier, 1998; Tarrant, North, & Hargreaves, 2001; Rentfrow &
Gosling, 2003; North & Hargreaves, 1999; North, Hargreaves, & McKendrick, 1997).
Social identity is important as an assessment variable, because gathering accurate and
reflective data on an individual’s social identity can provide information about their
values, attitudes, and self views (Hargreaves & North, 1999). In addition, gathering data
about an individual’s social identity provides information about their self esteem, social
systems they interface with, and social ways in which they express their emotions and
personality (Mehl & Pennebaker, 2003).
Assessment of Emotions, Personality, and Social Identity
Tying all of the research on these three assessment variables together, is a recent
study which overviews all research regarding musical preference development. The study
illustrates three key elements involved in this process. An overview of relevant cognitive
psychology, biological psychology, clinical psychology, and neuroscience research gave
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evidence that personality, physiological arousal (emotions), and social identity were the
primary individual differences linking individuals to particular musical preferences
(Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Clearly, in past decades and to the present, emotions,
personality, and social identity are factors which are a crucial focus when psychologically
assessing a client and are also highly correlated and relevant for individual musical
experience, preference, and use.
Goals and Objectives
The first goal of this comprehensive literature review is to explore how clinicians
can increase their ability to assess clients, through integration of research and theory
regarding client musical preference, experience, and use. There is limited research on this
specific area, so in addition to the existing psychological research, research from related
disciplines such as music therapy, social psychology, and neuro-anatomy will be drawn
upon. This will be in efforts to obtain a holistic understanding of the complex interaction
which occurs during client musical preference development, musical experience, and
music use.
The second goal, is to examine the full range of psychological assessment options
available currently, which incorporate music as an assessment variable. The examination
of music assessment procedures will cover: verbal questioning, questionnaires,
standardized testing, and experiential music therapy procedures. Additionally, current
trends toward computerized assessment will be examined, and the potential utility of the
Apple iPod within the assessment process will be explored.
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The objective of this project is to increase awareness of existing research and
theory regarding client utilization of music. The target populations that this project is
hoping to reach, are the many licensed mental health professionals who are involved in
formal and informal assessment of psychotherapy clients. This could include licensed
social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed psychologists, and/or
licensed psychiatrists. This information is being disseminated in efforts to increase these
clinicians ability to assess their clients in new and novel ways, which will hopefully
result in increased ability to identify therapy issues and treat them. Assessment of a
client’s musical preferences and use, is by no means being presented as a substitution for
established means of client evaluation or the assessment skills of a board certified music
therapist, but rather it is being presented as a complementary adjunct to established
modes of assessment. Established methods of assessment can only be accentuated by
research and theory on the psychology of musical use. This approach provides a different
lens to view client characteristics and environment, as well as a new and innovative way
for client’s to communicate information about essential elements of themselves and their
environment.
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CHAPTER II
METHODS
The material for the literature review was comprised from various sources. In
obtaining information, the reviewer used several search engines such as: EBSCOhost
research databases, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, Health Source-Nursing/Academic
Edition, Health Source-Consumer Edition, PsycARTICLES, Sage Premier, Lexis-Nexis
Academic, PsychiatryOnline, ProQuest Digital Dissertations, psycEXTRA, Alt Health
Watch, UCLA library catalog, Alliant library catalog. These specific search engines were
used because they were easily accessible to the student researcher, they are the industry
standards for researching topics related to mental health, and they provided up-to-date
information about music and psychology research. Online search engines used were
scholar.google.com, google.com, yahoo.com, and ask.com. Key words used in obtaining
information included, “Musical Preferences”, “Music Preference”, “Music”, “Musical”,
“Genres”, “Musical Genres & Psychology”, “Music & Psychology”, “Music &
Assessment”, “Music & psychotherapy”, “Music & therapy”, “Music & Testing”, “Music
& Evaluation”, “Music & Emotions”, Music & Affect”, “Music & Personality”, “Music
& Personality Traits”, “Music & Social Identity”, “Social Identity Theory”, “iPod”,
“Music & iPod”, “History & iPod”, “Psychology of Music”, “Musicians & Psychology”.
These words separately, and then variably joined together, were used to gather
information from the various search engines.
A total of 150 sources of information were utilized in the body of the literature
review. The sources came primarily from a variety of peer reviewed scientific journal
23
articles. In addition, musically focused psychology books, online articles from various
medical websites, popular magazines in current culture, podcasts from talk radio,
website’s focused on the field of music (popular and professional), taking part in online
musical assessments (web questionnaires), university textbooks, encyclopedia’s, and
other related items, were used to provide relevant supportive information. The data
gathered was used collaboratively to develop understanding of project topics, and to
create the literature review.
Due to the dearth in research regarding the topic of musical preferences and
psychological correlates, the researcher also investigated data from current paper
newspapers, online newspapers, Proquest online dissertation database, reviewed online
descriptions of university music therapy programs, called/emailed local universities
(U.S.C., U.C.L.A, and C.S.U. Northridge) and asked questions about their music
programs and how their music therapists operated, posted my project topic on
professional “listserves” and gathered email feedback from mental health professionals
about their thoughts on my topic and its applicability, collected and read flyers for local
workshops on music-music therapy-music research, and went to local musical venues in
the Los Angeles area and talked to local musicians and music enthusiasts about this
projects topics.
Field consultants consulting on this doctoral project were instrumental in
gathering research data. Initially some field consultants were interviewed via phone,
email, and/or in-person. They provided direction on general topics and resources, which
helped provide focus for specific concepts, where to find books, libraries, websites,
authors, and journals. After a rough draft of this doctoral project had been completed it
24
was mailed and/or emailed to field consultants for their review. Field consultants mailed
or emailed the rough draft back to the author with suggestions for revisions (expansion of
certain topics, inclusion of complementary articles/authors/concepts, and editing
suggestions). Final draft of this doctoral project was generated by the author, with the
subtle guidance and suggestions provided by field consultants. Rough draft was emailed
to some field consultants, academic consultant, and project supervisor. They returned the
final rough draft to the author with minor editing, summations of their feedback, and
suggestions for revisions. After this point, the final draft was generated through
integration of minor editing suggestions, summations of feedback were integrated into the
“field consultant feedback” section, and soon the final draft was readied for submission.
The literature review hoped to offer a range of research findings which would be a
comprehensive overview of research on the key topics. It is out of the scope of this
project to obtain and integrate every existing research article on the key topics, however
the goal was to integrate the research which was of the highest quality and to integrate
research which helped to describe topics in the most informative way possible.
25
CHAPTER III
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Music and its Connection to Emotions
The current comprehensive review of literature is an exploration of the
psychological factors expounded on in Chapter I, and their unique relationship to a
client’s musical experience and use. Since each person’s response and preference for
music is so unique and individualized, the purpose of the current literature review is
certainly not to explain universal human experiences with music. The intent is to gather
the limited empirical data generated in modern times on this topic in an effort to better
understand the correlations between these factors in specific populations. The goal of the
current chapter is to be an overview of the multitude of key factors which come together
when clients experience music, develop musical preferences, and utilize music. External
factors such as culture, social economic status (SES), social group affiliation, religious
affiliation, political affiliation, school participation, geographic location, time period that
they exist in, exposure to music classes/general live music experiences, availability of
musical instruments, musical content from the Internet, music videos on television,
exposure to the music of different countries through traveling, are only a small selection
of external factors which may have a significant effect on a person’s musical experience
and development of musical preferences (MacDonald, Hargreaves, & Miell, 2002; North
& Hargreaves, 2003; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Tarrant, North, & Hargreaves, 2001).
Ultimately, all the potentially active external factors synthesize with the
physiological/neurological processing of the human body and the many other internal
26
factors within an individual—all of which with be explored and expounded on within the
context of the current chapter. These factors develop musical experience and preferences
which do not stay static, but change dynamically from moment to moment. Attempting to
truly understand the development of an individual’s musical preferences, use, and
experience requires one to take a holistic assessment of all external and internal elements
as these come together to develop a state within an individual that will ultimately change
as the factors shift in their relevance and intensity.
Therefore, in order to help clinicians better understand the power of music and its
role and affect on people, the current chapter is an examination of music’s connection to
emotions. Such knowledge will give mental health professionals an effective tool to help
them better understand the full range and differing levels of emotions in their clients as
they relate to music. Specifically, the current chapter addresses research and theory which
helps to deconstruct and make sense of the multi-layer connections between music and
emotions. This examination of this multi-layer connection will include discussion of key
elements such as: assessment of emotional states through interpretation of client musical
preferences, music’s emotional arousal capabilities, biological and cognitive processes
implicated in musical emotional arousal, leading theories and their explanation of music’s
effect on emotions, emotional symbolism in music, gender role effects on musical use, a
musician’s emotional response to music, use of music for mood management, music’s
anxiolytic effects, music’s emotional effect in the work setting, early developmental
experiences impact on musical preference development, evolutionary theory and their
particular explanations of music’s role, and consonance versus dissonance. This
collection of research represents a comprehensive review of existing literature examining
27
the connection between music and emotions. Some concepts have a closer relation than
others to this connection, but all help to describe major and minor elements of this
relationship.
Assessment of Client Emotional States
When psychologically assessing a client, an essential area of functioning to be
examined is the client’s emotional experience. Juslin and Sloboda (2001) note that in the
assessment of emotions, there are three specific ways to measure this in humans. The
first, is through client self report (adjective checklists, rating scales, etc.). The second, is
through measuring expressive behaviors (facial expression, vocalizations, etc.). The third,
is through measuring physiological measures of emotion (EKG, EEG, blood pressure,
etc.). Developing an understanding of emotional states as well as improving their ability
to control them, is typically an issue which brings a client to therapy and/or becomes a
goal of therapy (Beck, 1994). Assessing a client’s use of music and its relation to their
emotional states appears to be particularly beneficial, as the majority of research on
music’s effects appear to cluster in this area and shows a strong correlation between the
two concepts.
If a client is particularly guarded about information regarding his emotional states,
an assessment of his musical preferences may be the route to take, as the defense
mechanisms developed around his emotions will probably not be activated by an
apparently innocuous line of questioning regarding his musical preferences, experience,
or use. The sophisticated client may be able to interpret the parallel process, but even
then, a line of questioning regarding music may be the rapport builder that will allow
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closer access to emotionally laden material. For the therapist, knowledge of the
complicated process operating during musical emotional arousal helps them to validate
and understand an important element of the clients unique intra-psychic world. Next, will
follow an examination of the core elements inherent in this process.
Music and its Effect on Emotional Arousal
In Hirowaka’s (2004) research on music listening and its effect on emotional
arousal, he theorized that self-regulating one’s arousal level was a key factor behind
music listening. Each individual has their own baseline for physiological arousal, an
internal “cadence” (Thaut, 2005). Through choosing particular types of music and
listening to them, an individual is able to activate or deactivate emotions that they
associate with that particular music. Hirowaka draws from Thaut’s (2002) research which
breaks music’s stimulus properties into three categories. The first, are music’s
psychophysical properties (intensity, tempo, etc.), the second is the musical piece’s
structure (familiar, genre-specific, etc.), and the third, are the associations the music
activates within the individual listening. Hirowaka states that these three core stimulus
creating properties account for music’s ability to activate or deactivate emotions in
individuals. Hirowaka’s research found that optimal level’s of arousal were able to be
activated through use of select music listening. This optimal arousal level in turn (citing
one example from Hirowaka’s research), positively affected performance on working
memory tasks in young adults. Other researchers such as Heasly (1995) have conducted
research which has shown that music has the potential to affect energy levels and tension
within an individual through select music listening. Baker and Wigram’s (2005) work
29
showed that select music listening has the ability to reduce tension in the individual
listening to the music.
Music and its Biological Correlates to Emotional Arousal
In studies which examined the biological effects of music listening, significant
effects were found within individuals during musical listening experiences. In Blood and
Zatorre’s (2001) studies, the musical pieces they presented to participants were found to
elicit strong emotional reactions, which in turn activated areas of the brain associated
with reward/motivation, approach/withdrawal, and arousal. Brain areas associated with
this response included the ventral striatum, midbrain, orbitofrontal cortex, the insula, and
ventral medial prefrontal cortex. In a study which measured the effect of auditory and
musical stimuli in the context of emotional experience (Baumgartner, Lutz, Schmidt, &
Jancke, 2005), it was found that global cortical brain activation increased, skin
conductance responses increased, heart rate increased, and respiration increased. These
physiologic effects can not be fully attributed to the overall effect, but they were found to
significantly affect the emotional response of the auditory stimuli. They found that
activation of the amygdala occurred with musical and visual stimuli, but did not occur
with only visual stimuli. They confirmed previous research which showed that musical
and sound stimuli (vocal and non-vocal) activate the orbitofrontal gyrus, the amygdala,
the insula, the striatum, the cerebellum, the hippocampus, and para hippocampus. In
addition they reconfirmed that the amygdala may be more responsible for the processing
of externally cued perceptual emotional stimuli. They stated that musical stimuli does not
appear to have a direct evolutionary function, therefore the musical stimuli probably
30
activates a “more internal mode of brain function”. Also, they found that “congruent
emotional stimuli” affects the extrastriate visual processing areas by increasing activity in
this region.
Lending some support to the notion that there are specialized processing centers
within the brain for music, is the research of Peretz and Coltheart (2003). This study
examined brain damaged patients who had music-specific deficits. These participants had
normal hearing and cognitive functioning, but could not recognize melodies or
understand music being presented. Brain structures typically affected by a stroke were
implicated, but due to the diffuse nature of the brain injury it was difficult to pinpoint
specific brain structures that may be responsible for processing music.
Music and its Specific Effects on Physiology
Music’s effect on physiological arousal has been an area which has received the
most research in regards to music and emotion. Research has shown that all music tends
to initially increase heart rate in the listener. With stimulating music there is typically a
strong increase in heart rate, and with relaxing music there is eventually a decrease in
heart rate for the listener (Peretz, 2001). In Ries (1969) study, there was a connection
found between a person’s emotional response to music and their respiration rate. In
Harrer and Harrer’s (1977) work, it was found that listening to preferred music resulted
in deeper breathing (resulting in improved oxygen saturation levels). In all studies it was
difficult to interpret what emotions were being experienced through physiological
arousal, as individuals may assign different emotions to different physiological arousal
symptoms. This results in limited ability to objectively rate what particular emotion
31
music may be eliciting for the person, based solely on their physiological arousal data.
Recent developments in neurological assessment are helping to provide additional
physiological arousal data in regards to music listening. Peretz (2001) has conducted this
type of research, and found that in their participants, music that expressed joy and
happiness activated greater left frontal lobe brain activity. Music that expressed fear and
sadness, appeared to activate greater relative right frontal lobe brain activity.
Physiological arousal assessment tools are increasing in their ability to assess individuals,
but the data they provide still does not provide enough information to definitively say
what particular emotion a musical selection may be eliciting in an individual.
Cognitive Mediation, Physiological Arousal, and the “Chills”
A general overview of the existing research on physiological arousal and music
experience (Rickard, 2004), shows that most studies have looked at similar variables.
These include activation of arousal hormones (typically cortisol and noradrenalin) and
activation of the sympathetic nervous system (respiration, skin temperature, muscle
tensions, heart rate, etc.). In addition, the cognitive process which mediates the arousal
has been looked at as a factor which can greatly increase or decrease the arousal
(LeDoux, 1996). This speaks to the process where an individual may intensify or
decrease their physiological arousal as they become aware of their arousal. The personal
meaning an individual may have for the music and the meaning the individual may assign
to the arousal the music has created, will mediate the increase or decrease in the arousal.
In addition, LeDoux found evidence that some auditory stimuli can have an automatic
effect on emotions outside of conscious awareness and mediation. Physiologic pathways
32
implicated in this direct neural link, include the system connecting the auditory nuclei in
the thalamus, to the “fear effector system” in the amygdala.
Out of the many physiological arousal factors which have been studied, two
factors have been found to have particular importance in the musical arousal process.
These two factors, are the perception of “chills” and “skin conductance” while listening
to music. Rickard (2004) found that in his study’s participants, skin conductance was
significantly affected by exposure to emotionally charged musical pieces. This appeared
to support previous research he had cited in this area and he stated that “skin conduction
may be regarded as a more pure measure of emotion intensity than other physiological
measures”. For the second factor, he found that “chills” were experienced in the listener
by music they categorized as “emotionally powerful”. The experience of “chills’ was
described as a cold pleasurable sensation which typically flowed through the upper back
and neck. The experience of “chills” was highly correlated with music that activated
significant emotions in the listener. The “chills” experience was picked up by various
physiological measuring devices used in the study. What was clearly evident in the
study, is that there is no simple cause and effect relationship between music and
emotional arousal. A musical piece which was prior determined as relaxing by
researchers did not always produce relaxing effects. Musical pieces which were prior
determined by researchers as highly emotional, did not always generate high emotional
arousal. The study’s author speculates that the physiological arousal generated by music
listening arises through a complicated internal process, which operates through a variety
of factors. Two factors which appear to have the strongest effect upon this process, are
personality traits and cognitive mediation (Rickard, 2004). Individual variance in these
33
factors can produce a variety of emotional outcomes for the listener, during a music
listening experience.
Music and Emotional Activation
Emotional Activation during Consonance and Dissonance
Along the lines of a biologically based explanation for emotions and music, is the
theory of “consonance” and “dissonance”. This theory deconstructs the emotional
activation process of music even further, and attempts to explain the dynamics which
occur when music is perceived as pleasurable or non-pleasurable. This theory also helps
explain a possible pathway an individual may follow in developing musical preferences.
The concept of consonance and dissonance is one that has been around for some time,
and it appears that the earliest recorded examination of this concept began in ancient
Greek civilization. Pythagoras noted that consonance was experienced by an individual
when they heard fundamental frequencies that are related by simple integer ratios
(Zentner & Kagan, 1998). What Pythagoras uncovered was the mathematical equation of
musical pieces which would be experienced by someone as pleasurable or non-
pleasurable. In essence, some combination of musical notes sound “good” together
(consonance) and some combinations of musical notes sounded “bad” together
(dissonance). The perception of a “good” or “bad” subjective experience, is one that has
been researched in recent years, and it appears that this polarizing response is with
humans from their earliest days.
Research by Zentner and Kagan (1998) supported this notion, as infants (at 4-
months old) who were exposed to dissonant musical stimuli gave non-pleasurable
34
responses compared to the relatively pleasurable responses infants exhibited after
exposure to consonant musical stimuli. For adults, a similar dynamic was replicated in
Dowling and Harwood’s (1986) research on consonance. Adults exposed to consonant
musical stimuli experienced the music as pleasurable and adults exposed to dissonant
musical stimuli experienced the music as non-pleasurable. This sampling of the research
on consonance gives some evidence that these perceptual structures in humans exist from
birth, and may be an element of the biological underpinnings of musical preferences and
emotional activation. Culture, upbringing, personality traits, early exposure to types of
music, etc., are many of the factors which may mediate this process, but it appears that
there is some biological predisposition in humans towards particular sounds and there is
particular set of emotions that are set off by these sounds. Musicians may be subtly aware
of this process and may orchestrate their music in efforts to activate these primitive
processes. Research examining the neuro-anatomical bases of consonance and dissonance
offer intriguing results. In Blood, Zatorre, Burmudez, and Evans (1999) study, they found
that a person experiencing musical stimuli as dissonant may be experiencing activation in
paralimbic structures and auditory cortices. This activation in this paralimbic area may
activate varying emotions. The auditory cortex appears to be involved in the perceptual
analysis of the experience. In a related study (Peretz, Blood, Penhune, & Zatorre, 2001),
they found that lesions within that same paralimbic region can result in a persons inability
to perceive musical stimuli as dissonant or consonant. Research by Gosselin, Samson,
Adolphs, Noulhian, Roy, Hasobun, Baulac, and Peretz (2006) helped to further specify
which brain regions were involved in emotional response to music. They found that in
their participants with substantial removal of the left or right parahippocampal cortex,
35
participants had a seriously diminished sensitivity to unpleasant (dissonant) music.
Though participants did appear to retain their ability to accurately assess consonant music
as consonant and pleasurable. This indicates that other brain structures may have a
specific and separate function in regards to the experience of consonance.
Music’s Emotional Activation and the Impact of Gender Roles
In other studies examining music’s emotion activating properties, Kamentsky,
Hill, and Trehub (1997) looked at how gender plays into this activation process. Initially
looking at the generalities of the process, they found that changes in dynamics (loudness
and softness) of a musical piece significantly affected emotional expression in the person
listening. Also, they found that changes in tempo did not significantly effect the
emotional expression of the person listening. Next, in regard to gender differences in
emotional activation, they found that women tend to find music more emotionally
expressive and likeable than men did. They found that women and men differed in the
interpretations assigned to musical performance differences. They were unable to say
definitively whether there were biological differences in men and women in their abilities
to decode expressive cues in music, but they did find evidence to support the notion that
socialized gender roles may play a part in their processing of music. Likeability of a
particular musical piece was highly correlated with the emotional activation and
expressiveness the musical piece brought about in the listener. This speaks to the strong
link between musical preferences and the emotions they may stir up in the listener.
36
Preference for musical genres and music dynamics
The emotion activating element of music is a powerful one, and it is one which
appears to have a great amount of influence on whether the individual is going to develop
a preference for the type of music they are listening to. In Woody and Burns (2001)
research in this area, they were able to produce this dynamic with classical music. Young
adults in their study who have had past emotional experiences with classical music were
more apt to develop a liking and preference for classical music when presented with
classical music selections. Young adults who did not have emotional experiences with
past classical music listening, did not show an increase in liking and did not consider
classical music as a musical preference. It is unclear whether this dynamic is the same for
other genres of music, but it is quite possible that this dynamic occurs as a general music
preference development process. Cultural and age related factors may play in, as an
individual is going to prefer music selections which are congruent with identity factors.
The absence of lyrics in classical music may also be a factor in emotional activation.
Depending on the associations the individual has with the words and message of a
musical piece, different emotional responses will occur. Classical music’s instrumental
structure may have a particular emotional effect on an individual, as the pure melodic and
dynamic elements may resonate with them and be more activating than music with lyrics
(Madsen, 1997). It appears that music’s emotional activation is an essential element of
developing musical preferences, but it is unclear to what degree that it does so. It also
appears that there are many other factors at play in this formulation of musical
preferences.
37
Emotional Symbolism within Music
The emotional symbolism communicated by a musical piece has also been found
to be universally understood by people within their particular culture. Terwogt and Van
Grinsven (1991) found that in their sample population of music listeners, all participants
were able to agree upon the emotional symbolism of each piece of music they were
presented. In other words, they were able to agree upon whether a musical piece was
predominantly sad, angry, happy, calm, etc. Emotional symbolism of a musical piece has
been linked to the “mode” that the music was played in. The primary modes that have
been researched are the major and minor modes. The major modes have been associated
with happiness and the minor modes have been associated with sadness or anger
(Crowder, 1985). Kratus (1993) has found that tempo and rhythm may wield a stronger
influence in a person differentiating a musical piece as happy or sad. In addition, Wedin
(1972) found that staccato articulation can be perceived as lively or energetic, as opposed
to legato articulation, which can be perceived as peaceful or gentle.
Music and its Role in “Mood Management”
The role of music listening and its regulation of emotions is examined in
Zillman’s (1988) research on “Mood Management”. In summary, what Zillman proposes
is that individuals seek out sensory material in efforts to regulate their affective
experiences and moods, in ways in which they feel are desirable. Individuals may seek
out slow music to relax, fast and dynamic music to increase their energy, etc. But as
discussed previously, internal factors play out during the music listening experience, and
some music may in fact activate a paradoxical effect. In adolescents an often cited reason
38
for selecting a preferred musical piece is to relieve boredom (Schwartz & Fouts, 1999).
But complicating this matter, are adolescents limited abilities to examine and define
emotional states, along with their tendency to state the concept of boredom to mask other
more difficult to tolerate and revealing emotional states. Regardless, it appears that
adolescents utilize music listening as an affect regulation and possibly magnification
strategy. Though there is a theory by Sloboda (1992) which attempts to explain the mood
management dynamic of music listening. Sloboda posits that listening to music does not
actually activate emotions in the listener. What he theorizes, is that there are already
particular emotions stirred up within a listener which are ready for expression. When a
person listens to a musical piece, they are brought to a place where they can uncover and
experience these emotions. These emotions are thought to exist in a pre-conscious and/or
conscious state, and are not changed or created by the music. This is an interesting
examination of the connection between emotions and music. As there is no particular
theory that can speak to a straight cause and effect relationship, this theory helps to
increase understanding and helps to define the range of possibilities within the
relationship.
Music and its Anxiolytic Effects
Related to the topic of physiological arousal and musical mood management, is
the anxiolytic and pain decreasing ability of music. It would not be unusual for an
individual to utilize music listening as a strategy for reducing not only painful affect but
also painful physical symptoms. In some situations this may be a strategy to address
painful affect which may have also triggered related painful physical symptoms. Or in
39
some situations music may be used to address physical symptoms that may have been
generated from a purely physical stimulus (i.e. getting a shot in the arm, getting injured in
sports, returning from a surgical procedure, etc.). There is a surprising amount of research
in this particular topic, and overall most of the research supports music listening as a
positive pain reducing strategy. Most research in this area is related to the medical field
and examines the use of music related to painful medical procedures. A meta-analysis by
music therapist Jayne Standley (1996), found that music listening in clinical settings held
a multitude of therapeutic uses. Main effects that could be produced were: anxiety
reduction, fear reduction, and a reduction of depression that was related to the pain. In
addition, mood alteration, facilitated breathing, and increased control were possible
outcomes initiated by music listening. There are some studies (Spintage, 1985; Gardener
& Licklider, 1960) which have investigated the use of music during painful medical
procedures (dental treatment and general surgery). They found that they did not have to
use as much pain reducing medications, and actual pain reported by patients was lowered.
In Macdonald, Mitchell, Dillon, Serepell, Davies, and Ashleys research (2003), an
investigation of the pain reducing effects through music listening generated mixed
results. They found that in some conditions music had an anxiety and pain reducing effect
on post-operative patients, but in other conditions there was no significant reduction in
pain and anxiety. They speculated that the pain and anxiety reducing effects may be due
to the patients emotional associations to the music and the particular genre of music that
they chose to listen to during the painful medical procedure. These “individual
interpretations” that patients made about particular musical selections, were speculated to
be the activating cognitive origins of the anxiety and pain reducing effects.
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Music and the Work Setting
Music and its effect on emotions has many implications, one specific area, is the
use of music in working environments. Many environments where people work
(factories, offices, etc.) generate many emotions and can greatly affect physiological
arousal. This can go in a positive direction, negative direction, or can be a combination of
both. With limited exception, work environments can greatly affect an individuals
emotional state. Oldham (1995) found that providing music to a working environment
can improve work performance. In addition, the music presented had an effect on the
employee’s mood state. It is possible that the improved mood in the participants,
improved their concentration and motivation which allowed them to perform better on
tasks. Schellenberg (2001) confirmed this notion, as he found that mild positive feelings
were found to positively influence the way cognitive material is organized. Lesiuk (2000)
found that music decreased levels of state anxiety in computer programmers while they
were programming in a work environment. Important factors in the ability of music to
effect mood, was whether the music being played was congruent with the listener’s music
preferences. Also, it appears that it takes a little time for individuals to get used to
listening to music and working. As practice increased, individuals were able to improve
their work performance through music listening. In Lesiuk’s more recent research (2005),
she found that removing music from a work environment (which utilizes music
consistently) can lower state positive mood response, slightly lower quality of work, and
increase excessive time on tasks. Clearly, music has a strong effect on emotions, evident
in everyday situations such as a work environment. The limited amount of research in
this area does not conclusively say whether music is a positive addition to a work
41
environment, but it does lend more support to theory and research indicating that music
has a strong effect on emotions and behavior.
Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions
The actual process of emotional activation is a complex one and there are many
researchers that have attempted to break down the activation process into its core
components. In Kivy’s research (1980) he states that music does not directly express
emotions, but rather music is “expressive of” emotions. By this he means that the
contents of a musical piece do not hold any particular emotional content, instead, the
person listening to the musical piece may assign emotional meaning to emotional ideas
reflected in the musical piece. Kivy proposes that the individual “animates” the musical
communication, and emotionally symbolic musical piece contents can be understood and
expressed through the emotion the person feels is a good fit for musical content. In
addition, the emotional response an individual may have to a musical piece, may be due
to the dynamic and parallel process which occurs in the musical piece and in human
experience. For example, melody in the musical piece could represent patterns of
movement, fast tempo could be energy, etc. Musical expressiveness within a musical
piece can also be analogous to human emotional experience. Specifically, tension and
resolution within a musical piece can reflect emotional tension and resolution with a
person, as well as tension and resolution that may occur during communication with
another individual. This communication of tension and resolution through speaking with
another individual can be similar to the tension and resolution a song can create while it
is “communicating” with an individual.
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Meyer’s (1956) and Lehman’s (1997) Theories on Music and Emotions
An analysis of music and its connection to emotions would not be complete
without a look at Leonard Meyer’s seminal work examining the relationship between
these two concepts. Meyer (1956) found that shifts in the rhythm or melodic tone of a
song can generate expectations about where the musical piece is going to take a person
while listening. Meyer posits that the expectation that a person then creates, sets the stage
for the emotional reaction a person will express. This expectation is related to tension a
person feels, as the musical piece builds up and as it releases the feeling of suspense. The
musical manipulation of arousal through music, follows arousal dynamics with other
stimuli. Within a musical piece, a more complex and elaborate build up of tension, equals
a stronger arousal of emotions. When the musical piece musically reaches the resolution
phase, this activates a feeling of relaxation and tension reduction in the person listening.
Meyer based some of his theories on “Gestalt laws” of perception, which are based on
completion and relational aspects of concepts. Meyer found that the more musically
sophisticated a music listener became (i.e. training on music theory, composition, etc.),
the more the listener reacted cognitively to the music and less emotionally. This was
explained through the musically sophisticated listener’s ability to deconstruct the music
and understand its structure and dynamics. With a listener who was not musically trained,
their response would be one that would be primarily emotional due to their lack of music
theory to facilitate a cognitive appraisal.
Next will follow more recent research exploring the potential impact of musical
training on music and emotional activation. There is some evidence that musician’s brain
structures may change in accordance to the musical instrument that they play (Erber &
43
Erber, 2001). There is also evidence that individuals who are drawn to becoming
musicians may have significant differences in individual characteristics (Wagner, 1988).
Sloboda’s research (1991) showed that musician’s actually have a more intense affective
experience when listening to music than do non-musicians. Supporting this finding, is
Behne (1986), who found that musically trained individual’s self reported a stronger
affective response to listening to select musical pieces. A theory which was employed to
explain some of this variance between musicians and non-musicians, was the “training-
mediation hypothesis”, that Lehmann (1997) proposed. This theory states that the
significant emotional response that music elicits is primarily related to the personal
values individuals assign to their own musical preferences. It appears that in the limited
research available on musicians’ emotional response to music, that there is some
uncertainty. With significant differences in samples, experimental methods, and musical
stimuli, it is not possible to definitively state whether musicians (in general) respond to
music more cognitively or affectively. However, the theory and research does provide
interesting explanations of the probable systems and sequences involved.
Mandler’s (1984) Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions
Another music researcher who has pioneered theory in regards to emotion and music
is George Mandler, who has generated theory supporting Meyer’s (1956) theories of
musical tension. Mandler (1984) found that emotional response to musical selections is
first activated by a cognitive appraisal of physiological cues. As a person develops
expectations about where a musical piece is going, changes in that trajectory can cause a
person to have a physiological response. Next the mind attempts to understand this
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(cognitive appraisal), and then there is an emotional response depending on the appraisal.
The emotional response is positive if change in music is congruent with what the person
expected. If the emotional response is negative, this shows that the change in music is not
consistent with the musical schema that the person had regarding the music and its
dynamics.
Berlyne’s (1971) Theoretical Explorations of Music and Emotions
Other early theoretical research which links emotion and musical experience is
Daniel Berlyne’s work. This work is similar to Meyer’s and Mandler’s research, as it
focuses on music’s ability to activate arousal in the listener. Berlyne (1971) states that
complexity, familiarity, and novelty are the primary factors in music which activate
emotions in the listener. These three factors affect the level of arousal in the listener, and
Berlyne sees this process as the one which motivates the listener to seek out musical
experiences. Berlyne feels that each individual has a unique level of arousal that they
seek for each music listening experience. The more complex the song the listener
experiences, the more potential it has for increasing arousal levels in the listener. Berlyne
also found that individuals with a musical background or knowledge of music theory,
responded more cognitively to music, and their threshold for musical arousal was higher
then individuals without a music background.
Integration of Music within Clinical Practice
The use of music by therapists (excluding music therapy therapists) to gain access
to emotions is an area which has received minimal empirical examination, but in light of
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the research this project has examined thus far, this appears to be a logical and reasonable
route for a therapist to take. With substantial research showing a strong link between
music listening/playing and emotional activation, the use of music by the therapist or the
use of the concept of music in therapist dialogue with clients, would appear to be an
approach which would tap into an emotion rich area. Kerr, Walsh, and Marshall (2001)
theorize that music may be a medium which allows a person to express feelings or
experience which cannot be communicated through words. Music dynamics, songs,
musical sounds, etc. may capture a feeling and/or thought that a client may be
experiencing. Relaying this experience to the therapist may help the client foster an
understanding of their world. In addition, listening to particular music or playing music
on an instrument may allow expression of emotions which would not be possible through
verbal discourse. This is a process that may occur in or out of therapy sessions. Nelson
and Weathers (1998) lend support to this theory and speculate that musical expression
can facilitate personal expression that words only can begin. Musical expression by an
individual is seen as complementary to their verbal expression. One process increases the
expressive potential of the other. There is also the probability of the addition of musical
expression in therapy to improve the therapeutic alliance. Select musical pieces can be
utilized to target specific emotions or issues. This is, of course, subject to the client’s
amenability to the process. Familiarity with music, experience as a musician, and other
related factors may increase the chance that this approach will improve the therapeutic
alliance and facilitate self expression.
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Musical Preferences: An Analysis of Early Influences
In examining the connection between emotions and music, it is important to turn
back the clock and look at the earliest stages of this relationship. There is a modicum of
child development research available, which has attempted to understand this interaction.
The research examination spans from the fetus’ early days in utero, up to the first few
months as a newborn baby. There is much research established on an infants response to
various perceptual stimuli, but there is also a developing sub-area of this research field
which focuses specifically on infants response to music stimuli. Next, will follow an
examination of the child development research which examines this potential musical
interaction.
Kaminski and Hall (1994) found that soothing and sedative music had the ability
to generate a lower arousal state in an infant. Coleman, Pratt, Stoddard, Gerstman, and
Abel (1997) were able to show that music can increase weight gain for premature infants,
reduce excess arousal, and create a healthy environment for an infant. Research on
music’s effect on brain activity in children, suggests that music listening and training can
positively affect their processing efficiency (Flohr, Miller, & Persellin, 1999). There is
some research in this area that has made its way into urban legend, as a concept known as
the “Mozart effect” has made its way into discussions about child development. This
stemmed from a study (Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky, 1993) which examined infant’s response
to Mozart musical piece exposure. This study showed a small increase in spatial
reasoning for babies after listening to Mozart musical pieces. Urban legend has taken this
study and interpreted that exposing babies to Mozart in utero and after birth, simply
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makes them smarter. Obviously, the small specific effect shown in the research has been
over-generalized and taken much farther than intended.
This study was replicated by another child development researcher (Thompson,
Schellenberg, & Hussain, 2001), who found that infants performed better on spatial-
reasoning tasks after listening to Mozart. Though they concluded, that it wasn’t actually
Mozart’s music per se which created the effect, it was the ability of the musical stimuli to
create positive affect and heightened arousal. This affective response allowed the infants
to moderate improvements in task performance.
The Early Mother-Child Relationship and Music
Music and its connections to emotion are clearly visible in the earliest of
interactions after birth…the lullabies between a doting parent and their newborn baby.
Across cultures and across time, many parents have sung lullabies to their babies to sooth
the baby and connect with them. Regardless of the structure or type of lullaby, research
has shown that they have been used for similar purposes across cultures (Trehub, Unyk,
& Trainor, 1993). Research shows that lullabies are typically simple, repetitive, slow, and
may feature more descending intervals than other melodies (Unyk, Trehub, Trainor, &
Schellenburg, 1992). It also appears that lullabies are tailored to the infant’s preferences,
through trying different musical pieces or different ways of singing them. These may be
indicative of individual (within the baby) or situational variables which may affect
musical preferences. During this process the baby learns about itself and its regulatory
abilities, and the mother learns to see themselves as a parent. What is clear is that an
infant can have its emotional state affected by a particular lullaby. There are many
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variables at play when an infant is interacting with a parent, so it is really impossible to
say that music is the primary causal factor in affect shift for the baby. The shift could be
attributed to the smile of the parent, the physical closeness, etc. But it does appear that
lullabies have some effect on the infant, evidenced by the noticeable shifts in their
behavioral and affective responses to the lullaby. In addition, there is some evidence that
musical stimuli can be learned by the baby while in utero. James, Spencer, and Stepsis,
(2002) gathered evidence that a baby in utero can learn musical patterns through music
projected towards the mother’s midsection and in a manner that is audible to the mother.
Musical preference development may actually begin at these early days for a developing
fetus, as there appears to be enough perceptual abilities to experience the musical stimuli
and retain some of the content after birth. Musical preferences in later life may have some
connection to in utero exposure to music and lullabies experienced as an infant. Lullabies
with certain dynamics and structure may be given particular associations by the infant.
These associations may be retained by the infant and may have an unconscious effect on
music listening and preferences as they enter later stages of development. The research
presented here, shows a clear link between music and emotional activation, which may be
present in utero and through the infants early years. This gives some evidence that
emotional activation through music may not only have cultural, social, and interpersonal
origins, but the process may also have biological origins which may be present from the
very first time perceptual abilities develop. This speaks to the possibility that humans
may have innate abilities and biological tools to process music. Whether they are
specialized for the sounds that music creates, or whether they are simply a part of a
human’s general auditory processing tools is unclear.
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Evolutionary Theory, Music, and Emotion
In efforts to understand the origins of music and emotions (and further the
discussion on possible innate properties of music production/processing) one approach
would be to examine the relationship in its adaptive or evolutionary context. As I have
noted previously, music and emotions appear to have many interrelated connections, and
another layer that may help to understand the relationship, is music’s possible role in
human evolution. Music is a widely experienced phenomena which appears to exist in all
cultures across the earth. Since this has occurred throughout recorded history it would
appear that music is a significant part of human’s development on earth.
Some argue that music does not reflect any evolution within our brain processes
(Pinker, 1997), and there are some that argue that music is an integral part of our
evolutionary process (Miller, 2000). There is some research (Darwin, 1871; Hagen &
Bryant, 2003) that theorizes that music is an entity which supports courtship rituals,
effects social cohesion, serves religious purposes, and may have an effect on war. It
appears that this has been a constant throughout recorded time, as music appears to be
integrated into the above activities in varying levels. This lends some support to the
notion that music holds an adaptive value in key cultural and social human activities.
On the contrary, there is also research (Pinker, 1997) that theorizes that music is
not an adaptation, but it is actually a side effect of properties of the auditory system that
may have evolved for other human needs. From a cultural standpoint, some theorists note
that music and musical preferences may simply be a result of the time period that the
individual existed in. The mere fact that they were born into a culture that listened to a
particular type of music, may have predisposed them to prefer that particular music
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(Boulez, 1971). Though the variance within the genre of music or the variance between
styles and dynamics of the music available, may allow a person to exhibit some form of
personal expression and preference in these situations. This would be assuming that there
was a range and variety of music to choose from, and that cultural norms would allow the
person the personal freedom to choose music based on personal preferences. It appears
that musical preferences develop in a complicated bio-psycho-social matrix, each
individual’s development playing out in unique fashion.
Lending evidence to an evolutionary and biological link to music, is the evidence
of a “bone flute” found by archaeologists. This “bone flute” was made approximately
50,000 years ago (Kunej & Turk, 2000) and was found in a Neanderthal campsite in
Slovenia. The flute was made out of a bear cub’s femur and has four visible holes. The
hole placement is consistent with a design that will create whole and half tones of the
diatonic scale. They reproduced an exact replica of the flute and they were able to
produce notes consistent with a modern diatonic scale. There is some speculation that the
holes in the bone were simply made by a Neanderthal to get to the bone marrow for food,
but it appears quite likely that this was actually a musical instrument. The similarities to
modern flute designs (to generate particular tones) may give evidence that music
generates sounds uniquely specific for human consumption. Other musical instruments,
such as the ancient Chinese flutes found in a Neolithic site in China (Zhang, Harbottle,
Wang, & Kong, 1999) give similar evidence, as musicians were able to generate musical
notes on the flutes, including the diatonic scale notes. For music to have stood the test of
time and find its place in all cultures, lends support to the notion that music has played
some adaptive and functional roles in human evolution. If music provided no adaptive
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value and did not provide some benefit to developing man, it would assuredly lost its
place in developing cultures and been forgotten. Clearly the opposite has happened and it
appears that music’s role in human existence has been solidly planted, and it has actually
developed in sophistication and integration as the years have passed.
Quotations to Help Understand Music and Emotions
Research of emotions and music by Panksepp and Bernatzky (2002) helped to
synthesize the large amount of research in this area. After conducting a literature review
of existing research on emotions and music, they stated:
Hence, we would advance the idea that the emotional impact of music is largely dependent on both direct and indirect (i.e. cognitively mediated) effects on subcortical emotional circuits of the human brain that seem to be essential for generating affective processes. (p.153)
In regards to the biological and evolutionary bases of music and its connection to
emotions, McDermott and Hauser (2005) help to synthesize current research and bring
clarity. They state:
It seems that humans have an innate drive to make and enjoy music and that they are predisposed to make music with certain features (the octave,
simple ratios, and unequal intervals). These features seem to be related to perceptual sensitivities to musical structure found in human infantsand perhaps also nonhuman animals in the absence of extensive experience. (p.54)
Lastly, Panksepp and Bentazky (2002) take on all of the aforementioned concepts
and crystallize the current state of research with this quote:
In sum, there is much to commend the idea that the most important evolutionary influences that still govern our affective responses to music are the natural neurodynamics of our brain socio-emotional systems that appear to be exquisitely responsive to the dynamics of emotional sounds. (p.140)
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These quotes help to summarize current direction and focus regarding music and its
effect upon emotional states. Clearly, the body of research cannot definitively state a
cause and effect relationship between the two variables. At best, it has helped to
deconstruct the process and categorize the multitude of variables which are at play.
Relationships have been postulated and the theories help to provide understanding and
guide direction for further research.
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MUSIC AND ITS CONNECTION TO PERSONALITY
Operationalizing the Concept of Personality
Before examining the relationship between music and an individual’s personality,
a concise and relevant definition is necessary for the concepts of personality that will be
reviewed. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual Fourth
Edition Text Revision (DSM4-TR, 2000), provides a relevant, general, and industry
standard definition of personality (though it is important to note that there are many
definitions of personality in the literature and there is some disagreement across
disciplines on the actual validity of personality as a construct). Regardless of the dispute
over what personality is, where it exists, or how to define it, the DSM4-TR helps provide
an adequate framework for understanding mainstream ideas about personality and helps
to begin the examination of its relationship to music. The DSM4-TR definition for
personality is as follows, “Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about
the environment and oneself” (DSM4-TR, 2000, p.686). Of importance as well, is the
DSM4-TR clarification of “personality traits”. The definition is as follows, “Personality
traits are prominent aspects of personality that are exhibited in a wide range of important
social and personal contexts” (DSM4-TR, 2000, p.686). These two definitions are the
general concepts which will be examined in this chapter of the literature review.
An examination of personality’s connection to music is warranted, as previous
literature reviewed in this project has drawn clear musical connections to key elements of
personality: emotions and physiological arousal. Examining more enduring and pervasive
elements of an individual’s self, is a logical next step in assessing music’s total effect on
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an individual. This chapter will focus on examining the existing body of research which
looks at the relationship between the aforementioned concepts of personality/personality
traits and music.
Psychology’s History Integrating Music and Personality
An examination of the limited body of literature regarding personality and music,
illuminates somewhat of a starting point for modern scientific inquiry into this topic. In
the early 1950’s, famous research psychologist Raymond Cattell, began seminal research
into personality and music. There are a handful of published research studies on music
and psychology before Cattel’s work, but they are obviously from a very early period of
psychology’s development, and their results are limited by the science available during
that time period. Cattell’s later work (1960) overviewed this early body of psychological
research which spanned from 1926 to 1955. Cattell found that factors such as age, sex,
mood, “intellectual introversion”, and music recognition have been examined by
researchers in relation to music. The results from these early works did not provide
especially compelling results, but he states that they did show that there may be merit in
examining people’s musical preferences to obtain clinically relevant information about
the aforementioned factors.
A quote by Cattell and Anderson (1953) helps to set off the examination of
personality and music:
The powerful and immediate connection of musical stimulation withemotional experience, and the many indications that unconscious needs gain satisfaction through this medium, have long pointed to measures of musical preference as effective avenues to deeper aspects of personality. (p.446)
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This quote helps to encapsulate the excitement and insight which characterizes Cattell's
early research on music and personality.
“Sensation Seeking” and its Connection to Music
One personality trait which has received relatively significant overview in the
music and personality body of research, is “sensation seeking”. Zuckerman (1990), helps
operationalize this concept through the following definition, a “trait characterized by the
need for varied, novel, and complex, sensations, and experience; and the willingness to
take physical and social risks for the sake of such experience”. A review of the literature
shows that though many studies are looking at similar variables which sensation seeking
is composed of, they use differing constructs to define what they are measuring based
upon the differing assessment tool that they utilize. For example, some studies use the
Neo Personality Inventory, MMPI 2, Sensation Seeking Scale, Zuckerman Music
Preference Questionnaire, and other measures of personality trait evaluation. Thus some
studies are not using the specific words “sensation seeking” but are measuring traits
which are significantly correlated with Zuckerman’s aforementioned definition of
sensation seeking.
Sensation seeking has been correlated with an individual’s preference for a
particular musical genre. Arnett’s research on reckless and dangerous behaviors (1991)
showed that individuals who exhibited these traits preferred heavy metal music. In Little
and Zuckerman’s (1986) research on personality and musical preferences, they found that
sensation seeking personality traits are highly correlated with punk, heavy metal, and
rock music. In addition, they found that sensation seeking was correlated negatively with
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religious and sound track music preference. In Arnett’s later research (1996), they found
that the individual’s who were high “sensation seekers” had a preference for the genres of
heavy metal and rock and roll. Though this particular study focused on adolescents, and
this dynamic may only be reflective of that particular population. Adolescent males in the
study who were high on sensation seeking, were found to exhibit reckless behaviors such
as substance abuse, dangerous driving, risky sexual practices, and other conduct disorder
problems. The few girls in the study who were found to be high on sensation seeking
scores, did not exhibit conduct disorder behaviors in the range of the males, but they did
exhibit problematic behaviors such as promiscuity, shoplifting, mild vandalism, and some
drug use. The study saw these problematic behaviors as manifestations of individuals’
sensation seeking traits which ultimately resulted in attempts to maintain a personally
desired level of optimal arousal. The musical preferences these adolescents reported were
highly reflective of these dynamics.
“Novelty-Seeking” and “Harm Avoidance”, Connections to Music
Related sensation seeking personality traits of “novelty-seeking” and “harm
avoidance” were examined in Gerra, Zaimovic, Franchini, Palladino, Giucastro, Reali,
Maestri, Caccavari, Delsignore, and Brambillas (1998) research on personality and
techno/electronica music. Their study examined these personality traits as measured by
the three-dimension personality questionnaire (TPQ) (Cloninger, 1987) along with
clinical impressions from a psychiatrist. Their study showed that techno/electronica
music had significant effect on physiological arousal systems in individuals with high
sensation seeking personality traits. Individuals with high need for “novelty seeking”
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were found to have less stressful experiences with techno/electronica music. In addition
higher impulsivity and higher risk taking were associated with preference for this genre.
Preference for techno/electronica music correlated negatively with “harm avoidance”.
Individuals who prefer techno/electronica and who are involved with the subculture that
produces and listens to this music, are highly correlated with use of hard drugs
(amphetamines, Ecstasy, etc.), intense involvement with dancing, and hedonistic all-night
partying (McCann & Ricaurte, 1993).
Zuckerman (1971) attempted to explain this sensation seeking dynamic in his
earlier work. He theorized that those who are high on sensation seeking, typically
experience stimulus deprivation, while those who are low in sensation seeking typically
experience over stimulation. Goldman, Kohn, and Hunt (1983) deconstruct this dynamic
even further. They state that high sensation and low sensation seekers tend to develop
automatic and conscious strategies to mediate this arousal experience. High sensation
seekers tend to seek out highly stimulating situations but they “reduce” the effect the
experience has on their physiological arousal. Low sensation seekers tend to “augment”
highly stimulating situations and increase the effect the highly stimulating situation has
upon them. Thus, high and low sensation seekers have differing preferred levels of
arousal and different abilities and strategies to achieve optimal level of arousal. A
personality disorder which has some relation to sensation seeking is anti-social
personality disorder, as there are some studies which show a connection between
convicted male criminals and sensation seeking traits (Raine, Venables, & Williams,
1990). This does not speak to a sensation seeking cause and effect relationship with this
personality disorder, but does help to understand elements which may contribute to its
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development. For adolescents, conduct disordered males exhibiting anti-social behaviors
were shown to be high on sensation seeking (Raine and Venables, 1984). In the
development of anti-social personality disorder this is significant, as a prerequisite for an
anti-social personality disorder diagnosis, is a history of significant acting out within the
teenage years (DSM4-TR, 2000). In his earlier work, Zuckerman (1971) notes the
interplay between sensation seeking, personality trait development, physiological arousal,
and preferences for particular activities. Zuckerman’s assertions support the
aforementioned studies that state that musical preferences appeared to be highly
correlated with these factors.
Gender Roles, Musical Preferences, and Sensation Seeking
Further explaining individual development of sensation seeking traits, are the
differences that are exhibited along gender lines. McNamara (1999) examined the
relationship between gender, sensation seeking personality traits, and musical
preferences. She found that women may respond differently than men to musical stimuli.
She found that men preferred more sensation stimulating music than women did. She
noted that her results supported the varying data existing about resting rate arousal for
men and women. It appears that on some measures men have lower resting rate
physiological arousal than women. Women appeared to be more reactive to musical
stimuli. Resting rate physiological arousal may play into men and women’s differing
preferences and use of music to regulate physiologic and affective states. McNamara
speculates in this quote (1999), “Thus moderately stimulating music may meet the
arousal needs of women, whereas men with low resting arousal may require more
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stimulating music to attain a similar effect” (p.239). Differences in gender in response to
music stimuli may also be affected by the way it is presented. She found that when music
was either “masculine relevant” or “feminine relevant”, individuals tended to respond in
a way which was congruent with their gender. Cultural variables regarding gender roles
are definitely at play in this complex interaction. Additionally, in her sample
“Experience Seeking” and “Disinhibition”, were highly correlated with musical
preference for both men and women (positively and negatively).
“Psychoticism” and its Connection to Music
Another personality trait which has received a small amount of examination in
regard to musical preferences, is psychoticism. Psychoticism is a personality trait
operationalized by Hans Eysenck in his foundational research on personality. It is a core
element of his “three dimensions of personality” (Eysenck, 1967). This model also
includes “Neuroticism” and “Introversion-Extraversion”. The concept of Psychoticism
generally consists of three other related personality constructs: “Agreeableness”,
“Conscientiousness”, and “Openness to Experience”. These three related elements are
more narrower and more specific personality traits expanded upon in the “Big 5” model
of personality (Digman, 1990). Psychoticism is also a measure of susceptibility to
psychosis. High scores on Psychoticism, can mean that an individual may prefer more
bizarre or irregular experiences, they may be especially impulsive, and they may be at
increased risk for substance abuse. Though on a more positive note, some individuals
with high scores on Psychoticism have been associated with high creativity. In McCown,
Keiser, Mulhearn, and Williamson (1997) they found that individuals in their sample
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those who scored high on Psychoticism (as measured by the Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire) preferred music that has a strong bass response, and they tend to like to
listen to it by enhancing the bass response of the music. Males appeared to prefer this
experience more than females. However, this effect by gender may have been due to the
fact that males generally score higher than females on measures of Psychoticism
(Eysenck, 1967). This significantly higher need for music with a stronger bass dynamic
and listening to it with enhanced bass, played out in cars, homes, and other listening
environments where they could manipulate the dynamics of the music. Music which was
commonly utilized for this experience, consisted of music within the heavy metal and rap
genres. McCown et al. (1997) speculate that individuals with higher scores on
Psychoticism may seek out a musical experience with exaggerated bass. This may be due
to their high Psychoticism needs for bizarre/irregular experiences, and possibly to
facilitate cortical disinhibition. The study’s authors comments anecdotally on how they
have observed this effect play out in clinical populations, (McCown et al., 1997, p. 546),
“the present authors also suggest that adults with antisocial and borderline personalities
are more likely to enjoy enhanced bass in popular musical selections and to prefer
popular music with exaggerated bass inherent in its style (e.g. ‘heavy metal music’).
However, these observations need to be tested more rigorously”. In adolescent
populations, earlier research by McCown and Johnson (1993) noted that residential
treatment therapists typically observe a preference for bass enhanced music in
adolescents being treated for personality and behavioral issues. Rawlings, Hodge, Sherr,
and Dempsey (1995), found that individuals with high scores of Psychoticism preferred
more complex and complicated musical selections.
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“Extraversion” and “Introversion”, their Connection to Music
Another personality trait which has received a similarly limited amount of
empirical examination in relation to music, is the concept of “Extraversion”. Some
research in this area, examines this relationship through use of Eysenck’s definition of
“Extraversion” from his “three dimensions of personality” model (Eysneck, 1967). Other
research in this area utilizes Cattell and Saunders (1954) definition of “Extraversion”
developed through their research which used the “Music Preference Test of Personality”
and the “16 Personality Factor Questionnaire Test”. Both definitions have many
convergent components and are both defining the same general concept. Extraversion
refers to the enduring outgoing and social qualities of an individual. Extroverts are lively,
positive in thinking, and are especially excitable. Introverts tend to be reserved, quiet,
deliberate, solitary, and minimally engaged when in social situations.
The following will be an overview of the most relevant extraversion research this
limited body of literature has to offer. Earliest examination of this topic begins in the
early 1950’s with Cattell’s personality and music research. Cattel and Saunders (1954),
found that individuals high on extraversion preferred specific music dynamics. These
individuals preferred music that had a fast tempo, had intense rhythms, and promoted
positive mood states. Payne (1980) studied musicians and individuals with musical
experience and gathered information about their personality traits. Payne found that
individuals who met criteria for introversion preferred music with a formal structure, and
individuals who met criteria for extraversion preferred music that activated strong
emotional states. Daoussis and McKelvie (1986) studied introverts and extroverts, and
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found that extroverts had considerably more preference for hard rock music compared to
introverts. The particular musical genres that extroverts prefer has received some
examination. In Rawlings, Hodge, Sherr, and Dempsey (1995) the participants who met
many of the criteria for extraversion appeared to prefer electronic, religious, and
soundtrack music. In Dollinger’s (1993) research on musical preferences and personality
traits, he found that participants that met many of the criteria for extraversion appeared to
prefer hard rock and jazz, and did not like gospel music. These two studies are intriguing,
but results are merely correlational. The multitude of extraneous factors (culture, age,
etc.) which may be involved with musical preference development, make it quite difficult
to speculate on the specific effect that extraversion may have upon musical preference
development. Without a doubt it is factor, but it is quite difficult to ascertain to what
degree it is having an effect. Aforementioned research on sensation seeking helps to
understand the research on extraversion, as there are many similarities and overlap within
the two concepts and how they manifest in and individual.
“Openness” and its Connection to Music
A personality trait which shows only a bare minimum of examination within the
music and personality research literature, is the concept of “openness”. This construct has
also been developed from the on-going work regarding the “Big 5” personality
framework (Digman, 1990). This well established framework defines openness as
follows. Openness is a dimension of personality which is characterized by intellectual
curiosity, sensitivity, awareness of feelings, creativity, imagination, and unconventional
thinking (Digman, 1990). In Rawlings and Ciancarelli (1997) they found that openness
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was an important personality factor in an individual’s development of particular musical
preferences. They noted that their results support early research by Dollinger (1993), that
also conclude that openness is particularly important in musical preference development.
Rawlings and Ciancarelli (1997) theorize that openness is particularly important due to an
open individual’s tendency to be willing to expose themselves to (and appreciate) a wide
range of rich and novel musical experiences. Their data shows that open individuals show
a preference for diverse musical styles. Though it appears that being open to new
experience does not mean that they will like all new experiences. Open individuals in
their study appeared to have a strong preference for rock music, and they also appeared to
not like popular forms of contemporary music. A quote by Rawlings and Ciancarelli
(1997) helps to understand a key element of openness and its effect on musical preference
development, “openness is strongly related to breadth of musical preference, but this
relationship is mediated largely by the aesthetics and idea facets” (p.130). The “aesthetics
facet” that they measured with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory Manual (Costa &
McCrae, 1992), measures the importance of music, art, and poetry to the individual. The
same inventory measures the “idea facet” as the curiosity and breadth and depth of
intellectual interest.
Social Psychology’s Contributions to Understanding Personality and Music
Current innovators and leaders in the research regarding personality and music are
social psychologists Peter Rentfrow and Samuel Gosling. In their earlier work (Rentfrow
& Gosling, 2003), they conducted research which examined lay beliefs about music, the
structure of underlying musical preferences, and the links between music preferences and
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personality. This comprehensive study included data from over 3500 individuals,
including data from individuals nationwide which was available from music downloading
websites.
The initial phase of their study, found that individuals report that music is rated at
least as high as other common leisure activities. Individuals self-report indicated that they
believed that their musical preferences were reflective of their personalities, self-views,
and the personalities of other people. Individuals reported listening to music with great
frequency and in a multitude of situations. Without question, their results clearly showed
that music was universally important to people, and people spend a significant amount of
time listening to music.
The middle phase of their study identified basic dimensions of music preferences.
Using an exploratory factor analysis, they were able to generate four dimensions of
musical preference out of a total of 80 music genres and subgenres that reflect
contemporary American music. Each factor was named to encapsulate the dimensions
dynamics. Factor one, was “Reflective and Complex”. This was composed of classical,
jazz, blues, and folk music. Factor two, was “Intense and Rebellious”. This was
composed of alternative, rock, and heavy metal music. Factor three, was “Upbeat and
Conventional”. This was composed of country, pop, religious, and sound track music.
Factor four, was “Energetic and Rhythmic”. This was composed of rap/hip-hop,
soul/funk, and electronica/dance. Due to music’s tendency to evolve, morph, and blend
elements from other genres, it was difficult to categorize music that did not fit standard
qualities of a particular genre. Some factors correlated better than others with particular
genres and songs.
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In the last phase of the study, the researchers examined correlations between the
four musical factors and personality. For factor one “Reflective and Complex”,
individuals preferring music in this category were highly correlated with “Openness to
New Experiences”, self-perceived intelligence, verbal (but not analytic) ability, and
political liberalism. This factor was negatively correlated with social dominance and
athleticism. For factor two, “Intense and Rebelliousness”, individuals preferring music in
this category were highly correlated with “Openness to New Experiences”, athleticism,
self perceived intelligence, and verbal ability. Contrary to previous research on this
dimension, they found that this factor did not correlate highly with neuroticism or
disagreeableness, even though this dimension’s music can contain negative emotional
content. For factor three, “Upbeat and Conventional”, individuals preferring music in this
category were highly correlated with Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
conservatism, self perceived physical attractiveness, and athleticism. This factor was
negatively correlated with Openness to New Experiences, social dominance orientation,
liberalism, conventionality, and verbal ability. The fourth factor, “Energetic and
Rhythmic”, was highly correlated to Extraversion, Agreeableness, blirtatiousness (ability
to express self to others), liberalism, self-perceived attractiveness, and athleticism. This
factor is negatively correlated with social dominance orientation and conservatism. This
study provides compelling results and helps to further understanding of music dynamics
and the personality variables which effect an individual’s musical preference
development. This study does not attempt to quantify the effect personality has upon
musical preference development, as they note that self views, cognitive abilities, social
environment, cultural variables, geographic location, and social identity all appear to play
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a part in an individual’s formation of musical preferences. Quantifying the amount of
effect each variable may have upon the process would be quite difficult (if not possible),
as the process will be unique to each individual.
In more recent research by aforementioned researchers Rentfrow and Gosling
(2006), the link between an individuals musical preferences and their personality was
examined further. In this investigation they examined interpersonal perception between
individuals and attempted to uncover the effect sharing musical preferences had upon this
process. This study supported their prior research which showed that individuals consider
their musical preferences more personally revealing than books, clothing, food, movies,
and television shows that they prefer and utilize (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). This
study’s participants were able to develop accurate assessments of a target person’s
general personality traits, through an evaluation of their music preferences. Musical
preferences also appeared to reveal different information than is typically at play during
“Zero-acquaintance” contexts (contexts where you meet someone you know nothing
about). Rentfrow and Gosling note (2006), “These findings suggest that music
preferences carry unique information about personality that is not readily available from
more observable cues” (p.241). Additionally they support this by noting, “For example,
targets with a preference for music with vocals were correctly perceived as extraverted,
targets with country songs in their top-10 lists were accurately perceived as emotionally
stable, and targets with jazz in their lists were correctly perceived as intellectual” (p.
242). They found that particular musical cues offer specific information. Musical genre
(i.e. classical, jazz, etc.) and music dynamics ( i.e. fast, slow, minor/major key, etc.) were
the two primary musical cues which were found to relay specific information about the
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person and their musical preferences. For example, the classical music genre may say
something specific about an individual, and the variation in musical piece dynamics
(fast/intense or slow/melodic) within the classical music genre will reveal more in-depth
information beyond the associations to genre. This study highlights the intuitive
understanding people have regarding personality and musical preferences. This link is
correlational and not a particularly strong one, but helps to begin quantifying the
understanding untrained and non-therapist populations have regarding this concept. The
study notes that many variables are at play during interpersonal perception and it would
be difficult to quantify the specific power musical preferences have upon this perception
process. This study notes the effect other relevant variables such as observer social status,
country of residence, culture, and cohort may have upon the observer and their
impression formation process. Clearly, the connection between personality and music is
so strong that even in untrained and non-therapist populations, a minimal amount of
information about an individual’s musical preferences and little else, can provide
significant information about their personality and personality traits.
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MUSIC AND ITS CONNECTION TO SOCIAL IDENTITY
The Pervasive Influence of Music in Modern Society
In previous sections focused on intra-psychic factors (emotions and personality)
and their connections to music, a firm link was established between music and a persons
inner world. The next logical step, would be to examine the way in which these factors
play out in the social environment in which they exist. Individuals do not exist in a
vacuum and the internal factors which an individual has developed, are better understood
in the way in which they work with the social systems that they are involved with. Ickes,
Snyder, and Garcia (1997) offer a quote to help support this notion:
Once individuals are in their chosen situation, their words and actions are genuine reflections of their personalities, and the fact that they display these behaviors in settings they have specifically chosen ensures a substantial degree of consistency in their behavior. (p.166) For many individuals the words and actions that they display throughout daily
activities are musically related, and are quite probably genuine reflections of themselves.
In fact these musically related display’s (listening to music, playing instruments,
selecting music, talking about music, going to see live music/DJ’s, exposure to music
through businesses with outdoor speakers, seeking out and purchasing music, etc.) occur
quite often and are a significant element of a person’s day to day existence. This is
supported by the following studies focused on this social phenomenon. Mehl and
Pennebaker (2003) studied the social worlds of college students, and through electronic
audio device sampling of their daily activities they found that music listening was a
significant part of their daily activities. Fitzgerald, Joseph, Hayes, and Oregan, (1995)
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found that adolescents spend a significant amount of daily time devoted to many
activities surrounding music. Early research by Lyle and Hoffman (1972) found that
around half of their participants who were adolescent males, listened to music for three
hours a day, and the adolescent female participants listened to music for four hours a day.
Additional early research by Fischer and Heikes (1985) found that between 7th and 12th
grades, adolescents spend approximately 10,500 hours listening to rock music, only 500
hours less than the total amount spent in class over the 12 school years. An examination
of adult and adolescent music listening by North and Hargreaves (1999) showed that in
their sample, music was a part of their participant’s daily experience, during 38.6% of the
times they were observed for social experience. Music appears to be a significant element
of people’s day to day social experience, and developing an understanding in the way in
which an individual utilizes music to develop their social identity, appears to be quite
relevant. The two seem to be inextricably linked and strongly correlated with one
another. Before an examination of Social Identity and its connection to music begins, a
clear definition of “social identity” is necessary to shed light on the concept being
explored.
An Overview of Social Identity Theory
In the 1970’s, Henri Tajfel and John Turner developed the social psychology
concept “Social Identity Theory” (SIT) (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). This theory revolves
around three main concepts: Categorization, Identification, and Comparison.
Categorization is the internal process where a person uses social constructs (such as
teacher, pastor, social worker, etc.) to put themselves into a specific category. This is a
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way for the person to understand the way they fit into their social environment. People
categorize things in order to understand them better. A person can understand their actual
and desired place within society by the particular categories they and others put them in.
Identification, is the internal process where a person identifies with characteristics
of a particular person and/or group. They feel that there is significant overlap in their own
personal characteristics and the group they are identifying with. At times a person
identifies as an individual, other times they identify as part of the group they identify
with, and sometimes they may identify as both. A person’s social identity and personal
identity are inextricably linked together. For the purposes of SIT, group membership
through identification is not something that is just given to the person. Group
memberships and group identity occur due to the fact that the person truly has overlap in
significant characteristics to the identified group. It’s not just a desire to be part of
another group.
Comparison, is the internal process, where an individual evaluates themselves
through comparing themselves to similar others. A positive self concept (or self-esteem)
is generated through this comparison. This self promoting process is enhanced, when an
individual then compares the group that they identify with another group that they
evaluate as “less than” their own group. Individuals tend to selectively choose who they
compare themselves to, to insure that they will be seen or see themselves in a positive
light. Tajfel and Turner (1979) found that this social comparison process was utilized by
individuals to obtain specific results. These are: positive self identity, self esteem
(through in-group belonging), positive distinction (from being in the opposite group),
positive feelings through opposite group degrading, and the benefits (perks) from the in-
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group favoritism. This three part social identity process occurs not once, but it occurs
regularly as the person interfaces with different people and situations. In SIT, there is not
one “personal self”, but rather several selves that correspond to widening circles of group
membership.
Social Identity and Erikson’s (1993) Theoretical Contributions
The concept of social identity is one which is relevant for people across their life
span, but it is of particular relevance to individual’s navigating through their adolescent
years. The period of adolescence is one in which issues of identity and social group
interaction, are of extremely high priority. Developmental theorists such as Erik Erikson
help explain normative experience through these years (Erikson, 1993). In Erikson’s
eight stage developmental model, Erikson illustrates how the period between age 12 and
age 18 (approximately) is a period where adolescents struggle with the developmental
task he calls “identity development versus role confusion”. Essentially, successful
identity development equates to an individual knowing who they are and how they fit into
society. It requires that they take all they've learned about life and themselves and mold it
into a unified self-image, one that their community finds meaningful. Role confusion, is
the maladaptive outcome for an adolescent working through this stage. This may
manifest in the adolescent not having a clear sense of who they are, which groups they
belong to, and they may have a collection of fragmented and poorly developed identities
which are not integrated or adaptive in their environment. Even though social identity
appears to most relevant to those in their adolescent years, social identity is not a singular
destination, it is a fluid and ever-changing process, and thus it is relevant to individuals
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throughout the life span. Understanding a person’s social identity through their use of
music appears to be useful regardless of age, but of significantly larger importance
throughout the years of adolescence.
Predictive Value of Social Identity Theory and Music
In Tarrant, North, and Hargreaves (2001) study on social categorization, self-
esteem, and musical preferences, evidence was gathered supporting their theory that SIT
concepts, and musical preferences, are highly correlated with particular behavioral,
cognitive, and affective states within adolescents. Their study focused on six particular
hypotheses looking at theoretically predictable SIT outcomes. In their sample (97 male
and female adolescents) they found that in male adolescents, musical preferences were
significantly correlated with SIT predicted outcomes. The authors note (2001), “social
identity theory may predict the behavior of adolescent groups when they make group
comparisons along valued dimensions such as music” (p.576). Social Identity Theory was
effective in predicting that this study’s adolescents, associated the in-group with music
that was valued positively by the in-group (popular music, dance, etc.) This was found to
happen to a greater extent than they associated the out-group with that same music.
Adolescents also associated music that they valued negatively with the out-group
(classical, jazz, country, etc.) to a greater extent than they associated the in-group with
that music. With adolescents that had low self esteem levels, they had a tendency to
distance the in-group more from the out-group in terms of its stated degree of liking for
negatively valued music. In other words, they claimed that the in-group liked it less and
the out-group liked it more.
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Adolescent Communication, the Role of Social Identity and Music
Subsequent examinations by this research team (Tarrant, North, & Hargreaves,
2002) built upon this developing understanding of SIT and musical preferences. They
found that adolescent’s statements about their musical preferences, also relayed non-
musical information to individuals. They operationalized this dynamic, as a transfer of
“meta-information”. This non-musical information, consists of the interwoven qualities
associated with the particular musical genre, song, band that an adolescent is stating that
they have a personal preference for (i.e. aggressive nature/antisocial attitudes with punk
rock, intellectual nature/high SES with classical music, etc.). In line with SIT theory, this
exaggeration of group affiliation (in-group) during interpersonal interaction, can be
understood as an individual’s attempt to increase self esteem (Comparison) and as an
attempt to develop their own personal social identity (Categorization). Interpersonal
interactions where musical preference statements are being made, are also based upon the
“impression management” plans of the individual (Hargreaves & North, 1999). Through
stating particular musical preferences (real, fabricated, or a combination of both) an
individual is able to present to others, particular qualities, alliances, views, etc. that they
feel the others will believe about them, simply through their self-categorization. Relaying
information about musical preferences as an impression management tool is one that is
quite powerful, and it is one which can quickly relay multi-layer messages regarding an
individual’s social identity. Depending on the motivations and level of honesty from the
one presenting the musical preferences, a highly complex an accurate illustration can be
given of the individual. If the presenter decides to be dishonest and deceptive
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(consciously or unconsciously), a highly complex and inaccurate illustration can be
concocted, depending on the believability of the fabrication. Tarrant, North, and
Hargreaves (2000) support these notions, as they found that people utilize music as a
“badge of identity” for others to see. This “badge” development process is thought to
operate on two different levels, one reinforcing how the individual sees themselves and
the other sending impression forming messages to others. The impression management
process can take many forms, as musical preferences can be telegraphed through varying
qualities and actions of the presenter. Musical preference can be relayed by: simple
statements about favorite bands, songs, genre’s, comments about what a person doesn’t
like, clothing/stylistic cues, geographic location (urban, rural, etc.), music selected/played
around others, music played loudly in car so others can hear it, choice of leisure
activities, places they go for recreation (bars, parties, etc.), gender, culture, their music
collection, instrument selected and played, discussing their iPod playlist…the list goes
on.
Identity Development and Musical Preferences
The powerful effect of music in developing social identity is pursued further in
MacDonald, Hargreaves, and Miell’s work (2002) attempting to categorize the effects.
They attempt to explain the development of individual behaviors and traits through
examining the socio-cultural environment the individual exists in. They present two
constructs to help define and categorize two major avenues for identity formation. The
first, is “Identities In Music” (IIM). This is where an individual sees themselves primarily
as a “musician”, “punk rocker”, “hippie”. Their musical preferences are their core
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defining traits. The second, is “Music In Identities” (MII). This defines the process where
an individual develops aspects of their personality through use of music. Musical
preferences, use, and experience can drive and develop varying aspects of the individual.
This could manifest as a person develops a national identity, gender identity, etc. These
two forms of identity development are not the only avenues posited for identity
development. They are avenues some individuals may take who have strong connections
and involvement with musical activities.
Positive Inter-group Attitude Development, SIT, and Music
Thus far, SIT has been shown to be highly effective in predicting musical
preference development and musical use. However, research has been predominantly on
adolescents and generalizations need to be made cautiously across the age range. The
primary effect SIT and musical preference’s has been shown to provide so far, is inter-
group differentiation. Next, research will be presented which will clarify the possible
polar opposite effect of musical preferences and SIT, positive inter-group attitude
development. In Bakadgiannis and Tarrant’s recent work (2006) they examined and
produced this dynamic in a sample of adolescents attending high school in the United
Kingdom. They found that encouraging adolescent’s to focus on shared musical
preferences helped them to re-categorize their thoughts about who was in their in-group
and who was in the out-group. Emphasizing similarities amongst groups can help them to
cognitively reorganize and to develop increased or decreased self esteem based upon the
direction of the reorganization. The belief that musical preferences were shared amongst
two groups, led to the perception that the out-group was going to perceive them more
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positively. Shared musical preferences between two groups led to individuals believing
that similarity on this one important variable meant that both groups were similar on a
wide range of related and unrelated characteristics. The central question to this work, was
“Can music bring people together” (Bakadgiannis & Tarrant, 2006, p.134). Their
conclusion was that this was quite evident amongst their sample, and they were the first
to demonstrate this empirically. Their results showed that positive inter-group relations
were facilitated by adolescent’s perceptions that their in-group musical preferences were
similar to the contrasted out-group. A moving example of this process in action, was
given (Bakadgiannis & Tarrant, 2006) related to the current Jewish-Arab conflict in the
middle east. They highlight the positive inter-group attitudes of the Jewish-Arab Musical
Youth Orchestra, which developed out of common inter-group musical preferences. The
orchestra was comprised of Jewish and Arab youth who chose to work together as
orchestra musicians, and did so successfully. These shared musical preferences and
musical experiences have triumphed over extreme geo-political forces driving a wedge
between these two different cultural groups.
Closing Thoughts on Social Identity Theory and Music
The findings in this chapter give evidence to the powerful effect music has upon
individuals (particularly adolescents) in their development of self concept, views on
others, views about how they fit into the world, and the significant effect these can have
on the adolescents self esteem and behaviors. Information about music appears to be a
significant data point for adolescents, which they appear to utilize in cognitive strategies
to understand and interface with the social world.
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THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF MUSIC AS AN ASSESSMENT VARIABLE
Musically Guided Psychological Assessment, a Chapter Primer
In light of the research presented in previous chapter’s establishing strong links
between music, emotions, personality, social identity, and their utility as assessment
variables; an examination of ways to properly assess these variables is clearly warranted.
Assessment of music preferences, musical experience, and the way in which in which a
client uses music, can be done in a multitude of ways. In fact, the range of possibilities is
only limited by the creativity and resources available to the assessing clinician. Research
by Unkefer and Thaut (2002), indicated that in musically guided psychological
assessments, clinicians typically utilize one or a combination of the following assessment
modalities. These include: interviewing (verbal or questionnaire), testing, observing, and
reviewing existing data (archival research). This chapter will focus on these four
musically guided assessment modalities.
Music Based Psychological Assessment, Verbal Inquiry Methods
In regard to the first and most obvious route, an assessor may simply ask the
client about these variables and the way in which they may exist in the client’s life. The
line of questioning may include inquiries such as: “What type of music do you like?”,
“What does this music say about you?”, “How have your musical interests changed over
the years?”, “What do you think about or feel when you listen your favorite music?”,
“Where do you feel or sense the music in your body?”, “What type of music do you listen
to when you are around other people?”. This is just a very limited sample of possible
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music inquiry questions. This is a method that will provide information to a greater or
lesser degree, depending on a variety of factors. First, is the client’s level of openness and
honesty (Kazdin, 2003). A client may simply not be ready to discuss this topic or may not
be truthful with the examiner. Also, due to the effect of “social desirability”, a client may
censor, fabricate, or exaggerate their personal information based upon a desired
appearance they may want to create for the examiner (Kazdin, 2003). A second factor
which needs to be taken into consideration, is the long and short term memory capacity of
the client and their ability to access this information (Kazdin, 2003). Musical preferences
can include many different singers, genres, bands, composers, etc. and to accurately
recall all of this information and present it coherently to an examiner would be quite
difficult. Even for the individuals who are the most open, honest, musically inclined, and
with the strongest recall abilities, being able to recall the full range of musical
preferences they have, the varied effects they have, and the ways in which they use
music, would be a feat that would be near impossible through simple verbal recall tasks.
Music Based Psychological Assessment, Questionnaire Guided Inquiry Methods
Another route to access a client’s musically related information would be to
utilize a structured questionnaire. This method of inquiry could be conducted verbally, by
the assessor asking questions from the questionnaire. Or it could be conducted by
administering the questionnaire to the client as a paper and pencil test, to be completed
without the involvement of the assessor. The questionnaire could be a collection of
specific questions (open or closed ended) developed to gather musically related client
information. Ideally, the questions would be based upon the theories and research which
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help to identify factors that are most relevant for musical preferences, use, and
experience. This approach would be subject to aforementioned difficulties associated
with simple verbal question and answer. However, pre-constructed items could gather
information in a more focused/specific manner and may help to make the assessment
process more productive (Kazdin, 2003). A carefully constructed questionnaire could
contain items that would allow the examiner to present tasks or questions which would
allow the examinee to truly express their musical preferences if they chose to do so. A
structured questionnaire would also increase inter-rater reliability during administration
to multiple participants, and decrease the probability of intrasubject variability through
variations in the examiners questions, methods, etc. (Kazdin, 2003). Next, will follow an
overview of select empirical studies regarding psychology and music, which give
evidence of the development and use of musically focused questionnaires. It appears that
these musically focused questionnaires were developed to aide in musical assessment of
clients that were involved in their experimental research. In other words, these are not
standardized and normed tests. For the most part, they appear to be research tools
designed specifically for the needs of the research study they are involved in. Examples
of these questionnaires are as follows.
In Arnett’s study on musical preferences and reckless behavior (1992), he
developed a paper and pencil “musical preferences questionnaire” specifically for his
particular study. The musical preference questionnaire consisted of questions and rating
tasks related to musical preferences. The questionnaire gave a wide range of genre
examples, examples of performers within the genre’s, and opportunities to rank
preferences and describe which ones they liked or disliked. Examples of genres
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categorized in the questionnaire include: acoustic pop, jazz, classical, mainstream rock,
hard rock, and heavy metal, and “other.”
In Zuckerman and Little’s research on sensation seeking and music preferences
(1985), they developed a paper and pencil “musical preference scale” (MPS) specifically
for their particular study. The MPS consisted of 75 questions, including ratings of
preferences for established music, musical activity, and demographic data. Sixty of the
items were specifically related to musical preferences, and these were pooled from 150
items identified in a factor analysis. The genres of rock, classical, electronic, jazz,
soul/rhythm/blues, popular, country/western, folk/ethnic, religious, Broadway, TV, and
soundtrack were the key factors which were identified. These genres were found to be
reflective of their time periods (1985) commercial recording industry divisions. Each
question about liking for a particular genre included an example of a performer of the
genre. The examinee had opportunity to rate which genres were like, disliked, and to
what degree.
In North, Hargreaves, and O’Neil’s study on the importance of music to
adolescents (2000), they developed a paper and pencil test specifically for their particular
study. They developed an eight-page questionnaire consisting of 28 items. Each item
required an examinee to respond using a 10-point rating scale in which 0 represented the
low portion of the scale and 10 represented the high portion. The questionnaire asked
examinee’s about the degree of involvement they have with musical activities, to rate the
importance of music in relation to other leisure activities, and to rate the importance of
varying factors which might determine why they and other people of their age and sex
might listen to/perform pop and classical music.
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In Schwartz and Fouts study on musical preferences, personality style, and
developmental issues of adolescents (2003), they designed a paper and pencil
questionnaire that was built upon previous musical preference research . This
questionnaire was a minimally modified version of Finnas’ questionnaire designed from
his earlier research on adolescent musical preferences (1987). This questionnaire assessed
music preferences based on qualities of music that listeners prefer, rather than particular
styles-genre’s and/or representative performers. Thirteen qualities of music were
presented to be rated by each examinee. These included: “romantic and dreamy”, “mild
and quiet”, “sad and gloomy”, peaceful and relaxing”, soft and tender”, “serious and
thoughtful”, “good-natured and kind”, “upsetting and protesting”, “tough and hard”,
“loud, played at a great volume”, “wild and violent”, “played with many guitars”, and
“played at a fast tempo”. Examinee’s were asked to rate how much they like the music
(described by each quality), on a 5-point Likert scale. Music involvement was assessed
by asking examinee’s to determine how much time they spent listening to music during
each day of the week.
These four examples are representative of the types of questionnaires utilized by
researchers examining musical preferences, use, experience, and associated individual
characteristics. They all appear to be designed specifically to measure the musical factors
which their research study is attempting to examine. Though some researchers attempt to
build their questionnaires on relevant theory, research and practice, they are still research
tools that fall far short from the requirements that most standardized psychological tests
require. These questionnaires appear to have great face validity, but beyond that, it is
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unclear how valid and reliable these questionnaires are as measures of music related
qualities in an individual.
Essentials of Standardized Psychological Tests
In general, for a measure to be considered a standardized psychological test it
must meet rigorous demands in many key areas. Groth-Marnat (2000) identifies five
main areas where a psychological test must meet strict requirements, to be considered as
a valid standardized psychological test. First, is the theoretical orientation of the test. The
theoretical construct that the test is supposed to measure should have strong support in
the scientific literature. Also, the test should assess the construct based upon supporting
theories. Second, are the practical considerations regarding the test. These pertain to the
administration specifics, length of test, cultural appropriateness, ways to gather data, etc.,
that affect the tests ability to measure what it is designed to measure. Third, is the
standardization of the test. This refers to the development and adequacy of norms for the
test. The meaning of test scores directly relate to the similarity between the individual
being tested and the sample the test utilized. Fourth, is the reliability of the test. This
refers to the degree of stability, consistency, predictability, and accuracy of the test. Key
elements of reliability are test-retest reliability, alternate forms, split-half reliability, and
inter-scorer reliability. The fifth and most crucial area, is the validity of the test. This
refers to the degree to which a test is able to measure what it is intended to measure, as
well as produce information that is useful to clinicians. Key elements of validity are:
content validity, criterion validity, face validity, construct validity, conceptual validity,
discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Validity is not seen as an absolute, but
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rather it refers to the range of validity the test may have for a specific group of people or
particular context.
So far, a bottom up examination of musical assessment procedures, illuminates
verbal questioning and then structured questionnaires as the first two methods typically
utilized in musical assessment. Examination of protocol for standardized test
development helps to put their utility as proper psychological assessment into
perspective. The potential weaknesses of these two approaches were clearly noted, as
simple questioning and questionnaires do not meet the criteria for standardized
psychological testing. Looking at the next logical step in the evolution of musical
assessment procedures, are examples of standardized psychological tests which have
been designed to assess intrapsychic characteristics as they relate to musical variables.
Standardized Music Based Psychological Assessments
Examination of early standardized music based psychological tests, begins with
the work of famous social psychologist Raymond Cattell. Cattel and Anderson (1953)
developed the “Institute for Personality and Ability Testing (I.P.A.T.) Musical Preference
Test”, as their personality research supported “measures of musical preference as
effective avenues to deeper aspects of personality’ (Cattell & Anderson, 1953, p. 446).
The I.P.A.T. Musical Preference Test, consisted of a 12-inch long-playing record,
reproducing 100 half-minute music excerpts (50 on one side, Form A, and an equivalent
50 on the other, Form B). Except for the first and last three factors in the test, there are
ten items provided to measure each factor. This test measured 11 factors, which equate to
11 differing types of music dynamics (“fast”, “slow and simple”, “sad”, etc.). A factor
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analysis of 120 diverse music excerpts resulted in the 11 factors being chosen. The
testing procedures consisted of the record being played to the participants, and having the
participant rate the musical piece as either liked, intermediate (between like and dislike),
or disliked. This test was standardized on a normal population of 380 student and non-
student adults ranging from 18 to 68 years of age. Further research of the utility of this
musical test, showed it as an effective test to assess personality traits in individuals
hospitalized for psychotic disorders (Cattel & Anderson, 1953). In this particular study,
the I.P.A.T Musical Preference Test results were contrasted with the results from another
standardized psychological test of that time period, the 16 Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16 P.F.) and a great deal of convergent validity between the two tests was
uncovered. Cattel and Anderson (1953) state, “Application of the Music Preference Test
to 98 patients in mental hospitals revealed several factor measure differences, significant
at the 1% level, between psychotics and normals between various psychotic syndrome
groups. If confirmed on further samples these pattern differences are so marked as to
make the test a valuable adjunct to psychiatric diagnosis” (p. 454). Though this research
is quite old it provides compelling evidence that a properly designed standardized
musical preference psychological test, holds the promise of significant assessment
information. Subsequent research by Healy (1973), showed that the IPAT music
Preference Test of Personality, was a reliable psychological test in assessing hospitalized
psychiatric patients. However, he also found that there were problems in some areas with
validity. The test appeared to have difficulty assessing the onset of psychiatric illness
based upon musical preferences.
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In the early 1960’s, research and wide spread use of the Thematic Apperception
Test (TAT), stimulated interest in projective tests. This included research by Bean and
Moore (1964), when they began exploring novel methods of assessment with
schizophrenic patients. Their research attempted to develop a projective psychological
test which would operate in similar ways to the TAT. However, instead of visual stimuli
being presented, they experimented with the effects of auditory stimuli on the patient.
They ultimately developed the Sound Apperception Test (SAT). The purpose of the SAT,
was to use the auditory stimuli to facilitate fantasy production and increase verbalizations
in the schizophrenic client. This route was seen as particularly useful, as schizophrenics
tend to be more receptive to sound than language, picture, or objects. The SAT auditory
stimuli, consisted of 16 semi-structured sound patterns. These were essentially altered
everyday environmental sounds. The test was normed, through administering the SAT to
500 “normal” participants. After norms were established, 24 Schizophrenic patients were
presented with 16 pictures from the TAT and 16 sound patterns from the SAT.
Participants were evaluated on their total word count along with the amount of fantasy
production under each test condition and classified as either visually dominant (high
score of TAT) or auditory predominant (high score or SAT). Limited use of SAT by Bean
and Moore (1964) showed that the SAT held promise as a screening tool to see whether
an individual would benefit from auditory based assessment/intervention, and whether
they would be good candidates for music therapy.
Research by Van den Daele (1967) examined the use of musical stimuli in
generating fantasy within schizophrenic patients. This musically based psychological test,
was administered by playing a standardized selection of one minute musical excerpts.
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Scoring was based upon the verbal reactions the patient had to the musical excerpts. The
test was based upon four theories and findings that the researcher uncovered to support
this approach. The first, was that he found that music is an excellent stimulus for fantasy
production. The second, was that the task of verbalizing after a sound stimulus has ended,
often results in mere identification of sound without fantasy production. The third, is that
redundancy in music ensures a continuity of the stimulus so the participant is not
overwhelmed by excessive change. The fourth, is that information concerning the
participant’s response to ongoing variation is potentially important diagnostic
information. This could be related to the adaptive abilities of the patient to the world at
large. Norms for this test were developed off of relatively small samples. Twenty state
hospital patients (schizophrenics) and twenty college students were administered this test
and results were compared. The schizophrenic patients had longer reaction time before
verbalization to music, spoke less while the music played but more between excerpts of
music, and made more references to animal content than human content during the test.
The college student sample, generated stories that were more in alignment with the music
stimulus (i.e. depressing story from a slow musical piece). The author concluded that this
test was a reliable and valid test, though there is no evidence of replication studies which
support this notion.
In Pavlicevic and Tevarthen’s (1989) development of a standardized music based
test, they compared the results from their Music Improvisation Rating (MIR) test between
a psychiatric group (depressed and schizophrenic) and a non-psychiatric group (No
evidence of depression or schizophrenia). The researchers examined three key domains
within their participants: musical background, musical perception, and ratings of musical
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improvisation. They found that both groups did not differ significantly in regard to their
musical background as measured by the “Index of Musical Experience”. In the “Musical
Perception Test” portion of the examination, groups differed significantly on measures of
pitch and rhythm discrimination. To determine the overall “Musical Improvisation
Rating”, improvised subject performance on the bongos and marimbas was evaluated.
Examination of the scores (using a standardized six level analysis), showed that
participants with schizophrenia were significantly less involved with and unable to be as
musically responsive to the therapist. Schizophrenic patients showed significant
impairment (compared to the non-psychiatric group) in their abilities for two-way
communication and disorganization in musical improvisation. The author concluded that
this tool demonstrated sensitivity and reliability as a psychiatric diagnostic tool.
Subsequent research by Pavlicevic (1994), expanded the measurement levels of the MIR,
and showed some additional evidence of the MIR’s utility in psychiatric diagnosis. This
revised version was purported to have the increased sensitivity to distinguish between
differing psychiatric diagnoses (depression, psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.) and sensitivity
to measure changes in functioning within chronic schizophrenics.
Research by Migliore (1991) examined the relationship between a test of
rhythmic competency and the psychomotor subtest of the Hamilton Rating Scale for
Depression. Significant negative correlations were uncovered between particular subtests
on the rhythm test and the Hamilton’s psychomotor subtest. Test administration occurred
with 26 endogenously depressed inpatient adult patients. Replication of this study
(Cohen, 1985) with manic and non manic psychotic inpatient hospital patients showed
some ability in this approach to discriminate with differential diagnosis. Manic inmates
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scored significantly higher on measures of rhythmicity and tempo performance on a
drum.
Established standardized psychological tests have also been utilized to examine
the psychological effects of music on patients. In Greenberg and Fischer’s early work
(1971), they administered the TAT, the Draw-A-Person test, the Bass Famous Saying
test, and the Buss-Durke Hostility Scale, to subjects in two different musical conditions.
Forty female participants were differentially administered these tests during exposure to
“calming” background music and “exciting” background music. Results from the
projective tests picked up differences in “hostility” scores based upon music condition.
Exciting music produced more female power themes and high hostility themes on the
TAT, along with taller figures on the Draw-A-Person test. In a related study (McFarland,
1984), college participants were exposed to three different conditions (no music being
played, “calming” music, or “tension-producing” music) and were give an ambiguous
picture from the TAT to respond to. Significant differences were found in the sixty
stories collected, dependent on the experimental condition they were exposed to.
Braswell, Brooks, Decuir, Humphrey, Jacobs, and Sutton (1983; 1986) developed
the Music/Activity Therapy Intake Assessment for Psychiatric Patients to assess
psychosocial functioning, self-concept, interpersonal relationships, and
altruism/optimism. This test gathers information from self-report, through patient
completion of a questionnaire. This test established its norms through administration to
214 university students and 93 institutionalized psychiatric patients. They found that the
attitude scales displayed internal consistency for both the patient and student samples,
meaning the scales measured independent attitudinal domains. Two of the three scales
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were found to discriminate significantly (p<.05) among the groups of university students.
Among the institutionalized psychiatric patients, all three measures discriminated
significantly (p<.01). “Self concept” scores were found to have the strongest ability to
discriminate between psychiatric and non-psychiatric populations.
In Egler’s research (1986) on evaluating and modifying the social behaviors of the
mentally ill, she furthered research linking the Day Treatment Client Assessment
(DTCA) and data collected through music therapy sessions. She determined the
concurrent validity and reliability of the Social Skills Subscale through comparison of
music therapy session data. Items were assessed in a standardized fashion from the music
therapy session. These musically related variables included: eye contact, appropriate
conversation, nonverbal communication, group participation/socialization, assertion, and
risk taking. The author concluded that the sessions may be a valid setting for assessing
the social behavior of the mentally ill, as music therapy sessions can be structured to
elicit many social skills and deficiencies within them.
Cassity and Cassity (1996) developed a test to help with diagnostic procedures in
psychiatric settings. The test is called the Psychiatric Music Therapy Questionnaire
(PMTQ). The test consists of a 90 item inventory assessing music preference, non-music
behavior, and post-interview observations. This test is based upon a multi-modal therapy
model (behavioral, cognitive, affective, etc.). In related unpublished research (Anderson
& Krebaum, 1998) examining correlational findings between the PMTQ and other more
established standardized psychological tests, the PMTQ showed ability to assist in the
psychiatric diagnostic process within psychiatric inpatient settings.
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A popular method of assessment within the world of music therapy (Bonny,
1980), is the “Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music” (GIM). This approach
generally involves a verbal interview and then if necessary, some relevant form of
standardized psychological test. The interview typically covers issues related to
sleep/dream patterns, music background/preferences, ways the client uses music in their
life, and experiences with relaxation techniques. Non-verbal communication is also
assessed during the interview. Key areas that are assessed include: structure of thought
process, focusing abilities, concentration, range of affect, ego strengths, and defense
mechanisms. If necessary, projective tests such as the TAT, standardized
depression/anxiety inventories, and personality scales are administered to ascertain
convergent and divergent validity. In later sessions, the client may be exposed to musical
conditions and their unique response is assessed and interpreted. Of great importance, is
the mental imagery that is generated by the music. Assessment methods of the imagery
follow standardized scaling procedures. These procedures scale the content, vividness,
classification, and client integration in the imagery.
Fast forward to current times, cutting edge social psychologists Rentfrow and
Gosling (2006) provide their example of a standardized musical preference test, the Short
Test of Musical Preferences (STOMP). The STOMP was developed out of research that
found that when people discuss their musical preferences, they tend to do so first at the
level of genres and then to a lesser degree at the subgenre level (Jellison & Flower,
1991). A factor analysis of 80 music genres representing all of the most influential genres
in current western culture, illuminated 14 main music genre’s that are most popular and
representative currently. These genres are: alternative, blues, classical, country,
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electronica/dance, folk, heavy metal, rap/hip hop, jazz, pop, religious, rock, soul/funk,
and sound tracks. Next, an exploratory factor analysis of these 14 genres showed that
these genres were correlated (to varying degrees) with four separate musical dimensions.
First, they found that blues, jazz, classical, and folk music, were strongly loaded on
“Reflective and Complex” dynamics. Second, they found that rock, alternative, and
heavy metal, were loaded strongly with “Intense and Rebellious” dynamics. Third, they
found that country, sound track, religious, and pop music, were strongly loaded on
“Upbeat and Conventional” dynamics. Fourth, they found that rap/hip hop, soul/funk, and
electronica/dance music, were strongly loaded on “Energetic and Rhythmic” dynamics.
This test was standardized (through three separate studies) on a sample of 3,500 adults of
varying ethnicities, geographic locations, age, and gender. Finally, Rentfrow and Gosling
(2003) computed correlations between the scores on the STOMP and scores on well
established standardized tests, which measure personality, self-views, and cognitive
ability (i.e. Beck Depression Inventory, Big Five Inventory, Wonderlic I.Q. test, etc.).
Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) note, “The correlations presented in Table 3 reveal a
fascinating pattern of links between music preferences and personality, self-views, and
cognitive ability” (p.1248). The STOMP is available online at
http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/Gosling/scale.
These examples of music based psychological tests, shed light on the significant
assessing power music holds as an assessment variable. With increasing incorporation of
proper research methods, assessing musical preference, use, and experience increases in
validity. This is not to discount more basic assessment procedures (verbal questioning &
questionnaires), as standardized musical preference tests are still in the beginnings stages
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of their development and use. Dependent on the specific information a clinician may need
regarding musical preferences, simple questioning, questionnaires from past research, or
a custom-constructed questionnaire may provide necessary information regarding the
variable being assessed. More standardized tests are in need of development to provide a
variety of measurement tools to assess not only musical preferences, but also to measure
musical experience, and how a person uses music.
The Field of Music Therapy and their Music Based Approaches to Assessment
In the related discipline of music therapy, there exists much evidence of the use of
music assessments aimed at gathering information about the intra-psychic world of the
therapy client. The following will be a sampling of highly respected and representative
research, theory, and practice illustrating the role of assessment in music therapy.
Unkefer and Thaut (2002) note that music therapists are well trained in observational
methods, and typically assess clients through observational assessment of their musical
behaviors in natural, unstructured, or contrived structure settings. Research by Bruscia
(1988), illustrates the importance of proper assessment before implementing a music
based intervention. Bruscia identified five general goals for a proper music therapy
assessment. The first goal, is diagnosis. This is accomplished by using the music
experience to assist in detecting, defining, and classifying the problem. Music therapy
research literature is referenced, and the clients response to music stimuli is used to
indicate a level of pathology. The second goal, is description. This is done through
understanding more about the client within the context of the client’s own world. The
third goal, is interpretation. This is done by providing a theoretical basis for the client’s
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problems through analysis of the musical responses of the client. The fourth goal, is
prescription. This is done by using the music experience to determine whether music
therapy services are needed. If services are determined to be necessary, a specific
therapeutic approach is tailored to fit the needs of the client. The fifth goal, is evaluation.
This is the process similar to the assessment, but it is one which establishes a basis for
determining progress.
Reasoning for a music therapy based assessment, was specified by Unkefer and
Thaut (2002) in their research on assessment of adult psychiatric clients. This particular
population was identified as one which would benefit greatly from the complementary
services of a music therapy based assessment. Number one, each patient interacts with
music in a unique way, and this provides unique opportunity to understand the
characteristics of the patient and their interactional style. Number two, this type of
assessment does not need to be limited by traditional visual, verbal, and kinesthetic
modes of testing. A music therapy assessment offers the opportunity to observe the
client’s response to auditory, yet nonverbal, stimuli. Particular skills are ideally suited for
assessment within a musical context. Auditory perception and memory may be tested
through singing a song. Verbal and non-verbal responses to a musical piece may reveal
either healthy or incongruent social and emotional patterns of behavior. Number three, a
music therapist can integrate the data from their assessment along with the data from
other disciplines assessment (psychiatry, social work, psychology, etc.). This provides
opportunity to develop a program plan that includes goals that focus on the client’s needs
while defining the steps necessary for achieving the goals. Number four, music therapists
have developed many complementary assessment techniques which comply with
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managed care, accreditation, hospital expectations, and guidelines put out by regulatory
agencies.
A recent examination (Gregory, 2000) of the assessment tools utilized by music
therapists in music therapy research, showed that music therapists utilize a significant
amount of non-musical psychological tests in their assessment of clients. The study
examined all research studies published in the Journal of Music Therapy from 1984 to
1997. This examination showed that in 183 qualifying research studies, around 50% used
some type of non-music based test. Examples of the non-music based tests utilized in
these particular research studies include: the Spielberger State/Trait Anxiety Inventory,
the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Beck Depression Inventory II, the Schedule
for Affective Disorders of Schizophrenia, and the Global Assessment of Functioning
Scale. A total of 115 tests were found to be utilized within this sample, and of this 115,
only 25 were music based tests. Of these 25 tests, the majority were not standardized.
They were mostly designed by the researchers for the specific needs of their research
study.
In Lowey’s study on music therapy assessment (2000), a picture evolved of
current and past practices specific to Music Therapy assessment. The most common
practice that was identified, was an assessment where music therapists utilize standard
forms instructing specific musically related behavioral tasks. This was found to be a less
effective manner of musical assessment. Loewy proposed an approach with thirteen
“areas of inquiry” for the therapist, to develop a holistic view of the client. These areas
include: awareness of self, others, and the moment, thematic expression, listening,
performing, collaboration/relationship concentration; range of affect
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investment/motivation, use of structure, integration; self esteem, risk taking; and
independence. Lowey described experiential in-session music creating activities which
can generate information regarding these areas of inquiry. Examples of these include:
evaluation of a client’s ability to share and work with therapist while playing musical
instruments, communication of musical needs/wants from client, type of song or musical
dynamic that the client is drawn towards or repelled by, emotional reactivity to certain
songs or instruments, issues client begins to think about during music experience, ability
to concentrate and focus while learning songs on an instrument, the clients response to
structure or lack of structure in a song, and client reasoning regarding instrument choice.
These are just a few of the creative and relevant music therapy assessment techniques
identified by Lowey (2000). These methods are based upon existing theory and research
within the field of music therapy, but their efficacy has not been empirically validated.
Psychological Assessment, Music, and Self-report Limitations
In examining the ways in which musical preferences can be assessed, in-session
methods (including verbal questioning, paper and pencil questionnaires, standardized
psychological assessments, and experiential music therapy assessments) have been
examined as potential avenues for assessment. These methods show strong potential for
assessment, but are limited by their strengths or weaknesses related to scientific method.
In addition, these assessment methods (besides observation of experiential exercises) are
primarily self-report in design, and are limited by the constraints related to client self-
report. These constraints center around two primary issues (Mehl & Pennebaker, 2003).
The first, is that recall of an event is at the mercy of the subjective interpretation of the
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client. When a client attempts to access information about an event, many layers of
filtering and unique associations by the client, may produce an explanation of events
which could be quite different than which actually occurred. The second, is that
individuals can only recall that which they are aware of. At any given moment an
individual is being exposed to an unimaginable amount of potential information. Only a
small amount of this information actually enters into a person’s awareness. Ultimately,
for the brain to not become overloaded or overworked unnecessarily, sensory filters only
allow a small amount of situationally relevant information to be attended to. These two
factors illustrate the main problems associated with self report, and are limitations to be
considered when considering using musical based assessment procedures utilizing self-
report.
Archival Research and the Integration of Music in Assessment
An assessment approach that does not present with the limitations of self report is
assessment of an individual through “archival research” (Kazdin, 2003) or the
“experience sampling method” (Czikszentmihalyi & Lefevre, 1989). Archival research, is
a research method which eliminates reactivity effects in participants. It enables one to
gather data about an individual without fear that the experimenter’s hypothesis or actions
will influence the data themselves (Kazdin, 2003). The “experience sampling method”, is
a naturalistic research method, where participants are randomly evaluated throughout
their regular undisturbed days to examine what they are doing (Czikszentmihalyi &
Lefevre, 1989). Gathering data about musical preferences, use, and experience from an
individual’s undisturbed day to day life would be an ideal way of gathering data which
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could be truly reflective of their actual musical experience. Prior studies which relied
heavily on experimental methods to research the psychology of music, have the
advantage of experimental control, but they lack the “ecological or real life validity” that
naturalistic research has to offer (Kazdin, 2003). Highly controlled experimental studies
on musical preference, experience, and use, provide valuable data on the micro level, but
they lack the contextual and social factors that are typically intertwined with music.
These experimental studies have the potential to be highly artificial and may only
produce results reflective of their controlled conditions. One advantage of archival
research methods (unobtrusive), is that they can supplement more commonly used
techniques thereby adding strength to the external validity of experimental findings
(Kazdan, 2003). Hargreaves, Marshall, and North (2003) reflect on their own naturalistic
social psychology research regarding musical preferences, experience, and use:
These studies combine the advantages of using real-life music listening situations and retaining a good deal of experimental control. Another
approach is to collect information about the music listening experiences of people in everyday, real-life contexts in ways that are as naturalistic as possible. (p.151)
An examination of current musical listening experiences of people in everyday, real-life
contexts illuminates the existence of a device which would appear to provide a wealth of
information about a person’s musical preferences, experience, and use… the digital audio
player. Next will follow an examination of the digital audio player. It is the logical choice
for assisting a music based psychological assessment, in light of aforementioned research
which clearly shows that there are clear connections between music and a person’s intra-
psychic world, there is a growing trend toward computerized and digital assessment, and
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assessment of a person’s real life musical experience provides richer and more
ecologically valid data.
Digital Audio Player History and the Emergence of the iPod
The digital audio player (DAP) is a handheld device that stores, organizes, and
plays digital music files. It is currently the most advanced and versatile handheld device
available to use, manipulate, and experience music. The term "Digital Audio Player" and
the acronym "DAP" were first popularized in 2003 (Levy, 2006), as the name and focus
of the website DAPreview.net. News editors at Engadget.com, adopted the term and the
acronynm for a computer related blog that was quite popular at the time (Levy, 2006).
Since then, these terms have become a common way of referencing these devices among
the tech-savvy. There are also a multitude of alternate names for this particular device
which include: MP3 player, digital audio recorder, portable media assistant, external data
storage devices, portable media players, digital music players, digital music jukebox,
electronic music player, etc. Depending on the configuration of the device, the options it
has, and the company which is manufacturing it; the name and categorization differ
slightly unit to unit. Here is a brief history of the DAP, from recent beginnings to the
current state of affairs. The precursors to DAPs were the MiniDisc players and portable
CD players popular in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s (neither being generally
considered a "digital audio player"). The first DAP commercially available in the world
was created by South Korean SaeHan Information Systems in 1997, which was acquired
by iRiver in 2004 (Levy, 2006). In fall of 1998, the second DAP (also considered the first
mass market player) appeared on the commercial market as the Rio PMP 300 from
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Diamond Multimedia (Levy, 2006). The Rio was a big success during the Christmas
1998 season as sales significantly exceeded expectations, spurring interest and
investment in digital music (Levy, 2006). The arrival of Apple Computer's iPod in 2001
(combined with the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003 that created the legal music
download business) greatly expanded the market (Levy, 2006). Since then, a large
number of new DAP’s have been released, each promising to be an "iPod Killer".
Currently, an overview of the most widely utilized DAP’s show 13 major and 11 minor
DAP devices available in the world market. The 13 major DAP’s include: Apple Ipod,
Archos, Cowon, Creative (Nomad, Zen, & MuVo), Iriver, LG, Microsoft Zune, Phillips
Go Gear, RCA Lyra, Samsung Yepp, Sandisk Sansa, Sony Walkman, Playstation
Portable, and Toshiba Gigabeat (Levy, 2006). The 11 minor DAP devices include: Aigo,
Apacer, Meizu (M6 Mini Player), MobiBlU, MPIO, Packard Bell (Audiodream), Q-Be,
Transcend T. Sonic, Sweex, X-Micro, and Zvue (Levy, 2006). These are the many
companies that are developing and marketing DAP’s, but none compare to the product
quality, unit sales, and product marketing of the Apple iPod. Since October 2004, the
iPod has dominated DAP sales in the United States, with over 90% of the market for hard
drive-based players and over 70% of the market for all types of digital media players
(Sharpe & Arewa, 2007). From January 2004 to January 2005, the high rate of Ipod sales
caused its U.S. market share to increase from 31% to 65%, and in July 2005 this market
share was measured at 74% (Sharpe & Arewa, 2007). Current estimates of Apple’s
dominance in the DAP market show that the iPod holds a 72% share of the multi-billion
dollar market (Sharpe & Arewa, 2007). Microsoft’s supposed answer to the iPod and
main competition (named the “Zune”), holds merely a 2.8% share of the DAP market
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(Sharpe & Arewa, 2007). Due to the dominance and prominence of the iPod in the DAP
market, this project is going to look specifically at the Apple iPod as it potentially relates
to client music and assessment. Latest sales figures (04/09/07) for the Apple iPod show
that Apple has sold over 100,000,000 total units since the iPod was first publicly offered
in October of 2001, and is the fastest selling music player in history (Sharpe & Arewa,
2007). Most of these iPod sales have occurred in the United States. During the 2006
Christmas season alone, Apple sold a staggering 21 million iPod's, accounting for $3.5
billion in sales and grew the company’s revenue by 50 % (Levy, 2006). IPod sales for the
fiscal year of 2006, averaged out to 106,891 iPod units being sold each day (Sharpe &
Arewa, 2007). Sale estimates for the iPod continue to be shattered by better than expected
results (Sharpe & Arewa, 2007). Clearly, there exists a significant number of individuals
who own iPod's, and the number of individuals who will be seeking out ownership of an
iPod is growing exponentially. Due to the large number of iPod’s within the general
population, it is highly probable that a client entering psychotherapy would own and
utilize one.
Next, will be an exploration of how the Apple iPod and the supporting website
Apple iTunes, may potentially be used during a music focused assessment of a therapy
client. Kazdin (2003), hints at the growing relationship between computers and
psychological assessment, “With various palm-held computer devices, wireless phones,
and Internet technological advances, the potential of computerized assessment has yet to
be exploited” (p.384). But before that discussion begins, an overview of the iPod and
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iTunes is necessary to identify the key elements and functions that make these two items
useful within an assessment procedure.
Overview of Apple iPod Specifications
The Apple iPod, is a DAP that was originally designed to store, manipulate, and
play digital musical files. The iPod is a small handheld device ranging in weight from
0.55 ounces up to 5.5 ounces. Dimensions range from 1.62 x 1.07 x 0.41 inches up to 4.1
x 2.4 x 0.55 inches (Kelby, 2006). There are five generations of iPod’s, with the first
generation coming on to the market in 2001 (Levy, 2006). Currently, the fifth generation
iPod is on the market, and has evolved into a much more versatile device. In fact, the
most advanced versions of the iPod currently on the market, could be better described as
digital media players (DMP’s), because they not only play songs, they play video, play
podcasts, play games, and display pictures. All iPod’s can play MP3, AAC/M4A,
protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, Apple Lossless, and audio file formats
(Kelby, 2006). These are the different formats of digitally recorded music that the iPod
can play. The current (fifth generation) iPod DMP’s introduced the ability to display
JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG image file formats as well (Kelby, 2006). These are
the different formats of digitally recorded pictures that the Ipod can display. Fifth
generation iPods can additionally play MPEG-4, (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) and QuickTime
video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates
(Kelby, 2006). These are the different formats of digitally recorded video that the iPod
can play. The iPod is currently offered in six different models, each offering different
features and a memory system ranging from 1 gigabyte (1GB) all the way up to 80
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gigabytes (80GB’s). The 1GB iPod holds only digital audio files and has the capacity to
hold 240 songs. The 80 GB iPod has the capacity to hold up to 20, 000 songs, or 25, 000
photos, or 100 hours of video with associated audio (Kelby, 2006). Clearly the iPod is a
highly versatile and technologically advanced device which is state of the art in regards to
musical storage, manipulation, and use.
IPod and iTunes, Potential Integration in Music Based Psychological Assessment
The use of the iPod goes hand in hand with the computer based program that
supports the iPod, named “iTunes” (Kelby, 2006). Itunes is a computer based digital
media player application, introduced by Apple during the winter of 2001 at the Macworld
Expo (Levy, 2006). It is designed for playing and organizing digital music and video
files. Itunes feeds the iPod its contents. Itunes is also an interfacing program used to
manage the contents of the iPod. Also, iTunes can connect to the iTunes Store (via
internet connection) in order to download digital music, music videos, television shows,
iPod games, audiobooks, various podcasts, and feature length films (Levy, 2006). ITunes
is extremely user friendly and provides a multitude of ways to search, analyze, and
manipulate data regarding an individual’s musical preferences, musical use, and musical
experience. The most significant feature of iTunes, is that it provides a highly detailed list
of an individual’s music collection. The software on iTunes allows one to sort the music
collection by song name, time length of song, artist, album, and genre (Kelby, 2006).
Additionally, the software allows one to sort the music collection through custom settings
(beats per minute, composer, category, year, etc.), play count (number of times song has
been played), and last played (time stamp when song was last played). The software also
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allows for the music collection use, to be categorized and archived as “playlists” (Kelby,
2006). The playlists feature, archives the individuals “top rated” songs, “recently added”
songs, “recently played” songs, “top 25 most played” songs, collections of “party
shuffles” (which are randomly generated song playlists), and collections of playlists (list
of songs selected to be played in a particular order) that the individual has personally
created (Kelby, 2006). These are just the main features available on iTunes to manipulate
an individual’s music collection. There are many other features which allow very specific
searching and analysis. Without a doubt, the iTunes is a powerhouse in its utility as an
assessment tool of an individual’s musical preferences, experience, and use. Though it
was not primarily designed as a tool to assist in psychological assessment, its user
friendly interface (i.e. no formal training need/self explanatory format), integrated
tutorials/web based technical support, zero cost for use and acquisition, sophisticated data
analysis capabilities, and ease of access (just have a computer and an internet
connection), make it a highly compelling choice when considering an instrument to assist
in a musically focused psychological assessment. Access to a client’s iPod and iTunes,
clearly gives the assessor access to a vast amount of information about musical
preferences, musical use patterns, musical experience, music purchasing behaviors, time
frame’s for musical use, and many other musically related bits of information, in an
unobtrusive manner which eliminates many of the reactivity effects of commonly utilized
assessment techniques. In the upcoming “Discussion” chapter an analysis of the
preceding chapters will explore the synthesis of music, intra-psychic factor’s,
psychological assessment, and the iPod.
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CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION
Summary
This doctoral project was a comprehensive literature review which examined
music and its interplay with emotions, personality, and social identity. The relevance of
these connections were examined as they relate to psychological assessment. A review of
current psychological assessment research showed emotions, personality, and social
identity to be key elements of a comprehensive psychological assessment. These findings
lent support for the examination of music as a novel assessment tool.
A historical overview of the field of psychology showed psychological
assessment as a key component of the field’s therapeutic approach. An examination of
the field of psychology’s use of music as an assessment variable, illuminated a mere
handful of empirical investigations into music’s utility in clinical practice. A historical
overview of music and the healing arts, gave evidence that music has been used
consistently throughout modern civilizations to treat a full range of physical and
psychological ailments. In the past century, the utilization of music to assess and treat
physical and psychological ailments has developed into a field unto itself (Music
Therapy). Music Therapists have developed their own scientific and research based
methods, which have generated evidenced based music treatments for psychological
disorders.
The first goal of this doctoral project was to explore how licensed
psychotherapists can increase their ability to assess clients, through integration of
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research and theory regarding client musical preference, experience, and use. The second
goal, was to examine the full range of psychological assessment options available
currently, which incorporate music as an assessment variable.
The first section of the literature review examined the connection between music
and emotions. Research showed that self-regulating emotional states was a key factor
behind music listening. Musical genre, musical structure, and music dynamics were
found to be key elements which affected an individual’s emotional state during music
listening experiences. Music appears to have a significant effect upon an individual’s
brain activity and the physiological systems involved in emotional response. Areas of the
brain which appeared to show significant activation during emotional response to music
include: the amygdala, ventral striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, striatum,
hippocampus, and cerebellum. Physiologic systems which appear to show significant
activation during emotional response to music include: heart, lungs, skin, muscle,
hormones, and nervous system. Emotional response to music appeared to be linked to the
subjective experience of musical consonance and/or dissonance. Gender appears to play a
role in music’s emotional activation effects. There is some evidence that men and women
interpret music differently and may do so according to socialized gender roles. The
perceived emotionality of a musical piece and the decision regarding likeability, may
differ depending on gender. Development of musical preferences appear to be affected
significantly by the music’s ability to activate emotions within the listener. This process
appears to be highly individualized, as the optimal level and type of emotion being
activated varies from individual to individual. There is some evidence that music contains
emotional symbolism, and across cultures, some can identify similar emotions in
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particular musical sounds, songs, instruments, etc. Music listening appears to provide
some anxiolytic effects for listeners experiencing physical pain. The utilization of music
within the working environment showed some promise in generating positive emotional
states and increasing productivity. Leading musical theorists have made attempts at
explaining music’s emotion activating effects, and this project has examined such leading
theories developed by Kivy, Meyer, Lehman, Mandler, and Berlyne. Kivy posited that
music does not directly express emotions, but rather is “expressive of” emotions. Meyer
posited that the expectation that a person creates for music, sets the stage for the
emotional reaction a person will express. Mandler posited that emotional response to
musical stimuli is activated by a cognitive appraisal of physiological cues based on pre-
set expectations about music. Berlyne posited that complexity, familiarity, and novelty
are the primary factors in music which activate emotions in the listener. The use of the
topic of music or the actual use of music in the therapy setting, hold great potential value.
There is some evidence that its utilization may improve the therapeutic alliance, may help
access emotion rich memories, allow a unique method for clients to express
emotions/issues, and provide a unique opportunity for the therapist to learn about the
client’s inner world. Music was found to have the potential to mediate arousal levels,
sooth, and affect processing abilities in infants. Music was found to play a significant role
in attachment, bonding, and affect regulation in babies through the mothers use of
lullabies. These early interactions with musical stimuli (including music presented to the
baby in utero) may play a part in later musical preference development. There is some
evidence that emotional activation through music may not only have cultural, social, and
interpersonal origins, but the process may also have biological origins which may be
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present from the first time perceptual abilities develop. This speaks to the possibility that
humans may have innate abilities and biological tools to process music. There is some
evidence that music may be at play in the evolutionary process, as music has been found
to have adaptive value in key cultural and social human activities.
The second section of the literature review examined the connection between
music and personality. Music’s connection to the personality traits of sensation seeking,
novelty seeking, harm avoidance, psychoticism, extraversion/introversion, and openness,
were examined. Significant correlations were found between particular personality traits
and preference for specific genres. Different needs for mood management and optimal
physiological arousal levels inherent to each personality trait, appeared to factor into why
the particular music genre was selected. In addition, the way in which the music was
played (loud, exaggerated bass, quiet, etc.) appeared to be highly correlated with the
mood management needs and optimal physiological arousal inherent to particular
personality traits. Recent social psychology research gave some evidence that music is
rated at least as high as other common leisure activities, individuals believe that their
musical preferences are reflective of their personalities, and music is universally
important to a wide variety of individuals who span across many differing cultures, socio-
economic classes, and age groups. Examining musical preferences appeared to offer
unique information about personality that was not readily available from observable cues.
Assessment of an individuals self selected and preferred musical dynamics, structure, and
genres appeared to hold great promise in assessing personality traits.
The third section of the literature review was an examination of the connection
between music and social identity. Music listening and music playing was found to be a
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significant part of adolescent and early adults daily activities. Tajfel and Turner’s “Social
Identity Theory” (SIT) and Erik Erikson’s developmental theories were the concepts that
were used to conceptualize and examine the formation of social identity through the use
of music. Social identity formation through the use of music appears to be a strategy
utilized by many adolescents throughout their teenage years. This occurred through
adolescents developing preferences for a particular musical genre and integrating the
attitude and outward appearance typical of that genre, associating with individuals who
share these preferences and appearances, degrading others who did not belong to their
subgroup, and sharing music or information about the music within their subgroup to
benefit one another. Potential benefits for individuals engaging in this musically oriented
social identity formation could include: positive self identity, increased self esteem,
positive distinction, in-group favoritism support, and positive feelings through out-group
degrading. Adolescents were found to use music in social relations as a “badge of
identity” and in efforts for “impression management”. Use of music in adolescent social
identity formation appeared to be quite effective in inter-group differentiation or for
positive inter-group attitude development. The directionality of this process was
dependent on the music that was utilized and how it interfaced with the adolescent’s
social identity. Music was found to be a powerful tool in developing (particularly for
adolescents) self-concept, views of others, and views about how they fit into the world.
The fourth section of the literature review examined the clinical utility of music as
an assessment variable. Assessment of music preferences, musical experience and the
way in which a client uses music appeared to be novel and effective way of accessing
information related to client emotions, personality, and social identity. Assessment
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appeared to occur in one of four primary ways. These included: interviewing, use of a
musically focused test, observation and interpretation of client musical performance, and
review of existing musically related data (archival research). Number one, the interview
method was one which could be done through verbal inquiry or through the use of a
musically focused questionnaire. Both methods appeared to be the easiest and most used
methods in musically focused psychological assessment. However, both are subject to the
limitations of social desirability during the examinee’s response to inquiry. A sample of
existing musically focused questionnaires were examined and their utility in the
psychological assessment process was overviewed. Number two, use of standardized
psychological tests which incorporate music as an assessment variable were examined.
These tests included: the Cattel’s IPAT music preference test of personality, the Sound
Apperception test (SAT), Van den Daele’s musical stimuli test for schizophrenic patients,
the Music Improvisation Rating test (MIR), the Migliore test of rhythmic competency,
the use of commonly used psychological tests under differing musical conditions, the
Music/Activity Therapy Intake Assessment for Psychiatric patients, the Day Treatment
Client Assessment contrasted to music therapy ratings (DTCA), the Psychiatric Music
Therapy Questionnaire (PMTQ), the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music
(GIM), and the Short Test of Musical Preferences (STOMP). Research supporting their
use was examined and limitations noted. Number three, the field of Music Therapy’s
research developed approaches to music based assessment were examined. A five stage
model was examined which gave example of a music based approach to assessment and
therapy. This model focused on diagnosis, description, interpretation, prescription, and
evaluation of a client. This was done through observation of their musical experience
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(cognitive, behavioral, and affective), a review of their history, through relevant testing,
and interpretation of the relationship between music therapist and client. This model
relies primarily on the experiential musical activities tailored to the assessment and
therapy. Number four, the archival research method of assessment was examined as it
relates to psychological assessment. The strong potential of this approach (to gather data
which could be truly reflective of an individual’s musical experience) was overviewed.
The use of the popular digital audio player, the “iPod” , and the music management
program, “iTunes”, was examined as it relates to archival research and psychological
assessment. The “iPod” and “iTunes” appear to have many qualities which show strong
potential as tools to assist in a musically focused psychological assessment. The use of
these tools holds promise in gathering significant data on client musical preferences,
musical use patterns, musical experience, music purchasing behaviors, and time frames
for musical use. All are potential entry points in developing an understanding of
psychological factors related to these activities.
In summary, a quote is offered to crystallize the core message of this
project…“You embrace that which defines you”. A review of the literature, illustrated the
unique and personal process with which an individual “embraces” the music that is not
only a definition of what they are, but also the definition which they wish to present to
the world. For a therapist considering options for assessing, deconstructing this process
and understanding the multi-layer interaction within this process, is presented as a novel
and effective way of supplementing psychological assessment. Initially, this project was
designed to develop a “nomothetic” method of understanding an individual’s relationship
to music. As the body of research was overviewed, it became apparent that an
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“idiographic” method was not only the one that emerged as possible, but also the one that
appears as more appropriate. For clarity’s sake, a definition of these two methods will be
provided. The term’s “nomothetic” and “idiographic” refer to the terms the personality
researcher Gordon Allport borrowed from the German philosopher Wilhelm Windelband
(Allport, 1937). The nomothetic method is a categorical approach where concentration is
put towards studying groups of people to make generalizations about similar individuals.
The idiographic method, is one where concentration is put towards understanding an
individual case and the unique functioning and traits of the individual. The nomothetic
approach to understanding an individual’s relationship to music is not appropriate in this
regard for a variety of reasons. Number one, the limited amount of research available
examining music and psychological factors, does not allow for generalizations to the
public at large. Number two, the research that has been conducted thus far, simply allows
the researchers to make limited statements about the small samples that they have
studied. A nomothetic approach where general categories of musical characteristics allow
for specific descriptions about groups of people, is simply not possible at this point in
time. An example of this, would be making descriptive statements about a group of
individuals who shared significant overlap in preference for a particular genre (i.e.
classical music enthusiasts are highly intelligent, rock and roll music enthusiasts are anti-
social, hip hop music enthusiasts come from a low SES, etc.) This approach is quite
reductionist, simplistic, and attempts to explain a complex interaction in overly simplistic
terms. For purposes of assessment this would be quite convenient (if it was effective), but
with the research only providing limited correlations, and with the cause and effect nature
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between variables being unclear, being able to make sweeping generalizations about
individuals based simply upon their relationships to music is not possible at this point.
An idiographic approach to understanding this relationship is indicated for the
following reasons. The musical preferences, experience, and use of an individual occur
due to a very unique combination of factors. Musical preferences, experience, and use of
an individual cannot be explained by simply understanding which group or system an
individual belongs to. By group or system, I am referring to the individual’s race, age,
diagnosis, personality type, etc. A general one to one relationship between music and
individual characteristics does not exist, and does not help to fully explain the multitude
of factors which come together to develop individual musical preferences, experiences,
and use. In psychological assessment processes involving music, it is most efficacious to
take a holistic overview of the person’s involvement with music, to help guide proper
assessment and to reveal the full range of influences at play. To help to understand the
key factors in this interaction, a systems model such as the one developed by Urie
Brofenbrenner (Brofenbrenner, 1977) could help to map out the mediating factors and the
way in which they exist in society. An idiographic approach to understanding an
individual’s relationship to music helps to take into account the unique way in which they
respond to music, the personal meaning they assign to music, and the unique personal
characteristics that are expressed through their musical selections. This idiographic
approach helps get at the individual pieces of the puzzle, without initial speculation on
how the pieces of the puzzle might fit.
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Limitations
The purpose of this literature review was to present information about music’s
connection to emotions, personality, and social identity. However, after a thorough
investigation of the current literature on these topics, it became quite apparent that the
field of psychology has a minimum of research available on the topics examined by this
project. This ultimately limits attempts at generalization of results to the public at large.
Research on the history of music as a therapeutic agent, gives only sporadic
examples of music used throughout the ages, and is limited by the potential for historians
to record a biased account of its occurrence. The potential for information about musical
use in the Greek and Roman era to be fabricated and/or distorted over the centuries is
quite high. This results in limited ability to truly account for music’s actual use
throughout the ages in the many healing professions. Also, there is the possibility that
knowledge of advanced practices (in the use of music as a tool for assessment and
treatment), may have been lost throughout the centuries due to lack of documentation,
lack of proper documentation technologies, loss of documentation, or simply inaccurate
documentation. Developing a historically accurate and truly representative account of
music’s influence on the healing arts, appears to be an extremely difficult (if not
impossible) endeavor.
Research examined on the relationship between emotions and music presents with
limitations. Objective evaluation of human emotions is quite difficult, as emotion is
primarily a complex subjective experience. Research on physiologic arousal states helps
to provide indicators of particular emotional states, but that is simply one piece (albeit a
large one) of the puzzle. The other piece, is the subjective experience that an individual
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can provide through verbal self report. Self-report is fraught with many difficulties (many
of which were overviewed in this project). The most concerning, is the reactivity of the
examinee to the examiner and the examination proceedings. In addition, individuals have
different unique meanings for emotions and experience them in unique ways. What one
might say is a sad feeling, might not be sad, it may be categorized as lazy, tired,
melancholy, all related but different. Cultural norms for emotional experience and
expression, may have an effect on the meaning an individual assigns to particular
emotional states, as well as affect the decision to express/discuss emotion with an
examiner.
Music’s ability to activate emotions appears to operate in a unique and individual
manner. Determining what it was about the musical experience that activated a particular
emotion for an individual, is difficult to determine. An emotional response from an
individual after exposure to music, could be related to the dynamics of the music, the
associations related to the music, who is presenting the music, the loudness of the music
being presented, the genre of the music, the lyrics, the lack of lyrics, the social
expectations an individual feels he must experience with a particular type of music, etc.
These are just a few of the confounds that could be at play when trying to determine the
causal factor involved in music’s emotional activation effects.
An overview of the research also demonstrated a dearth of information available
on music and its connection to emotions, personality, and social identity, in non-
industrial societies. The limited research available focused primarily on select
populations within the United States, England, Ireland, and various Scandinavian
countries. All of these are modern industrial nations. It is unclear whether the effects of
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music play out in a similar fashion in less developed and less modern nations. This could
be due to different musical instruments/technologies, differing musical dynamics of
instruments/method of playing, differing cultural roles for music, and other variations in
musical preference, experience, and use inherent to less developed nations. The direction
this may go is unclear. It is possible that less industrial/modern/indigenous nation may
have actually integrated music in a more significant manner than more developed/modern
nations.
During the research of current literature, a dearth of information was apparent
regarding many of the musical subgenres that have sprung up in recent times. Generation
of new musical subgenres has been occurring rapidly, and this has occurred due to
changes in the music industry, easy accessibility of music (vis-à-vis the internet), and the
subsequent cross pollination of different music genres. Examples of subgenres which
have received little to no attention in the current research include: Hyphy, Crunk, Emo,
Ambient, Reggaeton, Acid House, Dub, Booty Bass, Deathcore, P-Funk, Ska, just to
name a few of the many (in the hundreds) subgenres that are developing on daily basis.
With music being able to be converted to an electronic MP3 file and transferred onto
disks, memory sticks, laptops, sent over the internet, posted on websites for downloading;
music is being shared as it never has before. Current research on musical genres would be
hard pressed to address the full range of musical styles that are currently available
commercially and in the musical underground. The literature reviewed in this project was
limited by the minimum of genres that the studies chose to include.
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Future Directions for Research
What will be essential in integrating music based assessment into the field of
psychology will be continued development of standardized music based assessment tools.
For the field of psychology to even consider a shift towards psychological assessment
procedures that integrate music, it is most likely that this would not even be considered
without empirical data and standardization to support the use of musically based
psychological tests. Verbal questioning and questionnaires may be effective in some
settings for specific reasons, but they will do little to carve out a permanent niche in the
scientifically rigorous field of psychological assessment. Research to examine the
efficacy of these tests amongst a full range of age groups and cultures will be essential.
Separate age groups which appear to have specific developmental characteristics related
to music include: adolescence, early adult, and geriatric. Understanding the role of age in
musical preferences is important, as there is evidence that musical preferences change
throughout the life span (Russell, 1997).
For future research regarding emotions and musical preferences, experience, and
use, it is recommended that more objective measures be utilized to obtain information on
actual emotional response to music. Self report measures are limited by the descriptive
abilities of the examinee to articulate their experience, their awareness of affective states,
and they are subject to social desirability reactions to the examiner during inquiry.
Continued use of electronic physiologic measures (EEG, EKG, etc.) appears to be an
important component of future research on music and emotions. However, this approach
is not 100% complete. It does not include measurement of the actual subjective
evaluation of emotional experience, but it at least allows for some degree of objectivity.
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It is recommended that future research regarding personality and musical
preferences, widen the range of variables in which they examine in relation to music.
Looking at one particular trait and its relationship to musical genres is quite interesting,
but really misses out on the full range of factors which may be at play. A rich
understanding of one link between a personality trait and a musical genre pushes research
forward, but a more complete understanding could be generated by taking into account
the many contextual factors which accompany this interaction. A systemic framework
(Brofenbrenner, Minuchin, and/or Haley) is suggested to help inform proper
understanding and exploration of factors at play between emotion, personality, social
identity, and music. More specifically, this encourages the use of the aforementioned
system theorists frameworks to guide exploration of the micro, mezzo, macro, exo, and
chrono systems which interact during a persons development of musical preferences,
experience, and use. This approach is suggested to help future researchers from becoming
too narrowly focused on only one element of an extremely complicated and
multidimensional interaction.
For future research looking at social identity and its connection to music
preferences, a topic worth examining would be the discrepancy between an individual’s
private and social use of music. An examination of these two (potentially) differing areas
of activity, may help to reveal the differences between an individual’s actual self, their
idealized self, and their socially constructed self. The variation in musical preferences
and the reasons why the individual made the selections (for personal or social use) may
be quite telling. The privately selected music may reflect personal states and traits, and
the socially selected music may be representative of the message that the individual
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intends to relay to others about themselves or what they would like others to think about
them.
Of key importance, is for future researchers to factor in the effects of culture on
musical preference, experience, and use. These three elements are greatly influenced by
the culture in which the individual is raised, the level of acculturation, multi-cultural
identities, and other culture-based factors which need to be accounted for. When looking
at musical connections to emotions, personality traits, and social identity, cultural factors
will always be at play. What is crucial, is to determine the degree to which they operate.
For future research on the effects of music on an individual, it is recommended
that the music that is utilized (in the study) be self selected by the participants involved in
the study. In past research, musical stimuli consisted primarily of classical music, and for
some cultures, age groups, ethnicities, and SES groups, this particular musical genre may
not be particularly relevant or applicable. Using music which is unfamiliar may produce
effects related to a lack of familiarity, rather than through the genre, dynamics, or prior
(or lack of) associations. Letting a participant bring in their own music (CD’s,
instruments, iPod, etc.), allows the participant to respond to musical stimuli that is
familiar, congruent, and relevant to them.
For research using musical stimuli as part of their experimental method, it is
recommended that appropriate musical equipment be utilized. The musical processing
equipment (CD player, DAT player, record player, etc.), the amplifier, the size of the
speakers, the staging or placement of the speakers, the equalizer settings, the volume, and
the appropriateness of all of these factors to the musical piece selected, are all critical
factors in designing an appropriate experimental condition for the participant. Emotional
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and physiological reactivity to exposure from a musical piece can be greatly augmented
by the audio equipment and their set up. It is possible to present a musical piece that has
great emotion stimulating qualities on a small tape player, and due to the poor audio
dynamics emanating from the primitive audio device, a lack of emotional reactivity could
be the result of the audio equipment and its use, not the musical piece selected.
Presenting the same musical stimuli through different musical system configurations
(amplified, non-amplified, analog, digital, in stereo, multi-speaker, surround sound, etc.)
may help to gather information on the potential confounding effects of the music system
specifics.
Research presented in the section on the “Clinical utility of music as an
assessment variable” clearly illustrated the growing trend and untapped potential of
computers and electronic equipment to aide in psychological assessment of individuals
through their musical preferences, experience, and use. The tools highlighted as
particularly significant and useful for this endeavor, are Apple’s iPod and the supporting
Apple program iTunes. It is recommended that utilization of an individual’s iPod and
iTunes data (potentially containing the unique music that the individual has self selected),
be the focus of research regarding musical preferences, experience, and use. Musical
songs, bands, genres that are selected by experimenters in preconceived experimental
conditions do not allow for as accurate an assessment of the persons actual connection to
music. Results from contrived experimental conditions may only be reflective of the
controlled conditions developed by the experimenter. The use of archival research
through an analysis of a persons iPod and iTunes (without prior knowledge from the user
that these items will be analyzed), will provide a much more accurate picture of the
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persons preferences, experience, and use. In turn, analysis of correlating psychological
factors (emotions, personality traits, social identity) will be much more reflective of the
individual as they are, in their day to day life. Future developments could include
specialized software that could allow an experimenter to access and interpret personal
iTunes data from a consenting client. The particular songs, bands, lyrics, or genres that a
client selects and enters into their iTunes database, have unique personal meaning and
associations to the client. A software program could be designed to allow the client to
assign (by either experimenter or client typing them into the computer) these personal
associations to their iTunes contents. The experimenter would then have the opportunity
to work with the rich personal information available to them, helping to understand the
client through the correlations between their music and their emotions, personality, and
social identity. This novel self-exploration method would best be done in a collaborative
fashion. This would be an important direction for musically related assessments to take,
as it would be important to focus future research on developing an understanding of the
personal meaning that the person assigns to the music. This would be in contrast to an
approach that would attempt to develop a categorical system that would assign a meaning
to the person based strictly on normative data previously gathered. The assessment of an
individual would be much more valid, through the elimination of experimenter
interpretation, and a reliance solely on the individual’s personal interpretation of their
musical preferences, experiences, and use. No matter how much research, data, normative
statistics, etc. that an experimenter gathers regarding music and psychological
characteristics, the individual who lives the experience, preferences, and use will always
be the utmost “expert” on their unique meanings and individual associations.
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Future research incorporating paper and pencil questionnaire assessment of an
individual through musical preferences, experience, and use, should consider using a
“sentence completion” format. Providing sentence fragments with an area for the
examinee to finish the sentence would be the recommended format. Examples of items
which could be included are as follows. “When I listen to _________, it makes me think
of_______, and makes me feel_______”, “I listen to music when I ______”, “Rock and
Roll music makes me_______”, “My musical preferences tell others that_________”,
“My music tastes have changed because__________”, “The song/band/genre that
symbolizes me the best is________”. The sentence fragments can be tailored to gather
more or less information about emotions, personality, and/or social identity. This would
allow an individual to write in the personal meaning they associate with musically related
concepts. This procedure would generate data that would be unique to the individual.
Also, this would be in alignment with the idiographic method proposed in the beginning
of this chapter.
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CHAPTER V
FIELD CONSULTANT PROJECT FEEDBACK
The field consultants who have generously donated time to discuss topics central
to this doctoral project and to help review project writings are: Celeste Behnke, NMT,
MT-BC, Dawn DiRaimondo, PsyD., Meghan Moody, PsyD., Nina Gutin, PhD., Rhonda
Doonan, PhD., Sari Shepphird, PhD. Field consultants were comprised of five licensed
(California) psychologists and one board certified (California) music therapist. All field
consultants are currently involved in clinical practice (psychotherapy and/or
psychological assessment), and have been doing so for many years. A few field
consultants also work as professors, one completed their dissertation on music in
psychotherapy, and two have experience as psychological researchers. All psychologist
field consultants identify primarily as clinical psychologists, and do not have additional
training as music therapists. Most express a strong interest in the integration of musically
based approaches to clinical practice, and some have integrated a wide variety of musical
based assessments and interventions in their clinical work. The one Music Therapist field
consultant, has thirty years of professional experience in assessment and intervention
techniques specific to Music Therapy.
Field consultants were asked to provide feedback on the doctoral projects main
topics and did so on an on-going basis throughout the many stages of this projects
completion. During the final stages of the projects completion, field consultants were
asked to provide summary feedback to be entered into this chapter. In efforts to gather
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qualitative data (regarding key elements of researched concepts), this projects author
asked each field consultant eight topic focused questions. The eight questions posed to
the field consultants were as follows:
1 Is the information provided in this doctoral project potentially useful for you with
your psychotherapy clients and/or psychological assessment cases? If yes, how so?
2 Do you feel like emotions, personality, and social identity are accessible through
examining a client’s musical preferences, experience, and use? Do you see strong,
medium, and/or weak connections between these variables?
3 How have you incorporated music into psychotherapy or psychological
assessment in your own history as a therapist? What were the outcomes?
4 Can you see examination of a client’s Apple iPod and iTunes as useful in
assessment and psychotherapy?
5 Do you see potential dangers, backlash, or limitations to integrating music into
psychotherapy or psychological assessment?
6 Would you incorporate a musically based assessment tool in the form of a
questionnaire, standard line of questioning, or a standardized psychological test? Any
reservations or does it seem like a good idea?
7 Do you feel like utilizing the concept of music or playing music in therapy
provides valuable therapeutic information?
8 Any last free associative thoughts about music and psychology?
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Feedback from the three field consultants who responded (in its unaltered entirety), is as
follows:
Dr. Shepphird responded:
(Question #1)
Yes, most certainly. I think the ideas are particularly useful in working with youth, perhaps the population that listens to the greatest amount of music, in that it can be a window into conversation about one's life and interests. Assessing for social and personality factors, as this project has suggested would be a useful tool in both treatment and for establishing rapport with an adolescent client. If the type of music a client listens to can be a means of understanding their mood state, as this project has put forth, then the benefits for use in psychotherapy would indeed be both practical and beneficial.
(Question #2)
On face examination, I would assign a strong connection between state of emotions and music listened to, a medium connection between personality and music preferences and a strong connection between social identity and music use, particularly among adolescents. The variables would of course have to be measured empirically, but this would be my sense based on face-value.
(Question #3)
I have not incorporated much use of music in psychotherapy to date, with the exception of noting my clients' personal and social interests in general. A therapist has not done this with me either. However, with a connection between music and the above variables firmly established, I see a valuable potential in incorporating this aspect of one's personal life into an overall assessment picture, as well as clinical discussion. I think this is a valuable area of study that can have a substantial impact on the field of psychotherapy and the therapeutic disciplines.
(Question #4)
Yes, particularly if there was an accompanying discussion of the selections, such as the time-frame in which they were chosen and downloaded, the client's stated preferences for the selected material, and inclusion of other questions that elicit client's responses regarding the music included on their iPod.
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(Question #5)
One might say that a potential danger could arise if the information was taken in isolation, or "out-of-context", so to speak. As with any assessment instrument, it is necessary to examine a client's overall presentation and to integrate finds on many assessment instruments. One would not want to be guilty of committing the "Fundamental Attribution Error" of assigning a variable to understanding another's personality (trait), when in fact, it could better be used to understand another's situation (state)! One would need to be careful to use such an assessment as it is intended, and within its stated limitations.
(Question #6)
I think it seems like a great idea, and a helpful one at that! (See above for reasoning). Again, it would be quite useful for adolescent populations, but also for use with any age, as it again provides a point of discussion and a window into a person's social and personal interests.
(Question # 7)
It certainly may. Perhaps not in every case, as some people may not consider music an important area of interest in their own lives. However, just as the author of this project has made reference to the substantial impact that music had on his own life, I suspect that clients of any age and cultural background might say the same. This again makes it a valuable tool to incorporate into assessment.
(Question #8)
I would be curious to know if any of the notable pioneers in the field had any strong musical interests and/or preferences, for example Freud, Jung, Skinner, Erikson, etc. And I wonder in my free associations if there would be a difference in preference for a staunch behaviorist versus a devoted psychoanalyst...it would be interesting if that were the case!
Dr. Doonan responded:
(Question #1)
I already discuss musical preferences and uses with most of my clients.
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(Question #2)
I believe that music and other artistic preferences are indirect windows into a client's personality, self-image, and social identity. I see strong connections between the ways in which someone chooses to amuse, distract, soothe, or express themselves and many aspects of human personality, behavior, functioning and interpersonal relationships.
(Question #3)
I have not used music in therapy although I do discuss music and other modes of artistic expression with virtually all of my clients. No therapist has ever used music in my own therapy nor has anyone even asked about my musical preferences or any other artistic realms of my personality. I find this interesting since I always share that I love music and literature. No therapist has asked me to say what I listen to or read.
(Question #4)
Your project brought up many ideas for me about how iPod or iTunes could be used in research. My concerns about simply reviewing someone's iPod are varied. In working with adolescents and young adults especially I have found that the iPod itself can be a social venue and the music included maybe the favorites of friends, romantic partners, or others that has been shared. Swapping music is a common way to connect with others. Since the iPod can now be plugged into the home or car stereo system I have discovered that many parents include music for their young children on their own iPod. I do believe that review of the iPod or iTunes could be the beginning of a discussion on how someone came to choose the music and how they use that music in their daily lives.
(Question #5)
My only concern is that I would not want to see information gleaned from assessing someone’s musical preferences to be over generalized. As you said in your project, this is only one aspect of the whole person. I also think it is important to consider that for many clients music is not the only or even the most telling form of expression of their personality. For example, someone who is also interested in visual arts (painting, photography, videography, film) or in literature might say that music is the lesser expression of their personality while reviewing the movies they watch, artists they admire, or books they read might give you a better picture of the deepest corners of their souls.
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(Question #6)
I would love to see more research in this area. As a matter of fact, your project sparked several research ideas as I was reading. At this time I don't think we know enough about music and personality functioning to be able to utilize a standardized tool. A questionnaire might be helpful for clinicians who are not familiar with ways to discuss music with a client.
(Question #7)
I discuss musical preferences and uses along with other forms of artistic expression with virtually all of my clients. This is a great rapport builder in the early stages of therapy and can identify doors that can be opened later in the therapeutic process. I find that, as your project showed, people are more willing to talk about music, art, literature, etc. much earlier in the therapeutic process and often feel free to assertively explain their tastes or preferences in ways that give me a significant amount of information about who they are as a person. When a client expresses especially strong feelings for certain music I will listen to the music myself to note what emotions it elicits in me and how that compares to what the client is expressing. I also take special note of lyrics, beat, key, tempo, and other aspects of the music to see if I can detect patterns of interest. I have treated several professional musicians and have found it interesting to compare and contrast what they play with what they listen to in their leisure time. Often when I am asking questions about music or other art forms clients will begin to relate stories from previous times in their lives or past relationships that might have taken much longer to surface without a discussion of their musical preferences.
Because I have some musical training and love music myself, I find that using music as a metaphor especially with professional musicians or songwriters can be very powerful and assists them in understanding what is happening in therapy on a deeper level. I once told a musician/sound engineer that while the melody of his story was coming through loud and clear I felt I wanted to enhance the baseline. He looked at me for a few moments and said, "You know that the baseline is the driving force of the music. You want me to figure out what drives me." From then on we talked about melody, harmony, and baselines in relation to stories he was sharing and the work moved quickly. This is only one in a series of powerful examples of music as a metaphor for the song that is our lives.
I have also had adolescent and young adult clients that use music as their way to connect with others and to define their social identity. Again, this often leads to discussion about what aspect of the music and the people with whom they want to associate that draws them in. By talking more about the music and the culture associated with the music it seems less like I am "attacking" their choices (as many feel their parents have done) and allows for open exchange of ideas and
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information. This can be a great source of rapport building especially with adolescents. It also gives me important information about how the client sees themselves and how they want to be seen by others.
(Question #8)
No answer provided.
Dr. Moody responded:
(Question #1)
The information in this doctoral project has piqued my already existing interest in music and psychotherapy. It’s provided a solid base of research that demonstrates the connections between music, emotions, personality, and social identity. I feel inspired to think out of the box and incorporate explorations of music as a more regular part of my work with my clients, especially teens.
(Question #2)
Yes, definitely. Examining musical preference, experience, and use can be thought of as an “audio Rorschach”, and, at least, exploration into these areas can serve as an experience-near approach to developing rapport with a client that could lead to less guarded self-expression during the early phase of treatment or times when the client is reluctant to being open. I see the potential for a strong connection between these variables; however, the individual’s level of current or historical guardedness/defensiveness must be considered. I’m referring to the potential for an inverse correlation due to sublimation of certain unwanted emotions or personality traits. For example, the genre of classical music is not typically associated with the emotion of anger, but, it is possible that a very angry person sublimates his/her anger through the use/creation of classical music. It seems that social identity has the potential for the greatest correlation with musical preference, experience, and use because it can be thought of as less subjective and less rapidly fluid than day-to-day emotional experience. When a person prefers a particular type of music, she then belongs to a category of others who like that same music, let’s say punk rockers. She is part of a social category (categorization). This seems especially pertinent to adolescent development. She identifies with the attitudes and beliefs of that social category, let’s say rebellion, individualism, and anarchy, and feels a part of something (identification). As a part of a social group she then has the strength to compare herself to others and gain a level of self-esteem that comes from belonging (comparison). She may now be able to set herself apart from others, with the aid of the group, and even look down on others as way to build a sense of self. I believe this social identity process is key to development and key to becoming an individual who could use a therapeutic exploration of music as a way to understand one’s emotions and
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personality. In short, when using music as a therapeutic tool, perhaps beginning with its social role is a good place to start.
(Question #3)
My use of music in therapy has been two-fold. First, I have had clients present music in the session on their own volition. When that is the case, the music becomes and easy vehicle for exploration and understanding of the person’s emotional world and the social meaning of the music. Second, with musical clients, I have found it very fruitful to explore where they are in their creative process. Are they actively pursuing the creation of music? Have they stalled out? What’s getting in the way? What does the creation of music mean to them and what are the emotional components?
When clients have brought in music to listen to with me in the session, it has always been a positive therapeutic experience. Clients were able to gain access to certain emotions that they were struggling with. Primarily, the sharing of music seems to be a communication of trust and connection from client to therapist. Sharing music is intimate, and I’ve had success interpreting it as such. Also, exploring the social aspects of the music has been very useful. One client, whose brother had moved away to a residential treatment center, started bringing in his iPod with all of his brother’s music on it, and we listened to it together while playing. Through this, the client was able to share the loss of his brother with me and identify with and feel connected to his brother. For a child like this one who struggles with finding words to express himself, it was a very important piece of work. Exploring the creative process with my musician clients is also a welcome window into the psyche that clients seem able to explore with less resistance than family/relationship dynamics and other patterns of personal self-defeat. One particular client was able to make sense of her need to abandon creating music as her needs were put into substance abuse. As this client moved through the early part of sobriety, she began to understand how she needed to stay removed from that highly emotional part of her life and the social consequences of the rock scene for someone working on sobriety. The discussion of her musical experience, or long-term lack thereof, illuminated the profound loss of joy in her life, her high threshold for self-punishment, and her fear of her own emotional experience and needs.
I was once part of a group workshop involving a drum circle as a way to connect with ourselves and push ourselves (us non-musicians) outside of our normal comfort zones. It was a freeing, inspiring, and empowering experience. That is the only time music has been incorporated into my own personal therapy.
(Question #4)
I can see it as a useful assessment tool, especially with a more in depth look into
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the genres and frequency of music listened to. I think it would be most useful as a projective measure, where the analysis of iPod and iTunes involved discussions with the client about what the music means to them, what emotions get stirred up or buried by the music, and how the music is socially relevant to them.
(Question #5)
I think the use of music in psychotherapy is beneficial as way to understand more deeply a client’s psyche and as a way to facilitate relaxation and reduce anxiety. In terms of assessment, I see more potential limitations here. Due to the intimate nature of music and highly personal appraisal many may give to their iPods, access may be thwarted by the client or seen as overly intrusive, the latter of which could be counter-therapeutic, especially if the therapeutic relationship is tentative at all or if the client is particularly vulnerable. Creating a standardized process for interpreting iPod data would need to adjust for a possible spoiled data set, for example a client clears their iPod of all music except hard core rock, skewing the interpretation. Perhaps as the MMPI has the L-F-K scales, something similar could be implemented to adjust for guardedness, malingering, naïve efforts to look bad, or faking good.
(Question #6)
I mentioned my reservations above. I would incorporate a questionnaire, a standardized line of questioning, or a standardized test before a hands on look into the contents of a client’s iPod. I feel that looking into a client’s iPod could be done most successfully with their feedback and incorporating discussion of it into the therapy. The timing of this exploration would be crucial so as not to intrude too far too soon. But, with less guarded clients, exploring the iPod could conceivably happen right away. Still, I would only implement this in a therapeutic setting if it seemed of interest to the client. In an assessment situation, where no therapy is taking place, musically based assessment tools could provide an additional layer of understanding into a client’s moods, emotions, personality, and social identity. I think exploring and analyzing the content’s of a client’s iPod would be most revealing and useful for the client in a therapeutic setting, where it could be a part of the ongoing therapy.
(Question #7)
Yes, I definitely think discussion and use of music in therapy can be valuable.
(Question #8)
No answer provided.
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Dr. DiRaimondo responded:
(Question #1)
I would still need to be educated on the actual assessment material before knowing if I would use it during assessments. However, this dissertation reminds me of what a useful tool music can be in therapy and motivates me to continue using it in my clinical work.
(Question #2)
I think that information on one’s emotions, personality and social identity can all be ascertained through learning about one’s musical preferences and experiences. The strength of this connection would depend on several variables, i.e. the content of the conversation that is generated by listening and exploring the music together, the ‘feel’ or tone of the music itself and the relationship a client has with the music. The stronger the client feels connected to particular music, the more informative or significant.
(Question #3)
I invite my adolescent and young adult clients to bring in music of their choice to listen to together during session. I’ve found that this not only helps build rapport with clients but allows me to get to know them, their interests, and relationship with music in a format that is comfortable, non-threatening and even fun for them. Asking to share their music with me seems to help them feel more confident that I am genuinely interested in them as a person. It is also gives them the opportunity to “teach” me about music, which alone can build self-esteem. Since many adults are critical and judgmental of adolescents’ musical preference, it is also a rare opportunity to have a positive experience with an adult and their music. Other than occasionally asking what types of music adolescents like during an intake, I have not used music during formal assessments. With my own therapist, I was invited to bring in a particular song that had significance to me after initially discussing the song with him. It felt meaningful to me to see his interest and listen to the song together in session.
(Question #4)
I see this as a possible tool in on-going therapy more so than in an assessment.
(Question #5)
I think a therapist would need to be careful not to be judgmental of a client’s musical preference. This may be difficult if someone’s music however, is offensive, negative or off-putting to a therapist, i.e. lyrics that endorse drug use,
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violence, sexism or homophobia. The therapist may be conflicted with wanting to support a client yet not wanting support the values portrayed in the music.
(Question #6)
I would be open to learning about any of the above measures. I am not aware or familiar with them at this point in time. I would also hope that they would be time-limited (and therefore more user-friendly) since the assessment process is already quite lengthy. I think music is a particularly untapped medium that could have many uses in psychotherapy and assessment.
(Question #7)
Yes, it certainly can. I think this is especially experienced with more guarded, closed off and less verbal clients. I have had several clients share music with me who struggled to share their feelings verbally. Sharing their music provided a language for them and opened a new world of getting to know them. Sometimes it felt like the only bridge we could find.
(Question #8)
For individuals who struggle with connecting to others, and especially adolescents, music can serve as a close friend or an only friend. They go to music for support, companionship and to feel a part of something. It gives them a sense of identity and belonging. To bring this in to therapy can be an intimate experience and create a connectedness with the therapist that words alone can’t always generate.
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CHAPTER VI
PERSONAL PROCESS
I’ve been working on this project unofficially since I was a kid. The minute music
entered into my life, I was curious about why I liked certain music and why others
listened to the music that they did. I wouldn’t say that I had more exposure to music than
the average guy, but I would definitely say I was way more curious about music and the
effects it produced. Looking back on my life and how it has been impacted by music, I
see how my musical preferences, experience, and use have affected my emotions,
personality, and social identity development. My interest in this topic and taking it on in
this doctoral project was really my way of making sense of that process and attempting to
clarify and legitimatize a working hypotheses that was unconsciously generated through
years of self reflection and curiosity. To help tie in the information I have presented in
previous chapters, next I am going to present my own personal musical history in efforts
to illustrate how the research and theory I have presented about music have played out for
me.
Finding a definitive starting point to begin telling my musical story, was a little
more difficult than I first thought it would be. As I attempt to reach deep into my past, the
oldest memory I can stir up about music is a flash of my mother and I laying on the couch
and her singing a lullaby to me. I remember being in the living room in our Rockville,
Maryland apartment with my head in her lap, and she was singing the “hush little baby,
don’t say a word” song. I remember a feeling of security, calmness, and connectedness.
In fact I remember everything about that moment when she was singing the song, I can’t
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remember anything outside of the moments when she singing. I was probably about three
or four years old back then. I have been gifted with a strong ability to recall information,
so luckily I am able to remember vivid memories from my childhood. What is interesting,
is that I am able to recall a significantly larger number of memories that are attached to
moments where music was in the air. Something about those moments seem to carry
strong emotions, unique meaning, and complex associations.
Rewinding the tape before that moment, required the assistance of my mother.
After many discussions with her about her musical preferences, experience, and use,
there appears to be an overlap in time where these were the same for her and I. My
mother has many years experience as a music teacher and piano player, and it is through
these qualities that my own musical experience may have began. Through my early days
in utero, my mom spent many hours playing piano, singing, and listening to music. Can I
say definitively that these experiences had an effect on me? Absolutely not. But I think it
makes intuitive sense that as my sensory abilities began developing as a fetus, there is a
definite possibility that I may have felt the vibrations from the piano, my mom singing,
the record player playing. Even further, the musical experience that my mother was going
through, may have had an effect upon me as well. The changes in her mood along with
the resultant changes in biochemistry during her musical experience were probably felt
by me as a fetus. With two beings so inextricably linked and intertwined, the experience
for one can only be an experience for the other. Now this is pure speculation on my part,
but aforementioned research in the chapter on music and emotions, hints at the legitimacy
of this dynamic as a real and significant one for mother and child. After I was born and
through my toddler days, I am told that music was often in the background, more than
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likely coming from my mom and the piano, but sometimes from old records spinning on
the stereo. My mother was also a pre-school teacher, so she was well versed in teaching
activities to get a young child interested in learning. Many of these activities involved
sing along’s and musically related exercises. I remember learning my alphabets, phrases,
and numbers more as fun songs, rather than boring school assignments. Now I think these
are relatively normal experiences for toddlers, but I think my mother incorporated more
musical activities than the average parent or teacher.
In retrospect, I actually remember bits and pieces of those days. I don’t remember
the exact song or words, but I remember the dynamics of the song and feeling associated
with it. I remember some songs being stimulating and increasing my energy, then I
remember some songs being slow and melodic and putting myself and other kids in a
calm trance like state. I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood which was a collection of
Jewish, Korean, Indian, Persian, Polish, and Spanish families. I remember many
multicultural faces in my preschool kindergarten years. We were different in many
different ways, but musically, we all connected in a similar way. I feel like the connection
was in the music dynamics. We all understood the universal sound of a “happy” song, a
“serious” song, or “sad” song. These vivid recollections of my early childhood days still
retain the strong emotions experienced during those bygone moments. Luckily, they are
forever encapsulated in memory for me.
The next significant memory for me (around age 7 or so) was my growing interest
in learning the piano. I remember sitting next to my mother on the piano seat, and poking
away at the treble clef portion of the song, trying to sing along with my mom. I remember
classical pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, the Finnish national anthem, showtune music,
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campy tunes from the 20’s and 30’s, and other random/assorted songs from different time
periods. It was an eclectic mix for sure. At that point I was signed up for piano lessons,
and my first official step into the world of music began. I began once to twice a week
piano lessons which continued for the next couple of years. I distinctly remember my
piano teacher, a tall ghostly white apparition with the palest coldest longest fingers I have
ever seen dance across a keyboard. During my first few lessons, he would show off for
me, and play musical pieces that flat out blew me away. He was a musical virtuoso who
could play classical music pieces which would make my eyebrows raise, chills run down
my spine, make my heart race, make me scared and excited at the same time, and gave
me a hint at what lies inside the quiet/reserved outer shell of this man. The next few years
were a love and hate relationship with an instrument that provided me equal servings of
joy and unhappiness. As I began to develop as a piano player I noticed how my mastery
of songs and my ability to feel the music, provided altered affective states. One part was
the successful acquisition of skills, one part pleasing my parents, and another, being able
to feel the emotion in the music and really feel the dynamics emanating from my
occasional singing and from the piano’s body. Eventually, my identity as a budding piano
player conflicted with my desire to be soccer player, and my interest in playing piano
waned. Also, the lack of “coolness” in playing piano to other kids and myself began to
have an effect, as I did not see a place in my burgeoning social identity for a “piano guy”.
I was much more interested in developing myself as a “soccer player”. In addition, the
lack of interest I had in the predominantly classical pieces I was learning, led to my
decreasing interests in piano playing. I think if I was able to select music that I preferred,
I would have been inclined to continue playing the piano (as long as my buddies didn’t
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know I was still pursuing these “uncool” interests). Lessons learned so far, taught me that
music is important, music can stir up powerful emotions, the music a person likes can tell
you a lot about a person, music is deeply personal, musical preferences/use tell the world
what you are about, and music is a way of connecting with others.
Throughout my late childhood years (9-12), there is a relative calm surrounding
my involvement with music, and my music experience pretty much consisted of the
music my parents chose to play on the radio, records, and piano. I don’t remember being
interested in any particular type of music, I wasn’t playing any instruments, and I was
happy being connected to whatever my parents were interested in. In school, some of the
“cooler” or more sophisticated kids began talking about music and impressed others with
their knowledge of the latest hit records, bands, singers, songs, etc. In fact some of the
really hip kids would come in with a walkman on their hip and would walk around the
playground jamming the latest rock tunes. We would all gather around to see what
magical music was emanating from that fancy music player and what band is on that
shiny white music tape. The kid would always make a point of popping the tape out and
proudly flashing the name of the latest and greatest rock hero popular in the early 80’s
that he was listening to. As I got closer to the teen years, kids starting showing up with
concert t-shirts, clip on buttons of singers/bands, stickers of rock hero’s, and other
paraphernalia related to the music scene. Man this was getting serious, some kids already
had full on musical identities and there were already divisions visible amongst the kids,
clearly delineated by musical preferences. I wasn’t sure if I fit in with the “rockers”, the
“preppies”, “the new wavers”, the “rappers”, the “punks”, it became clear to me that I
needed to start figuring out this music thing and where I fit in with it.
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Cut to age 13, and my family is going through a big divorce. My world is flipped
upside and everything changed real fast. My hormones are kicking in full force, my
ADHD begins to gain in strength and ferocity, teenage angst is fueled by the effects of
the divorce, I say goodbye to my lifelong friends and neighborhood, no more dad around,
and my mom, brother, and I begin our new lives bouncing from state to state trying to re-
establish ourselves. Around that time, I begin to gain an interest in the newly developing
genre of rap music. I soon began breakdancing with friends and associates of mine at
school and in the neighborhood, and from there I developed my first real musical
preference, completely on my own, and not influenced by family members. This music
spoke to me on different levels. At this time around (1985), it was not mainstream at all,
and was very much a new and underground development. This was appealing to me,
because as I moved into new schools and cities I felt like an outsider. The music was
alternative, anti-authority, broke the rules, was provocative, the dynamics were highly
stimulating, it was cultural, it raised eyebrows, it brought people on the outside together,
it made you dance, it was angry, it was everything I was trying to be and in some ways
was reflective of me at the time. Throughout my teen years, the friends I associated with
almost always shared a love for rap music. They came in all forms, older teens, younger,
white, black, Asian, European, Mexican, Persian. The people I associated were from
widely varying backgrounds, but for the most part, we were all individuals who were
quite high in sensation seeking, limit testers, open to new experiences, somewhat angry,
and all heavily interested in anything and everything that had to do with rap music. Even
though rock and roll was the genre that was most popular and widely listened to, we
wanted nothing to do with it. Between my friends and I, we communicated and connected
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with mixed tapes. We would build outrageously high powered stereos in our houses and
cars, to maximize the musical experience and to let the music coming out of our
thumping stereos tell the world where our musical allegiances lied. At school, in-group
favoritism and out-group derogation played out on a daily basis based upon musical
identities. My musical allegiances trumped cultural and racial lines, and relationships
with people outside of my race, SES, etc. were facilitate by mutual understanding of
musical preferences. Throughout the days of my tumultuous adolescence, my music
listening experiences (by myself and especially my musical experiences with others)
were instrumental in managing moods, developing identity, and bringing out elements of
my personality. Again, my most vivid memories of my adolescent years are locked in
memory with music that was playing at the time. The soundtrack of my life.
For the later part of my teen years and into the first few years of my twenties, my
musical preferences reflected the realities of my life and the stagnation within it. Instead
of new musical preferences being developed and changes happening as I transitioned out
of adolescence, my musical preferences were retained rigidly along with the conduct
disordered, oppositional, and angst ridden characteristics that I had developed during my
adolescent years. I continued to listen strictly to rap music, and even though the genre
had developed to include a full range of styles and characteristics, subgenre’s I continued
to stay interested in were the angrier, anti-authority, etc. types of rap music that reflected
my inner turmoil. The lack of progress in musical preference development was indicative
of my lack of progress in my own personal development. The music also kept me
connected to some delinquent friends who also were stagnating and not moving forward
from the difficulties of adolescence. I ended up working at a night club called “Politics”
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in Emeryville, CA and I further immersed myself into musical experiences, most of them
surrounding rap, soul, and other urban music styles. It was here, where I got to meet some
of the musicians, artists, DJ’s, producers of the rap genre and R&B genre’s that I was so
interested in. Talking with them and hearing there stories, further cemented my thoughts
and feelings about the powerful effects of music. For some, their moment to moment
existence circled around making music, listening to music, producing music, selling
music, and anything else you could imagine one could do with music. Their personas
were so deeply intertwined with music, it was hard to even see them as individual’s. They
almost appeared to be a human byproduct of the musical genre’s they came from. What
was also apparent, was the ugly underbelly of those in the music industry. Many who
appeared to be so happy and successful now, pulled themselves out of some very dark
times through an involvement with music (playing, listening, producing, etc.), that seems
like it was done out of necessity. In fact it appears that they were compelled to become
involved with music to save their very lives.
Around age 22, I began to get serious about school, I began to interact with new
people, and my musical interests began to change as I became more open to new
experiences. At this point I became passionate about school and a career in psychology.
From there things started to change quickly. My girlfriend at the time was into a wide
variety of alternative music genres and sharing music became a way of connecting and
growing together. Through learning about her musical experiences and interests I began
to know deeply personal information about her life. Throughout this time, I began
listening to a lot of alternative rock and roll, reggae, some punk, rock-a-billy, and my
interests in rap began to wane. As I transferred into Long Beach State, and entered the
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dorms, I was exposed to a whole new group of people; a new group who were actually
quite positive, focused, and not caught up in an extended teenage delinquency. It was a
breath of fresh air for me. A whole new social group to relate to with a whole new set of
musical interests. Through these later undergraduate years, I was exposed to classic rock,
jazz, ska, techno, blues, folk, funk, 80’s hair bands, grunge bands, hip hop, soul, R & B,
Motown, just to name a few. As I began to open up to the world, my teenage angst began
to lose momentum, my social groups began to change, my academic/cognitive abilities
began to blossom, and my musical interests began to change and reflect my own personal
growth. Shifts in my musical interests were truly reflective of significant internal shifts in
my self view, views of others, and world view.
Around age 25-28, I was out school and in the working world and my musical
interests reflected current interests and feelings. Not feeling the anti-authority, f*** the
world, aggressiveness of rap, I was drawn to “happier” music such as reggae, ska, and
funk. The care free lyrics, upbeat tempos, bright horns blaring, high beats per minute,
flashy fun image, I was feeling all of that. To be honest, life was relatively good. I was in
a long term relationship, working a job I loved, feeling like an adult, and interested in
enjoying life. This was reflected in the music I listened to. Also, I began going out to see
live music on a regular basis. The musical experience of a good live performance was one
which really moved me, the emotions it could produce were almost addictive. The
feelings of connectivity with people of similar interests as well as the uniquely powerful
musical dynamics a live music performance would produce, provided cathartic
experiences that changed me a bit for the better each time they occurred. The feeling of
‘congruence” pervaded many of these musical experiences: with the people, the music
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dynamics, moving in time to the music, connecting to the lyrics, sharing the experience
with others, reminiscing about related musical experiences, participating in the music
playing (jamming with them), the corrective emotional experience, leaving worries
behind, making friendships, feeling passionate… This feeling of congruence with all of
these factors illustrate the many ways in which music has been so powerful and life
altering for me.
Around age 28, I went through a big break up with my ex-girlfriend, moved to
Michigan and entered a masters program in social work. This was a particularly difficult
and trying time for me. A lot of the happier ska and funk music ceased to resonate with
me, and I was at a crossroads with my identity development. I felt like this was it. Time
to go to grad. school, grow up, and become a psychotherapist. This was a huge defining
moment for me. Here is an ex-juvenile delinquent about to step up to the plate and make
the polar opposite swing to adult, therapist, and treater of juvenile delinquents. When I
arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan I knew practically no one, and I felt like I had free reign
to reinvent myself. During this process of reinvention, music was one of the primary
processes involved in the transformation. The angst ridden intensity of rap didn’t really
suit me anymore, the care free esthetic of ska didn’t really match my somber and
developing serious mood now, Ann Arbor was just too white for funk music, reggae was
a bit more of the relaxed and reflective mood I was in, rock and roll was feeling about
right, and jazz was looking more and more fascinating. So my musical interests began to
make a gradual shift in that direction over the next couple of years. It was gradual. A CD
here, going to see a new band there, deciding to leave on a new radio station on the way
to internship, etc. As my identity, moods, and personal interests began to shift, my
143
musical interests shifted with them. With my intellectual interests beginning to blossom,
a new genre of music popped up out of nowhere for me. This may have happened as a
result of my intellectual interests becoming a primary focus, or maybe this was an effort
to present to myself and others that this was occurring, I began to listen heavily to old
standards from performers such as Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, and other masters from
the early 20th century. Without a doubt, there were big changes going on my life, and the
music I played in my car, at home, with friends, bands I went to see, genre’s of music I
would read about or watch shows on TV about, began to reflect the reformulation that
was occurring within my head.
After graduating from my MSW program, I was able to land the job I had been
hoping for, a pretty nice starting salary/benefits, and I was back into the daily grind of the
working world. Once again I was back into a long term relationship, stable living
situation, and I was developing my career as a therapist. Overall, these were good times,
and my music began to shift with these changes in my life. I was only a short drive away
from downtown Detroit and I began going out often and involving myself with the
nightlife the city had to offer. Detroit being the birthplace of techno music, there were a
lot of electronic music clubs to adventure into and see what they had to offer. The intense
dynamics, bass driven intensity, hedonistic atmosphere, schizophrenic musical structure,
and other qualities about the electronic music made it quite interesting to me, and I began
to go to many techno clubs, began listening to different subgenre’s of electronic music
(trance, funky house, jazz house, etc.), and I began to get involved in the subcultures that
sprang up around Detroit’s electronic music scene. There were many warehouse party’s,
after-hours party’s, festivals, raves, big club nights, house party’s, etc. that provided
144
electronic music events. After some time it became apparent that a very particular kind of
person, would come to events such as these. People seeking out such hedonistic and
highly stimulating immersive experiences consisted of a few parts people who were high
sensation/adventure seekers and another larger part people who were quite lost and
unhappy, looking for an experience where they could lose themselves and put their
unhappy lives on hold for a few hours, where they could lose themselves in the intensity
of these bacchanalian experiences. The music was always pumped through the most
extravagant/powerful stereo system possible at full blast, lasers and lights pulsated to the
rhythms, smoke machines provided an unreal element to the atmosphere, beats per
minute got faster and faster, and the music would usually lack any lyrics, simply relying
on sophisticated computer generations of music. My other musical interest were still
there, but definitely took a back seat, while I explored this new social scene, type of
music, and new music experience.
Fast forward to age 33, and I’m moved back to California. I’m back in grad
school (PsyD), pursuing interests in psychology, and looking to re-establish myself back
in Los Angeles. My musical interests are now a jumble of the many genre’s that I have
been into over the years. This jumble is reflective of my fear, ambivalence, and
excitement, generated out of reformulating my identity and life plan again. I’m fresh out
of a productive two year stint in therapy, feeling good about life, evolving my identity as
therapist, moving to a place that actually feels like home (unlike Ann Arbor, Michigan
where I never really felt at “home”), and the sensation seeking ADHD part of me seems
to be evaporating into thin air. Now my music interests are leaning more toward, chilled
out jazz, classic rock and roll, mellow indie. rock, deep house, old standards, acoustic
145
rock, lounge, old school reggae, a little bit of hip hop…To this day at age 35, those
interests still predominate. I am interested in hearing all of the genre’s I have been
interested in over the years, but my more reflective, mellow, mature, and relaxed qualities
generate interest in hearing selections from these genre’s that reflect those qualities. My
musical interests have been relatively stable in these last few years and this is reflective
of my life being stable, more stable than it ever has. My identity, my emotions, my
personality… they haven’t fluctuated much in the past few years, and I can see a parallel
stability in my musical preferences. I continue to seek out musical experiences that
solidify my feeling about who I am, connect me with people I feel close to, and provide
me with corrective emotional experiences.
Without a doubt, if a therapist wanted to gain insight into my world, assessing my
musical preferences, experience, and use would have been a short cut straight to my soul.
So much could have been learned by a therapist and myself, in such a short time, if a
musically focused assessment helped to set the foundations for a therapeutic relationship
and treatment plan. I don’t think there would have been one reason why I wouldn’t have
engaged a person in a talk about my relationship to music. In fact even if I suspected
someone was going to use that information to interpret things about me, I wouldn’t have
really cared. Put simply, talking about music is fun. A therapist who would have taken an
inquiry approach based upon music, would have been someone who I would have been
able to connect with quickly and one who I would feel was really trying “to get me”. This
may be due to my strong interests in music, but I don’t really think so. I think the topic of
music is so compelling that more often than not, a person would be happy to talk about
their musical experiences, whether it be a therapist or friend listening. If someone is
146
highly opposed to talking about their musical experiences and interests, I think finding
out what that is about, may be even more telling than the information gleaned from the
musically open and expressive client. Now I don’t think that developing an understanding
of my musical history will give you a complete and total picture of me. But without a
doubt, it provides key issues, themes, elements, people, time frames, feelings, thoughts,
dynamics, that are uniquely mine and uniquely connected to my musical experience.
What isn’t important, is being able to simply categorize someone based on musical
preferences, what is important, is developing a very specific and detailed understanding
of the unique and individual way in which someone is intertwined with music. Their
unique musical history and the personal meaning that they derive from this experience,
provides rich clinical information to inform proper therapy by the therapist and to
generate insight and understanding for the client. My hopes are that this doctoral project
will generate a small shift in assessment and therapy practices to facilitate that very
process for therapy clients in the near future.
147
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