Music and Emotional Response

Music has been known to invoke strong emotions within its listeners. Its also used in
many social gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and parties. Music listening is one of the
most perplexing of human behaviors. Research in neuroscience have found evidences that
support the claim that pleasure and emotions are key motivations for people to be fond of
listening to music (Thompson & Quinto). I believe that music have an psychological and
physiological impact on our emotions, especially between happy and sad music. I hypothesize
that the human body responses would be greater when introduced to sad music.
According to Stefan Koelsch a professor for Biological Psychology and Music
Psychology at the university in Bergen that humans earliest and most primitive brain origins of
music evoked emotions. When music is heard it stimulates spinal motor neurons and vestibular,
visceral systems. For example, when music makes us want to move to the beat it's caused by
those activations being stimulated. Our core emotions are cauterized down to three parts of the
brain the amygdala, nucleus accumbens and hippocampus. The amygdala is shape in an amound
size with set of neurons located deep within the brain's medial temporal lobe which is
responsible for emotions, survival instincts, and memory. The nucleus accumbens is known to be
triggered at the spike of emotional encounters. Once activated, these encounter causes chills or
fissions. Most importantly the hippocampus, a small organ located within the brain's medial
temporal lobe that mainly affiliate with memory, particularly long term memories (Williamson
2014).

Its and important to distinguish the different between felt and perceived emotion because
these are the two emotions that are present. Perceived emotion is classified by how music is
expressed. On the other hand felt emotion is how the listener feels in response to the music

(Veltri 2013). Listeners are usually able to familiarize with a few of the basic emotions openly
expressed by music, particularly sadness and happiness are commonly distinguish (Brattico).

Typically, we associated sad music to motivate us into experience the sensation of

sadness. Bringing up unpleasant memories such as misfortune or death. But what if, the reason
why people sometimes lose themselves in the beautiful sounds of sad music and even enjoy
listening to it ( Kawakami 2013). There are two main models used to measure emotion.
According to Ekman and Panksepp the first is the basic emotion theory which suggest that all
emotions expressed initiated by a set preexisting emotion. This set consists of fear, anger,
disgust, sadness, and happiness. In recent study by Ekman implied that there are now
subcategories of these emotion such feeling of shame, guilt, contempt, and embarrassment. The
second model is the dimensional model of emotion or also known as the affective circumplex
model. The affective circumplex model differ from the basic emotion theory it take a more
dimensional approach that indicate that emotions are not that detached, but represent by two
main core of dimensions valence and arousal. The circumplex model has received support from
Barrett and Russell which have examined self-reported emotions through numerous studies.
(Veltri 2013). Russell states that in a two dimensional affective models, sadness is generally
found within the third quadrant of the model, in the same position as deactivation and
displeasure emotions.Gabrielsson and Lindstrm found that sadness tend to be understood as a
unpleasant miserable emotions in the field of psychological emotions, but sadness being view in
the an artistic lens are appreciated by many different attributes can be perceived differently. For
instance, drama, tend to incorporate both comedic and tragic elements. This two combinations
are very well popular. In contrast, sadness being the corel theme create a an aesthetic experience

aspects within the drama. In a similar manner, these classifications of sadness that can be evoked
by the sounds of sad music can appears to be delightful in a different way. It is reported that
some of the most alluring and intense listening experiences are associated with the sound of sad
music ( Kawakami 2013).

In a study conducted by Juslin and Laukka to investigate listeners autonomic responses

to music by a combinations of facial and experiential factors. They used a stimuli that consisted
of popular music that was either happy or sad emotional expressions. Happiness and sadness the
two emotions that are easily expressed through music, and there seem to be a correlated
responses to music. This made it unchallenging in regarded to the beneficial use of music with
these expressions as stimuli. They hypothesize that happy music would induce more self-rated
happiness, less self-rated sadness, no differences in self-rated anger, fear, surprise, or disgust,
more zygomatic muscle activity, less corrugator muscle activity, higher heart rate, greater skin
conductance, and ahigher finger temperature.In addition to finding an overall consistent
responses to find a pattern and would support the emotivist position there is a turn up in gender
differences between the two sex. The precipitants were thirty two university students, sixteen
men with a mean age of twenty three (SD = 3.66) and sixteen women with a mean age of twenty
three (SD = 5.43), volunteered to take part in the experiment. All of the precipitants had no
formal musical training and participated on a voluntary basis. Songs that were used with lyrics to
help maintain the a distinct style of music. A happy and sad song were each were performed by
both a male and a female singer to help generate a total number of four different musical
performances that were all recorded onto a minidisc. The songs were performed with lyrics to
maintain the representativeness of this style of music. Previous research conducted by Ali and

Peynirciogl has suggested that music play a bigger impact on listeners' responses than the actual
l lyric itself (Juslin, Lundqvist,Hilmersson & Carlsson,).

By using the Differential Emotions Scale created by Izard, Dougherty, Bloxom, and
Kotch to measure the self reported emotional experience, which measured the persons emotional
experience with the response of emotion such as anger, disgust, fear, surprise, sadness,
happiness, and interest, all were represented by three different signs. On a visual analog scale the
subjects were asked to rate their degree of emotional intensity with labeled from "not at all",
slightly, moderately, rather strong, to "very strong". Then from a range of score from 0 to
300 the three signs were represented by each emotions were totaled. By using Fridlund and
Cacioppos guidelines to create a bipolar facial EMG recordings made from the left corrugator
and zygomatic muscle regions and attaching the 4 mm miniature surface Ag/AgCl electrodes
filled with EMG gel electrodes were connected to Contact Precision Instruments (CPI)
bioamplifiers with low and high pass filters set at 1000 Hz and 10 Hz. With the use of Notch
filters, they were able to set at 50 Hz to decrease the interference with the use of electric mains.
A photoplethysmograph device were used to measure heart rates. According to Papillo and
Shapiroto a CPI finger pulse amplifier can be use to interpret the signal and a CPI interval timer
to help produce interbeat interval data. The interbeat interval data were then translated into heart
rate data (bpm). Skin conductance level was recorded by attaching by electrodes filled with Med
Associate skin conductance electrode paste to the participants left hand. The electrodes were
connected to a CPI self-balancing skin conductance amplifier that measured skin conductance in
micro Siemens (S). Finger temperature was measured by attaching a temperature probe onto the

palm surface of the left hand.. All output signals were digitized at 10 Hz per channel by a 12-bit
CPI A/D converter and stored on disk (Juslin, Lundqvist,Hilmersson & Carlsson,).

After the data was interpreted into ANOVAs (Analysis of Variance) consisted of ratings
from the subjects and their emotional experience, ( Table 1), showed that a profound prominence
outcomes of music on both happiness and on sadness ratings. Happy music tend to produces an
increase of happiness compared to sad music, which, vice versa, sad music produced more
sadness than compare to happy music (Table 2). Overall results from the ANOVA showed that
for the facial EMG data (see Table 3) demonstrate that an important main effects of music and a
time block on a reading done by zygomatic activity. In Figure 1 displayed that happy music
provide more zygomatic activity in contrast to sad music. Also important to note that corrugator
activity decreased both occur at the end of both happy and sad music excerpts, but that the
decrease was more significant in happy music. Autonomic Activity the ANOVA results for ANS
activity presented in Table 3 showed that there was a significant colorations for music and time
block on both skin conductance level and finger temperature. There were no profound evidence
on heart rate were found. Finger temperature were decreased in both happy and sad music,
followed by a large increase.There was a decrease in body temperature consistent with an
increased for both sad and happy music, Happy music was found to create a stronger emotion of
happiness, where sad music create a higher emotion of sadness. There was not any differences in
other emotions measured were found. Both happy and sad music generate a short burst of
corrugator activity at the beginning of each musical excerpt. However happy music shown a
higher skin conductance levels compared to sad music. There's no difference in heart rate
between happy or sad music (Juslin, Lundqvist,Hilmersson & Carlsson,).

The overall result of this study conducted by Juslin and Laukka does support the claim of
emotivist perspective (Juslin, Lundqvist,Hilmersson & Carlsson,). But there are other factor that
that would explain how music induce emotion upon listening, such as brain stem responses,
emotional contagion and episodic memory (Juslin & Vastjall). Even though the study does show
that there is a correlation between music and emotion theres too much inconsistency to manage
a un-yielding result.

A study conducted to see brain response to happy and sad music in music with or without lyrics
by using an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine. There were fifteen participants
chosen without any neurological problems and regard of any musical background. Before the
listening test began the subjects were asked to provide the researchers sixteen of there own
music choice. Four from each of the criteria, happy, sad, favorite and hated music, also from an
array of musical genres. The goal was to set a range of variety. Each of the our excerpts were
eighteen seconds long with 500-ms fade ins and fade outs were established from each music
piece with the help from Adobe Audition. The music would be played into the priciptains by
headphone at 50 dB above each individual threshold. After each excerpt, the subjects rate it
according to six 5-step bipolar scales.

MRI measurements were conducted with the 3-T scanner (3.0 T Signa VH/I General Electric).
The stimulus conditions were obtained from the subjects choice of selection of happy and sad
music. With or without the presence of lyrics effects of linguistic information on the most
common everyday genres of music from rock to pop. A large number of brain regions were

active upon listening to sad music with lyrics versus sad music without lyrics. The comparison
between the effects of lyrics on sad versus happy music.. Significant brain activity in the limbic
system and in the auditory cortex responded to instrumental of happy music where only in the
temporal regions were activated during happy music with lyrics.

Kawakami, A., Furukawa, K., Katahira, K., Kamiyama, K., and Okanoya, K. (2013). Sad music
induces pleasant emotion. Frontiers in Psychology
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00311/full
White, L. E., & Rickard, S. N., (2015) Emotion response and regulation to happy and sad
music stimuli: Partial synchronization of subjective and physiological responses
doi:10.1177/1029864915608911.
http://msx.sagepub.com/content/20/1/11.abstract?rss=1

Veltri, T., (2013) Music and Emotion: Models and Physiological Correlates. Psychology of
Music
http://www.psychologyofmusic.co.uk/emotionandphysiology.html

Juslin, N. P., Lundqvist, L., Hilmersson P., Carlsson, F., (2009) Emotional Responses to Music:
Experience, Expression, and Physiology
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/209436300_Emotional_responses_to_music_Experien
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Shafron, R. G., (2010) The Science and Psychology Behind Music and Emotion. Journal of
Young Investigators.
http://www.jyi.org/issue/the-science-and-psychology-behind-music-and-emotion/

Mohana, M., (2013) Music & How It Impacts Your Brain, Emotions. PsychCentral
http://psychcentral.com/lib/music-how-it-impacts-your-brain-emotions/

Williamson, V., (2014) Music, emotion and the brain. Music Psychology
http://musicpsychology.co.uk/music-emotion-and-the-brain/

Zentner, M., & Eerola, T., ( 2010) Rhythmic engagement with music in infancy. Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/13/5768.abstract

Feilies, N., (2012) How Music Impacts, Helps Our Emotions. World of Psychology
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/06/26/how-music-impacts-helps-our-emotions/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741536/
file:///home/chronos/u5c79859eec281cea74db0197397a121662c9ddcd/Downloads/AestheticMind_21.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227856/