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The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity

Authors:
Rollin McCraty
Rollin McCraty
B Barrios-Choplin
B Barrios-Choplin
B Barrios-Choplin
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M Atkinson
M Atkinson
M Atkinson
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Dana Tomasino
Dana Tomasino
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Abstract

This study investigated the impact of different types of music on tension, mood, and mental clarity. A total of 144 subjects completed a psychological profile before and after listening for 15 minutes to four types of music (grunge rock, classical, New Age, and designer). With grunge rock music, significant increases were found in hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue, and significant reductions were observed in caring, relaxation, mental clarity, and vigor. In contrast, after listening to the designer music (music designed to have specific effects on the listener), significant increases in caring, relaxation, mental clarity, and vigor were measured; significant decreases were found in hostility, fatigue, sadness, and tension. The results for New Age and classical music were mixed. Feeling shifts among subjects were observed with all types of music. Designer music was most effective in increasing positive feelings and decreasing negative feelings. Results suggest that designer music may be useful in the treatment of tension, mental distraction, and negative moods.
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... It has been supported by the established links between music listening and the physiological correlates. Various studies have reported that music influences our respiration rate, heart rate, galvanic skin response, vasoconstriction, muscle tension as well as the level of hormones in our body thereby affecting our emotional states, performance and behaviour (McCraty et al., 1998). Music is also shown to have sedative and therapeutic effect. ...
... Sad sounding music is liked more by people when they are in sad mood and also there are increased chances of neutral sound music to be perceived as sad. Also, people are observed to show increase in sorrow after listening to depressing music and increase in happiness is reported after listening to upbeat music (McCraty et al., 1998).Every genre of music shows varying effects. McCraty et al. (1998) conducted a study which yielded that pop music led to an increase in positive mood and level of happiness while mood became low and level of happiness decreased in response to classical music.Music is also said to induce emotions which can be positive or negative (Statton & Zalanowski, (1997). ...
... Also, people are observed to show increase in sorrow after listening to depressing music and increase in happiness is reported after listening to upbeat music (McCraty et al., 1998).Every genre of music shows varying effects. McCraty et al. (1998) conducted a study which yielded that pop music led to an increase in positive mood and level of happiness while mood became low and level of happiness decreased in response to classical music.Music is also said to induce emotions which can be positive or negative (Statton & Zalanowski, (1997). In a study by Arnett (1991) it was seen that heavy metal music was seen to be related to reckless behaviour however no causal relationship was supported. ...
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Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2025
  • Mol Cell Biomech
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Preprint
Full-text available
  • May 2024
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Preprint
Full-text available
  • Mar 2025
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... In the pop hits condition, interference of this kind can be expected to have been even greater, as variability between tracks was more pronounced (see S1 Table). Further, given that pop hits come from different music genres, that individual genre preferences vary widely, and that different genres can have very different mood effects [93], the mix of genres in the pop hits condition may have further precluded any consistent mood effects across listeners. ...
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Article
Full-text available
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... Most previous studies have found tempo changes to affect behaviour and tension when using classical music [5], [15], [22]. Our study used electronic music and changed player behaviour and experience in similar ways to prior studies. ...
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Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2024
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... The Hits condition was composed of songs of different genres and styles. Given the great variability in musical preferences found in the general population and the fact that different musical genres can have different effects on the mood of listeners (McCraty et al., 1998), it is possible that the mix of styles of this condition precluded the achievement of a consistent mood effect across individuals. The lack of significant changes in affect for participants listening to Office noise and to Spotify's Deep Focus playlist (the latter being against our original hypothesis) could be related to insufficient listening time. ...
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Preprint
  • Jun 2023
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Chapter
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
In den Medien wird immer wieder eine schädliche Wirkung von bestimmten Musikgenres postuliert. Ferner liegen empirische Studien vor, die solche medialen Stereotypen über vermeintlich negative Auswirkungen von spezifischen Musikgenres zu bestätigen scheinen. Vor allem ältere Arbeiten verweisen auf deutliche Zusammenhänge zwischen einzelnen übergeordneten Musikpräferenzen und Variablen der psychischen und körperlichen Gesundheit, insbesondere von Jugendlichen. Hierbei werden vorwiegend Metal, Rock, Alternative, aber in der neueren Zeit auch Rap und Hip-Hop als kritisch bewertet, Verhaltensauffälligkeiten und psychosomatische Probleme bei Heranwachsenden zu verursachen. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Belastbarkeit dieser Annahme. Eigene Untersuchungen liefern dabei keine Hinweise auf schädigende Wirkungen der infrage gestellten Musikgenres für Jugendliche. Stattdessen zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass neben Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen vor allem die Musikrezeption resp. die Anwendung von Musik im Alltag zur Emotionsmodulation in diesem Kontext sehr bedeutsam wird. Im Rahmen der hier vorgenommenen Untersuchungen wird zudem gezeigt, dass die Befunde bestehender Studien aufgrund möglicher Stichproben- und Generationseffekte kritisch hinterfragt werden müssen.
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Effects of Music on Anxiety as Determined by Physiological Skin Responses
Article
  • Dec 1974
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The Effect of EMG Biofeedback and Sedative Music, EMG Biofeedback Only, and Sedative Music Only on Frontalis Muscle Relaxation Ability
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  • Jun 1984
This study was conducted to determine the effects of three conditions— EMG biofeedback paired with music, EMG bio-feedback only, and sedative music only—on the ability of normal tensive adults to relax the frontalis muscle. The mean decrease in microvolts from pretest to postcheck served es the dependent variable for all conditions. Ten subjects made up each group (total n = 30). The resulting change of each group was then compared among treatment conditions. The experimental group receiving both EMG biofeedback and sedative music experienced a mean decrease of 1.18 microvolts (p < .001). The experimental group receiving EMG bio. feedback training only experienced a mean decrease of 0.53 microvolts (p > .05). The experimental group receiving sedative music only to aid relaxation experienced a mean decrease of 1.01 microvolts (p < .01). A one-way analysis of variance revealed no significant difference in the mean percentage of change in microvolts among the three groups. Resulting data showed a trend suggesting that sedative music enhan ced the EMG biofeedback assisted relaxation training.
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The Effects of Heavy Metal Music on Affects Shifts of Adolescents in an Inpatient Psychiatric Setting
Article
  • Jan 1992
Thirty-five adolescent subjects from a psychiatric facility participated in a study to determine the effects of listening to heavy metal versus rock music on affect shifts and to determine the relationship between music preference and shifts in affect. In addition, primary diagnoses of the subjects were examined in relation to type of music and subsequent affect shifts. Short-term fluctuations in mood were measured before and after music listening, and music preference was assessed with a rating sheet completed during testing. Overall, no significant pre-post differences were found in the affect shifts of the subjects; however, when grouped according to music preference, those subjects preferring heavy metal music after listening to heavy metal music were found to have significant increases in positive affect. The affect of those preferring mainstream rock did not show a parallel shift after listening to rock music. Subjects' primary diagnoses had no significant bearing on shifts in affect after music listening.
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Sedative and stimulative music effects: Differential effects on performance impairment following frustration
Article
  • Jun 1988
The present report describes three experiments that examined the effects of sedative and stimulative music on performance decrement following frustration. A five-group design was used in the first experiment: No Treatment (NT), Frustration only (F), Frustration and Sedative music (F-SD), Frustration and Stimulative music (F-ST), and Frustration and Waiting (F-W). The second experiment assessed the differences in emotions associated with the two types of music, sedative and stimulative. After listening to each excerpt, subjects were required to report their feelings about each one, on a 15-point Semantic-Differential-type scale. The third experiment employed a three-group design: F-SD, F-ST, and F only. Music was also played during frustration manipulation. Results for the first experiment showed that while frustration plus sedative music reduced decrement in performance as compared with frustration only, stimulative music had no effect. The results of the second experiment showed that sedative music was highly correlated with calmness, tenderness, and contentedness, while stimulative music was related to tension, anger, boldness, and salience. The results of the third experiment were similar to those of Experiment 1 for effects of sedative music. Stimulative music, however, seemed to enhance the decrement in performance following frustration. The results are discussed with regard to the effects of music on performance, and the interaction of emotions and properties of sedative music in reducing the decremental effects of frustration on performance.
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The Effects of Stimulative and Sedative Music on the Cognitive and Emotional Components of Anxiety
Article
  • Jul 1976
66 college students enrolled in a psychology class took their first examination of the semester, a multiple-choice test, under conditions of stimulative music, sedative music, or no music. One of the five following types of music was played during each section of the test for the two treatment groups: classical, jazz and blues, country-bluegrass, easy listening, and rock/rock and roll. Before and after each of the five sections of the test, subjects responded to a 5-item questionnaire designed to assess (a) worry about the test, (b) emotionality or physiological-affective arousal, (c) ability to concentrate, (d) expectancy of performance, and (e) like or dislike of the music. Stimulative music significantly increased both worry and emotionality while sedative music had no effect on anxiety relative to that of the control group. Test performance was not affected by the music.
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The contribution of music vs instructions in the Musical Mood Induction Procedure
Article
  • Feb 1991
  • BEHAV RES THER
The relative contribution of the instructions and the music to the effects of the Musical Mood Induction Procedure (MMIP) were investigated. Using an experimental procedure which minimised covert experimenter bias, subjects performed under both elation and depression mood inductions in one of four conditions: music present or absent by mood change instructions present or absent, using a crossover design. Results indicated that instructions were both necessary and sufficient to produce change on mood sensitive measures. Mood change effects were reduced by controlling for the effect of subjects who responded so as not to 'louse-up' the experiment. The MMIP seems to be much less musical than the name implies. Further research is needed to determine which aspects of the instructions contribute most to the changes on mood sensitive measures.
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[A prospective controlled study of psychosomatic and immunologic change in recently bereaved people]
Article
  • May 1991
This research was carried out in 45 bereaved people who were the close relatives of a bus accident victims. Their mental and physical conditions, IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and C4 levels were measured. It reveals that mental and physical conditions of the investigated group declined and the incidence of infectious diseases increased in comparison with the control group. Subjects antibody and complement functions were inhibited after bereavement. The social support they perceived functions in the way of buffering the stress as well as improving the immunity.
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Neuronal activity in the human lateral temporal lobe. III. Activity changes during music
Article
  • Feb 1989
During open brain surgery under local anesthesia for the treatment of medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy we have recorded neuronal activity from the lateral temporal lobe with microelectrodes while the patients listened to short pieces of music. Three groups of music were tested: A) Simple familiar or unknown classical tunes at a simple rhythm and harmony, played on piano; B) Orchestrated folk music; C) Drumming without a tune. All types of music lead to changes of neuronal discharge rate. Musical pieces of type A produced a decrease in 48% of the recordings, an increase in about 17% and had no effect in 30%. A similar distribution of effects was found during type B-music (48%, 22%, 30%, respectively). During type C, only 26% showed a decrease and 74% an increase. When music was turned off, usually the reverse change from that caused by music was seen. In addition to changes of discharge rate, a slight entrainment of activity by single, regularly appearing notes (rhythm) was seen in some neurons. A few neurons showed a change of activity related to musical phrases (activation towards the end of a 4-bar 4/4 phrase). In contrast to the effects of verbal stimuli and overt speech, the effects of music on discharge rates did not show obvious topographical differences between superior, middle and inferior temporal gyrus. They also were bilateral with no significant right-left differences.
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Biofeedback, relaxation training, and music: Homeostasis for coping with stress
Article
  • Jul 1984
  • Biofeedback Self Regul
This study compared the efficacy of five relaxation training procedures, four of which employed EMG auditory feedback: biofeedback only (BF), autogenic training phrases (ATP), music (MU), autogenic training phrases and music (ATP & MU), and a control group, in developing self-regulation of a "cultivated low arousal state" as a countermeasure to tensed muscular reaction to stressful imagery. Twenty subjects established a pre- and posttraining frontalis region EMG biofeedback baseline measurement. Sixteen subjects were assigned at random to the 25-minute taped relaxation training procedure. After eight training sessions (4 weeks), MU and ATP & MU groups achieved highly significant differences when compared with the control group. The ATP & MU group attained the lowest postbaseline arousal level measured by the EMG. EMG as a physiological measure for transfer of training functioned well in detecting the psychophysiological affect of stressful imagery.
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Stress reduction through listening to music: Effects on stress hormones, haemodynamics and psychological state in patients with arterial hypertension and in healthy subjects
Article
  • Jun 1995
Stress hormones, tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen, left-ventricular diastolic function and mood immediately before and after listening to three different kinds of music (a waltz by J. Strauss, a piece of modern classic by H. W. Henze, and meditative music by R. Shankar) were measured in 20 healthy persons (10 women, 10 men; mean age 25 [20-33] years) and 20 hypertensives (8 women, 12 men; mean age 57.5 [25-72] years). To recognise haemodynamic effects, mitral flow by Doppler ultrasound was used as a measure of left-ventricular diastolic function. Atrial filling pressure (AFF) was calculated from the flow integral (VTI) of the early E and the late A waves. The Zerssen scale was used to estimate the immediate mood of the subjects. In hypertensives the levels of cortisol (74 vs 78 ng/ml; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.3 vs 4.5 ng/ml; P < 0.05) were lower after than before the Strauss waltz. The muscle by Henze lowered the concentrations of cortisol (70 vs 84 ng/ml; P < 0.05), noradrenaline (203 vs 224 ng/l; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.1 vs 4.6 ng/ml; P < 0.05). After listening to the piece by Shankar the concentrations of cortisol (71 vs 78 ng/ml; P < 0.05), adrenaline 14.5 vs 24.5 ng/ml; P < 0.05) and t-PA antigen (4.2 vs 4.3 ng/ml; P < 0.05) were lower. In healthy subjects AFF (29 vs 26%; P < 0.05) rose after the Strauss music, VTI-E fell (69 vs 73 mm; P < 0.05, while natriuretic peptide rose (63 vs 60 pg/ml; P < 0.05.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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