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

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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.
... 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. ...
... A subject from the study told researchers, "My mental clarity has improved while my ability to remember details has become more effortless." The study confirmed previous research showing that music therapy activates neural pathway activation and better mental functioning, matching participant statements [40]. According to this study's findings, the cognitive benefits related to music therapy are outlined as brain plasticity improvement, which helps decrease stress and boost mental clarity. ...
... In line with these findings, biomechanical interventions provided similar benefits in enhancing physical functioning, as reported by McCraty et al. [40], who found that such interventions, particularly those targeting gait patterns, flexibility, and muscle activation-positively influenced functional disability. In this study, functional impairment for the patients was reduced from a mean of 45.6 (SD ± 8.9) to 32.3 (SD ± 7.4) as assessed by the PDI scale (M = 0.000). ...
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This study aimed to evaluate the combined effects of music therapy and biomechanical interventions on chronic pain management, focusing on pain intensity, functional impairment, and quality of life. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating quantitative measures (pain intensity, functional impairment, and quality of life) with qualitative interviews to capture participants’ experiences. The study involved 120 participants with chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia, arthritis, and neuropathic pain. Moreover, participants were selected through purposive sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed significant improvements in pain intensity visual analogue scale (VAS: 7.8 to 4.6, p < 0.001), functional impairment pain disability index (PDI: 45.6 to 32.3, p < 0.001), and quality of life (SF)-36: 62.4 to 78.2, p < 0.001). Qualitative findings highlighted emotional and cognitive benefits from music therapy and physical improvements from biomechanical interventions, particularly enhanced mobility and reduced pain. The integration of both therapies demonstrated a synergistic effect, significantly improving overall pain management (β = −0.5, p < 0.001). The study concludes that a combined approach offers a comprehensive, effective treatment for chronic pain. Clinical implications include incorporating multimodal interventions into rehabilitation programs with a personalized approach based on pain type and severity. Future research should explore long-term effects and further refine individualized treatment strategies. In contrast, the limitation of this study is the relatively small and homogeneous sample, which may limit generalizability to broader chronic pain populations. Additionally, the short intervention period does not allow for assessing long-term effects.
... Moreover, different genres of music can bring different emotional experiences to the participants. McCraty et al. (1998) found that rock music induces a sense of hostility and tension in participants, while other music induces relaxation and caring. Later, the study found that heavy metal music increased the participant's sense of tension (Rea, MacDonald, & Carnes, 2012). ...
... Although they are both closely related to aggression, they are not identical to each other, and differentiation partly leads to differences in ndings. Various genres of music are perceived in different ways which lead to distinct emotional experiences (McCraty, 1998;Rea, MacDonald, & Carnes, 2012). Diverse measures of malevolent creativity may also lead to varied results. ...
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Music, composed of lyrics and melodies, has an important effect on human emotion, cognition, and behaviors. Researchers have conducted studies on music listening about creativity mainly from the two perspectives of music preference and music exposure, but the dark side of creativity - malevolent creativity - has not been addressed yet. Based on these studies, we focus on three aggression-related music: heavy metal music, rock music, and electronic music, whose relationship with malevolent creativity was verified in our studies. In Study 1, we intended to verify the relationship between aggression-related music preference and malevolent creativity by using questionnaires. In study 2, we further explore the causal relationship between aggression-related music exposure and malevolent creativity through behavioral experiments. Moreover, we also wonder about the internal mechanism. Our results found a strong correlation between aggression-related music (music preference & music exposure) and malevolent creativity, especially electronic music. Meanwhile, the mediation mechanism of negative emotions was not validated. Finally, the main effect of lyrics was confirmed. The negative lyrics group had significantly higher malevolent creativity than the positive lyrics group. The interaction between lyrics and melody on the induction of malevolent creativity showed that there was no significant difference in malevolent creativity across the four music genres under negative lyrics, but electronic music and heavy metal music stood out under positive lyrics. The study's implications extend to understanding the potential dark side of music and its influence on creativity.
... Music profoundly impacts human emotions and can be a powerful tool for healing and relaxation [2,3]. The right music can create a calming atmosphere, reduce anxiety, and improve overall mood [9]. Background music can also help improve focus and concentration [18]. ...
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As online communication continues to expand, participants often face cognitive fatigue and reduced engagement. Cognitive augmentation, which leverages technology to enhance human abilities, offers promising solutions to these challenges. In this study, we investigate the potential of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for real-time music generation to enrich online meetings. We introduce Discussion Jockey 2, a system that dynamically produces background music in response to live conversation transcripts. Through a user study involving 14 participants in an online interview setting, we examine the system's impact on relaxation, concentration, and overall user experience. The findings reveal that AI-generated background music significantly enhances user relaxation (average score: 5.75/9) and concentration (average score: 5.86/9). This research underscores the promise of context-aware music generation in improving the quality of online communication and points to future directions for optimizing its implementation across various virtual environments.
... 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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While music’s effects on emotion are widely appreciated, its effects on cognition are less understood. As mobile devices continue to afford new opportunities to engage with music during work, it is important to understand associated effects on how we feel and perform. Capitalizing on potential benefits, many commercial music platforms advertise content specifically to support attentional focus and concentration. Although already in wide-spread use, the effects of such content remain largely untested. In this online behavioral study, we tested the effects of music advertised to support “work flow” and “deep focus” on mood and performance during a cognitively demanding psychological test (the flanker task). We additionally included a sample of popular hit music representing mainstream musical stimulation and a sample of office noise representing typical background stimulation in a social working environment. Our findings show that, despite similar marketing, only the work flow music gave rise to significant and positively correlated improvements in mood and performance (i.e., faster responses over time, with similar accuracy). Analyses of objective and perceived musical features indicate consistency with the “arousal-mood theory” of music’s cognitive impact and provide new insights into how music can be structured to regulate mood and cognition in the general population.
... 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. ...
... Research investigating different genres of music and their effects on mood, tension, and mental clarity was conducted, and 144 participants were involved in the study. The study results demonstrate that listening to music while studying improves relaxation, positive feelings, and mental clarity substantially [4]. The genre of the music played is also crucial to the level of cognitive performance. ...
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To examine the effects of different music genres on adolescents' long-term memory. Thirty participants were recruited to take part in the study. First, they were given a list of random letter combinations to memorize while listening to a soothing song or fast-paced rap music. After learning for five minutes, they were given some randomly generated arithmetic questions to complete within two minutes. Then, they did a recognition test on the previously memorized words. Results show that the memory-recalling abilities of the participants while listening to rap or soft music are significantly different. Most participants scored higher in tests with soft music than with rap music. The researcher conclude that it would be beneficial for students to do memorization tasks with relaxing background music because soft music could facilitate the process of information encoding and keep them motivated to study for longer, reducing their stress and anxiety. Students should avoid listening to music with a fast, rhythmic beat while memorizing since this type of music appears distractive. Future research could be conducted with a larger sample size.
... 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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Music is a fundamental aspect of human existence, permeating all societies and recognized as a highly engaging, enjoyable, and emotionally moving activity. While the positive influence of music on mood and well-being is well-established, its effects on cognitive functioning, particularly attention modulation, remain less understood. Given the common practice of engaging with music during mundane or unstimulating tasks, understanding how music influences attention is of paramount importance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of different types of music on affect and attention. We conducted a comparative analysis involving three distinct commercial sources of music: Spiritune's WorkFlow playlist, Spotify's Deep Focus playlist, and Billboard's Hot 100. Additionally, an office noise control condition was utilized for comparison purposes. By examining the diverse effects of these music selections, we sought to unravel their influence on participants' emotional states and attention levels. Our findings indicate that only participants exposed to the WorkFlow music playlist experienced improvements in both affect and attention. Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between the enhancement of affect and improved attention in the WorkFlow condition. These results are consistent with the Arousal-Mood theory, suggesting that music listening can augment executive functions exclusively when it effectively heightens arousal levels and fosters positive affect simultaneously. This study carries real-life significance, as it offers valuable insights into cost-effective strategies that can be employed by the general population to effectively regulate mood and cognitive functioning.
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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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Music affects performance in both sensory and motor tasks. It can also provide a significant form of therapy for some mental illness, particularly anxiety. This study investigated the effects of music on anxiety between: (1) music and nonmusic majors; (2) females and males of each group; and (3) females and males, regardless of sex, to determine the combined interaction effect. Results showed that there were significant differences in responses between each of the stated groups. Moreover, the female responses to music were more consistent than the male responses in all groups.
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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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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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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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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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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 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)