Music and Emotional Response

By: Tracy Ho
May 27, 2016

Abstract
Music has been known to invoke strong emotions within its listeners.
Lets look at how music affect both physiologically and psychologically upon
the listener's emotional experience with either happy and sad. Does music
really have the abilities to make emotions sway base on the music being

perceived as happy or sad. Sad music was found to evoked more emotions
the happy music, but there isn't enough significant data to fully prove it.
There's evidence that show music induce emotion upon listening, such as
brain stem responses, emotional contagion and episodic memory, and also the
brain neurological processes work with music. These help the understanding
of the effect music have on emotional responses.
Introduction
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). People listen to music all the time, and
recently I notice that songs the are rated as the top hits on the charts are either
songs that want to make you want to get up and dance to it or especially
songs that will almost put most people in tears. So, it there a correlation
between music and the human emotional instantic or is it the the certain genre
of music that evoke these emotions. 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.
Background
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 almond 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).

Ways to calculate emotions

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).

Happy and Sad music study on physical responses

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. Songs
that were used with lyrics to maintain the integrity of its particular style of
music. A few research from the past conducted by Ali and Peynirciogl has
suggested that music does in fact play a bigger factors on listeners' responses
than the actual lyric itself (Juslin et al., 2009).
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). By attaching a
temperature probe onto the surface of the left hand palm finger temperature
was measured. The output signals were digitized into 10 Hz per channel by a
12-bit CPI A/D converter and stored onto a disk (Juslin et al.,2009).
After the data was interpreted into ANOVAs (Analysis of Variance)
consisted of ratings from the subjects and their emotional listening
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
( 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, et al., 2009 ).
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.
MRI brain activities in response to happy and sad music with or without
lyrics
A study conducted to see brain response to happy and sad music with or
without the content of 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 precipitants were asked to deliver 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 would rate it according to six 5 step bipolar scales
(Brattico et al., 2011).
.
MRI measurements were coordinated with a 3-T scanner (3.0 T Signa
VH/I General Electric). The stimulus conditions were acquired from the
participant's personal choice selection of happy and sad music. With or
without the presence of lyrics effects of linguistic information on the most
common neutral genres of music from rock to pop. A large portion of brain
regions were active upon listening to sad music with lyrics in contrast to sad
music without lyrics. The comparison between the effects of lyrics on sad
versus happy music show that a 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
(Brattico et al., 2011).

The result of the MRI images showed that happy music without lyrics
extracted a notable distinctions in the bold reaction only found in the
bilateral auditory cortices, especially in the center a part of the bilateral
superior temporal gyri. Happy music with lyrics had a significant contrast in
limbic and emotion related areas around the frontal lobe, such as the left
anterior cingulate, the right insula, the left middle frontal gyrus, the
precentral gyrus, and the superior frontal gyrus ( Figure 2). Even with or
without the intentions of lyrics it all had a response on the brain reactions to
music. Surprisingly, it was oddly weighted by the emotional material base on
the music. Specifically, in the variation sad music with lyricsor without lyrics
uncovered a prominence differences in the right claustrum, the right
parahippocampal gyrus, the bilateral amygdala, the bilateral auditory cortex
at the transverse and middle temporal gyri, the right medial frontal gyrus, the
left putamen, and the bilateral inferior frontal and right precentral gyri
(Figure 3). At variance with, the opposite contrast of sad music with or
without lyrics did not yield any major difference (Brattico et al., 2011).
The finding of this study demonstrated that there's enough evidence
that backup the researchers hypothesis of that lyrics are more significant to

invoke sad emotions by music. One the other hand, instrumental yield a
higher significance in invoking happy emotions through music. All together
the result help widen the understanding of how the brains neural processing
of musical emotions, through musics with or without lyrics.
Conclusion
All three study found that there is a correlations between music and
emotional responses either it was a physical, neurological or even self
proclaimed results. My hypothesis was correct in term that sad music does
have evoked a stronger emotions, but there isn't enough significant data to
fully prove it. Plus, in the studies there was many flawed factors such as not
putting into account what kind of music each subject's prefered, the
environment that the studies were conducted and their emotional state going
into the studies.
It's difficult almost impossible to eliminate or limit the inconsistencies
that come with these type of study. The overall result of the three study I
found out that music induce emotion upon listening, such as brain stem
responses, emotional contagion and episodic memory. There is also a
different between felt and perceived emotion and it's hard to distinguish the

two. Plus how the brain neurological processes work with music. All together
played an important role in how music affect our emotions.

References

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Juslin, N. P., Lundqvist, L., Hilmersson P., Carlsson, F., (2009) Emotional
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Appendix