Understanding how happy and sad music influence emotional distress: A quasi-experimental approach

• Main Author: Baloloy, Jim Rey R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Music; Liability for emotional distress; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/1395; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2412&context=etd_doctoral
• Institution: De La Salle University

Music has been widely studied in terms of how it affects emotions. In the field of psychotherapy, music has also been investigated in terms of its effectiveness in treating psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety. While studies have shown how music influences emotions, it has yet to be established how music is able to regulate emotional states. Literature also shows a gap in investigating the mechanisms on how music is able to influence emotions using existing theoretical perspectives. In this study, 113 university studies in Manila (34 Males, 79 Females) participated in a 2 x 2 factorial quasi-experiment which tested the combined effects of music (happy vs. sad) and previous emotional state (induced positive emotional state vs. induced emotional distress) on emotional distress to test for emotion regulation by listening to music. The influence of music-evoked autobiographical memories, music empathy and music emotion regulation strategies on the effects of happy and sad music on emotional distress was tested. The results showed no statistical evidence of emotion regulation through music by accounting for prior emotional states, although emotional distress was found lower for happy music listeners than sad music listeners. No statistical support was found for the influence of music-evoked autobiographical memories, music empathy and music emotion regulation strategies on the effects of happy and sad music on emotional distress.