Academic literature on the topic 'Mood-enhancement and music'

The Mozart Effect refers to enhanced spatial ability following listening to 10 minutes of Mozart music (Rauscher et al., 1993; Rauscher et al., 1995; Rideout & Taylor, 1997). However, many researchers have not been able to replicate its benefit on cognitive functioning (McKelvie & Low, 2002; Steele et al., 1999) while other researchers provide evidence that the intellectual benefit may not be due to the music exclusively, but to changes in mood and arousal levels (Cacciafesta et al., 2010; Steele, 2000; Lints & Gadbois, 2003; Thompson et al., 2001). Furthermore, it is unclear whether this Mozart Effect is the result of the melody or the rhythmic pattern of the Mozart music (Shi, 2020). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to determine which musical element (i.e., melody or rhythmic pattern) of Mozart’s sonata (Mozart Sonata for Two Piano’s in D major, K. 448) causes the spatial performance enhancement and to determine if the benefit generalizes to another type of spatial ability, specifically 2D mental rotation. In order to disentangle the effects of the rhythm from the melody, we exposed participants to a Lo-fi (i.e., reproduction of audio that highlights the rhythmic pattern of Mozart’s sonata with a slower tempo) version of the Mozart sonata that maintained the rhythmic pattern of the sonata but differed in melody. Inconsistent with hypotheses, neither version of the Mozart music significantly improved mood and arousal; however, the mood/arousal benefits approached significance while the control music, Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor for Organ and Strings, significantly decreased mood/arousal. Thus, the current results provide some evidence that the rhythmic pattern (as opposed to the melody) of the Mozart sonata increases mood/arousal. However, the rhythmic pattern failed to produce better cognitive functioning (e.g., faster 2D mental rotation) in either its original form or the Lo-fi form.

Background and aims: Aging is increasing rapidly both in Iran and across the world. One of today’s challenges is the need for psychotherapy and improvement of mental health among the elderly. Therefore, a way should be sought out for improving happiness, especially among the elderly. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of music on the happiness of the elderly residing at the retirement homes in Kermanshah, west Iran in 2019. Methods: The population of this empirical study of pretest-posttest design including an intervention group and a control group, consisted of all elderly people residing at the retirement homes across Kermanshah in 2019. Participants were selected based on inclusion criteria using convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to intervention group (n: 31) and control group (n: 31). To collect data, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) was administered to both groups. Afterwards pieces of Kurdish folk and Arnd Stein’s relaxing music authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance were played for the intervention group through three 45-50-minute sessions per week, and the control group continued their daily activities as before. After one month, the posttest was administered to both groups. Data were analyzed by paired t test and covariance analysis run in SPSS software. Results: The results demonstrated that after a period of music therapy, there was a significant difference in happiness and its dimensions between the two groups. The mean±standard deviation score of happiness was 74.16±10.32 at pretest and 96.90±5.42 at posttest. Mean life satisfaction score was 19.35±4.62 at pretest and 27.48±2.41 at posttest. Mean self-esteem score was 17.77±2.87 at pretest and 23.16±1.81 at posttest. Mean Subjective well-being score was 12.94±1.57 at pretest and 15.35±1.40 at posttest. Mean satisfaction score was 10.94±2.11 at pretest and 13.16±1.59 at posttest, and mean positive mood score was 13.16±2.16 at pretest and 17.74±1.06 at posttest. The paired t test results showed that the mean score of elderlies residing in Kermanshah retirement homes improved after a music therapy program in terms of happiness dimensions including life satisfaction (P<0.001), self-esteem (P<0.001), subjective well-being (P<0.001), satisfaction (P<0.001), and positive mood (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that music improved happiness in the elderly at retirement homes. Thus, we can use music as a non-medicinal, inexpensive tool for enhancement of happiness along with other therapies at retirement homes and hospitals.

Background Persons living with dementia represent a significant and growing segment of the older adult (aged 65 years and older) population. They are often challenged expressively and may experience difficulties with sharing their feelings or moods. Availability of, and easy access to, tablets facilitates the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a delivery mechanism for nonpharmacological interventions, especially for persons living with dementia. Evidence of the impact of ICTs in different community settings on mood with older adults and the impact of engagement on their caregivers is needed to promote broader adoption and sustainment of these technologies in the United States. Objective This study aimed to determine the extent of the effects of tablets on positive mood change and examine the effects of study variables on care recipients’ mood changes and caregivers’ daily interactions. Methods The tablet intervention was developed and evaluated in five programs. The primary outcome was caregivers’ assessment of care recipients’ mood (n=1089) before and after a tablet engagement session using an eight-point mood visual analog scale. Session influence on caregivers’ daily activities was captured for a subsample of participants (n=542). Frequency distributions were computed for each study variables. Chi-square tests of association were calculated to determine the association of the variables on mood changes for all care recipients, as well as those being treated in skilled nursing facilities and in-home, and then for those that affected caregivers’ daily activities. Results The study sample comprised 1089 care recipient and caregiver engagement sessions. Cumulatively, 50.78% (553/1089) of care recipients showed a transition from negative to positive moods, whereas another 41.78% (455/1089) maintained an already-positive mood after the caregiver engagement session. Chi-square analyses demonstrated that positive mood changes resulted from using music (χ210=72.9; P<.001), using YouTube as the sole app (χ212=64.5; P<.001), using multiple engagement strategies (χ22=42.8; P<.001), and when cared for in a skilled nursing facility (χ24=236.8; P<.001) across the entire care recipient sample. In addition, although many features of the engagement session positively influenced the caregivers’ day, the largest effect was observed when care recipients’ mood was considered to have improved following the session (χ24=234.7; P<.001). Conclusions The study is one of the first in the United States to explore the impact of ICTs, in particular managed tablets and Web-based video services that can be used on a tablet through an app, on improving mood in persons living with dementia, and enhancing caregivers’ perceptions about their care recipient interactions. Importantly, these pilot data substantiate ICTs as part of a personalized engagement approach, as beneficial alternatives to pharmaceutical interventions for mood enhancement. However, a more comprehensive study that explores the ICT’s impact on additional clinical outcomes is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

In everyday life people use music to adjust their levels of arousal, to regulate their mood and emotions, and to cope with previous experiences, indicating that music plays an important role for everyday wellbeing. While the relationship between music and emotions has received considerable interest in past decades, little is known about the self-esteem boosting function of empowering music. In the present study, we investigated the relationship of music listening and self-esteem, by examining how momentary explicit and implicit self-esteem are (a) influenced by the expressive properties of music and (b) predicted by individual differences in responses to music. Results indicate that both explicit and implicit self-esteem are affected by music listening but in different ways. While momentary explicit self-esteem changed as a function of the expressive properties of the music and was positively predicted by liking, implicit self-esteem was positively predicted by empathy and negatively predicted by nostalgia. In contrast to changes in self-esteem, no changes in mood were observed. We anticipate our findings to be a starting point for further investigations of the cognitive and affective processes involved when listening to empowering music.

Ironic enjoyment occurs when people enjoy music despite or because of it being evaluated as bad. Although initial qualitative results suggest that this phenomenon fulfills a variety of self-regulatory functions that are also found in enjoyed music, to date no research has experimentally tested how important these functions are in ironically enjoyed music, in comparison to naturally enjoyed music. In two between-subjects experiments, participants ( N = 216 and N = 143) were instructed to think back to a recent occasion in which they listened to a piece of music which they either enjoyed ironically or enjoyed naturally. They then answered questions on the effects this had on them (Studies 1 and 2) and on the subjective qualities of the music (Study 2). The results suggested that ironically enjoyed music had less effect on personal identification and on managing positive or negative moods and was also appreciated less and judged as less novel than naturally enjoyed music. Differences in mood-management functions were associated with lower levels of subjective qualities of ironically enjoyed music, especially appreciation. Novelty was especially related to positive mood enhancement for ironically enjoyed music. Participants mentioned humor as an additional function of ironically enjoyed music listening.

Background: Although people self-administer music for affect enhancement and self-regulation, there is a dearth of empirical inquiry investigating whether music-based regulatory factors and healthy and unhealthy music use explain coping strategies in adults hospitalized with cancer. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether music-based affect regulation and healthy and unhealthy music use explain coping strategies in adults hospitalized with cancer. Method: Participants ( N = 139) were adults hospitalized on oncology units at a large teaching hospital. Participants completed the Brief Music in Mood Regulation scale, the Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale, and the Brief COPE. Correlational and ensuing multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine whether music-based affect regulation factors and healthy and unhealthy music use explained coping strategies. Results: Regression results indicated that discharge explained humor and religion. Unhealthy music use explained self-distraction, denial, behavioral disengagement, venting, and self-blame. Healthy music use explained active coping, instrumental support, positive reframing, planning, and acceptance. Conclusions: Music use can explain both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies for adults with cancer. Education may enable people with cancer to make effective self-administered music listening choices that augment mood, quality of life, and recovery. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.

AbstractA cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment can trigger distress, negatively impact coping resources, and affect well-being as well as quality of life. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate feasibility and clinical effects of a VR intervention on quality of life, well-being and mood in cancer patients undergoing surgery compared to a non-VR intervention and a control group. 54 patients with colorectal cancer or liver metastases from colorectal cancer undergoing elective curatively intended surgery were recruited and randomised to one of two intervention groups or a control group receiving standard treatment. Participants assigned to one of the intervention groups either received a VR-based intervention twice daily or listened to music twice daily. Adherence to the intervention was 64.6% in the music group and 81.6% in the VR group. The VR intervention significantly reduced heart rate (− 1.2 bpm; 95% CI − 2.24 to − 0.22; p = 0.02) and respiratory rate (− 0.7 brpm; 95% CI − 1.08 to − 0.25; p = 0.01). Self-reported overall mood improved in both groups (VR: + 0.79 pts; 95% CI 0.37–1.21; p = 0.001; music: + 0.59 pts; 95% CI 0.22–0.97; p = 0.004). There was no difference in quality of life between the three groups. Both interventions groups reported changes in feelings. Adherence rates favoured the VR intervention over the music group. Observed clinical outcomes showed stronger intragroup effects on mood, feelings, and vital signs in the VR group. The study demonstrated feasibility of a VR intervention in cancer patients undergoing surgery and should encourage further research investigating the potential of VR interventions to positively influence well-being and mood in cancer patients.

Abstract Listening to music aids regulation of emotional arousal and valence (positive vs. negative). Anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of arousal-related sensations) increases the risk for emotion dysregulation and associated coping behaviors such as substance use and exercise avoidance. The relationship between AS and music listening, however, has received very little attention. This study (1) used exploratory factor analysis of 53 items drawn from three previously validated measures of reasons for music listening to identify the core reasons for listening to music among university students and (2) explored associations between AS and reasons for music listening. Undergraduates (N = 788; 77.7% women; Mage = 19.20, SDage = 2.46) completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Motives for Listening to Music Questionnaire, Barcelona Musical Reward Questionnaire, and Brief Music in Mood Regulation Scale. Six core reasons for music listening were identified: Coping, Conformity, Revitalization, Social Enhancement, Connection, and Sensory-Motor. Over and above age and gender, AS was associated with Coping and Conformity—reasons that involve relief from aversive emotions. AS also was associated with listening for Connection reasons. AS was not associated with Revitalization, Social Enhancement, or Sensory-Motor—reasons that involve rewards such as heightened positive emotions. Results suggest that individual differences may influence why people incorporate music listening into their day-to-day lives. Further longitudinal and experimental research is needed to establish directionality and causality in the observed relationship of AS to relief-oriented reasons for music listening. Findings may guide music therapists’ efforts to tailor treatment for individuals at risk for anxiety and related mental health problems.

A substantial amount of music listening in contemporary Western society is deliberately chosen. This article reviews what is known about the psychology of self-chosen exposure to musical performances of others (recorded or live). The research reviewed is organized by the functional niche that the music is chosen to be part of. Six main niches appear in the literature. These are travel (e.g. driving a car, walking, using public transport); physical work (everyday routines such as washing, cleaning, cooking, and other forms of manual labour); brain work (e.g. private study, reading, writing, and other forms of thinking); body work (e.g. exercise, yoga, relaxation, pain management); emotional work (e.g. mood management, reminiscence, presentation of identity); and attendance at live-music-performance events as an audience member. Within these niches, four recurring functions of self-chosen music use are also identified: distraction, energizing, entrainment, and meaning enhancement.