Draft 2: Music's Effect on the Human Mind

This topic submitted by Katie Dever, Brandon Cirillo, Tony Di Ganci ( deverka@muohio.edu ) on 3/9/06. [ Human Nature Team: Katie Dever, Brandon Cirillo, Tony Di Ganci-Section: Cummins/Wolfe]

INTRODUCTION

Memory is a fundamental aspect of human nature. The ability to retain and recall information has a large effect on the survival of a person. The use of memory is important, for a human relies on their memory to help make decisions in their quest for survival. Humans as a whole are continuously developing new ways to learning and retain information in their memory, however the development of distractions, such as computers, television, and modern music, has increased with the increase of knowledge. The effects of music have been speculated to positively affect the human brain. Research has suggested that listening to music increases cognitive function; increase brain mass, and higher mental performance. According to an article in the Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, students perform better on math tests when listening to classical. The researchers also found that listening to soft rock, jazz or fast paced background music increases performance efficiency (encyclopedia of Educational Technology). Music has also known to invoke emotions, which have been found to create more successful rate of retention and recall of information in oneÕs long-term memory (The learning web limited, 2004). Our project involves the experimentation of individualÕs ability to retain images while listening to different types of music including classical, heavy metal, rap, alternative rock, cultural, jazz and techno. Then we will evaluate if certain emotions correlate with the songs and how it relates to cognitive abilities.

We hypothesize that there will be a significant difference between the tests results of a person listening to music compared to silence and television noise. We further predict that classical music, jazz, and techno music will have a greater effect on memory compared to television noise, rap, and heavy metal music. Our second major hypotheses, is that emotion will have an affect on ones memory through music. We further predict that positive emotions such as joy, ecstasy, and pride will be found to have increased tests scores compared to negative emotions such as worry, humiliation, and anger.

Our study brings together many different disciplines such as psychology, music, and statistics. The study of memory relies on cognitive psychology, while emotion derives from neuro-psychology and behavioral psychology. Then studying the effects of music on the brain will use the discipline of music. Once the data has been collected, statistics will be used to analyze the data and draw conclusions.

RELEVENCE OF RESEARCH QUESTION

Meyer, L. B. (2001). Music and Emotion: Distinctions and Uncertainties. In P. N. Juslin, and Sloboda, J. A. (Eds.), Music and Emotion (pp. 341-360). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

This source discusses the effects music has on the brain, and then relates it to emotional responses. It is very helpful because it explains the different aspects of sound: register (higher-lower), dynamic level (louder-softer), speed (faster-slower), continuity (gradual-abrupt). For example, in a song you may have varying degrees of all these parameters, however there will be a constant degree in which the parameters are expressed. This constant degree observed will then influence our emotion towards the song as a whole. The next section of the source discusses how natural and cultural circumstances influence emotional states. We deem certain songs or poetry not because of our knowledge of physiological responses or psychological constraints, but because of awareness of, and often empathy with, the feelings and behaviors that occur in particular sociocultural contexts. The last useful section of the source was about how classification is directly related to emotion. Overall, this source was useful identifying how emotions and music correlate. This information can further be applied in music choice for the study, for we have to be aware that the different types of music are varied in their parameters.

Schubert, E. (2001). Continuous Measurement of Self-Report Emotional Response to Music. In P. N. Juslin, and Sloboda, J. A. (Eds.), Music and Emotion (pp. 393-414). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

This source discusses how continuous response measures may be applied to measuring emotion while listening to music. The meaning of continuous in this context is not taken literally, for a subject can evaluate a musical piece and document their emotions without a break, so the more correct term is continual or multiple equispaced measurements. The process of continuous measurements is first by separating the musical piece into groups, and then the test subject will choose an emotion given to match with each category. After the data is tabulated, relative frequencies are found for each type emotion throughout the whole musical piece. The relative frequency gives an overview of the emotions that are evoked in the test subjectsÕ population. The second half of the source focuses on the application of continuous measurements to four different research purposes: validation, comparative investigations, stimulus-response investigations, and system-dynamics investigations. This source overall is very informative on an emotional response measurement. It also gives a very complete self-report emotional response list that can be applied directly to our study.

Shaw, Ph.D., G. (2004). Keeping Mozart in mind. 2nd Ed. New York: Elsevier Academic Press.

This source was chosen for its description of past studies relating music and the brain. The Mozart Effect was a study in which researchers tested the effects of listening to the Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos, relaxing music, or silence for 10 minutes before taking a Standford-Binet Intelligence Test. From the Stanford-Binet test the researchers tested on PF&C (paper folding & cutting), pattern analysis, and matrices. The results of the study on college students showed that the listening to Mozart music before the test increased the scores compared to silence, and the relaxation music. However, The enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning was found to only last for about 10-15 minutes. This source over is useful, for it shows that music does have an effect on brain function. Also, it provides methods in which to test college students with a higher mental capacity, which can be directly applied to our research.

Murrock, C. J. (2005). Music and Mood. In A. V. Clark (Eds.), Psychology of Moods (pp. 141-155). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

This source was chosen for its content on music and moods. The first the source describes in depth the five elements of music: rhythm, melody, pitch, harmony, and interval. Rhythm is the pattern of movement and is the most fundamental, essential, structural, and organizational element of music. Rhythm can influence structures in the brain such as the limbic system (center for emotions, sensations, and feelings), through creating a trace. Melody is the ability to express mood, thoughts, ideas, and emotions in a nonverbal form of communication. There can be a broad spectrum of emotions from happy and calm to euphoric and tranquil. Pitch is the sound cause by vibrations. By increasing or decreasing vibrations, the pitch becomes higher or lower. The faster vibrations create a higher pitch is usually associated with cheerful and happy music, whereas slower vibrations create a lower pitch which is associated with dreariness, and depression. The fourth element harmony is how the pitches blend together to make one sound known as a musical chord. Depending on the intervals between the notes blending together moods can be created. A major chord is normally associated with cheerful music, while a minor chord (lowering of the middle note in a major chord) is considered a sad and depressive type of music. The last element is the interval, which is the distance between each note. In a melody, certain intervals can invoke certain emotions. An example is a larger upward interval jump followed by a slow descending series of notes is considered more up beat and happy. This can be heard in the song ÒSomewhere Over the RainbowÓ in the movie ÒWizard of OzÓ. As a whole the five elements can drastically change a persons emotions. The most obvious element that changes music is melody, while rhythm is the most unconscious element to cause change.

Music causes psychological effects by engaging the right hemisphere of the brain, which are the intuitive, creative, and imaginative methods. These methods directly effect the limbic system. The author hypothesizes that when listening to music, the vibratory motion that moves through the auditory cortex goes directly to the limbic system. Through the limbic system, music has the ability to bring forth a broad range of emotional conditions. These different emotional conditions can also cause changes in the cardiovascular system, neuroendocrine system, and the immune system.

Besides evoking emotion, music can act as a distracter and divert attention for stressful stimuli. A stress response stimulates the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, resulting in the increase in heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and anxiety levels. Music may act directly on the autonomic nervous system when the stress response is interrupted and anxiety levels are reduced. It is also through that listening to music releases endorphins, especially beta-endorphins, the bodyÕs natural pain relievers that have been associated with pleasant emotions and pain relief.

Overall this source is very helpful, for it gives information on how music effects emotion, and the rest of the human body. The source also gives a logical explanation on how music affects the brain by traveling from the auditory cortex to the limbic system.

Blood, A. J., Zatorre R. J., Bermudez P., and Evans, A. C. (1999). Emotional responses to pleasant and unpleasant music correlate with activity in paralimbic brain regions. Nature Neuroscience, 2, 382-387.

Half of our testing hopes to recognize a link between music and emotional responses. It seems easy to see that music can in fact have a pretty direct correlation to emotional responses. But why is this? This article deals with the actual science of the brain and how it is affected by music. This article will help us to prove a connection between music and the emotions that are recorded by our testing participants.

Hall, P. D. (1998). The relationship between types of rap music and memory in African American children. Journal of Black Studies, 28(6), 802-814.

Heavy Metal and Rap music is usually categorized by a heavy usage of profanity and messages that promote hate and violence. This article hopes to explore possible links between these two genres of music and the affects that it has on African American children, both in terms of attitude and memory. It was found that children who listened to mostly these two forms of music were generally more accepting of violence and could show more signs of aggression. It was found that such music can indeed have negative impacts on the memory of children, which is intensified by those that actually listen and understand the lyrics/message being conveyed by the music. These results help us to hypothesize what will happen during our testing.

Hamann, S. B., Ely T. D., Grafton S. T., and Kilts, C. D. (1999). Amygdala activity related to enhanced memory for pleasant and aversive stimuli. Nature. 289-293.

This journal was chosen for its context pertaining to how emotions affect memory. The study presented was comparing the emotional responses and ability to recall four different types of pictures. The two experimental groups were pleasant pictures (sexually arousing scenes, appealing animals or appetizing foods), aversive pictures (mutilated and diseased bodies, frightened animals or lethal violence), while the two control groups were neutral pictures (chess players, plants and animals or household scenes), and interesting pictures (chrome rhinoceros, exotic parade). The control groups were designed to be non-emotional, however the interesting group was designed to attract interest and be memorable yet to be emotionally un-arousing. While the groups of pictures were being observed, the test subjects were being monitored by a PET machine to monitor amygdala activity. Then following the PET, the subjects were given 3 surprise memory tests at varying lengths of time after the exposure to the pictures. The study found that increased activity of the amygdala increased the recall of pictures in the memory tests. This study shows that emotions have an affect on memory. In application to our study, we can theories of memory and emotion being linked together.

Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for music: effect of melody on recall of text. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485.

This journal was chosen for its information on memory and music. This study gives ample amounts of information on how music can help memory. First, the melody will facilitate learning and recall of the text. Generally, memory structures use rhyme and meaning to link components of text together, and preserve the characteristics across recalls. When a subject recalls a melody, the subject then knows the length of the accompanying contextual line stored with the melody. The order and structure of information strengthens the connections within memory that give cues to guide textual searches. The sequential recall also limits the likelihood of skipping over portions of the material without being aware of the omissions. This also provides an access point from which one can puck up and recall again if a portion is omitted. The study overall gives a foundation on which music helps the storage and recall of text in memory.

Morris, W. (1989). Mood: the frame of mind. New York: Springer-Verlag.

This source was chosen for its information on different types of moods and how moods affect memory. Moods are either conscious or unconscious as a function of crossing a simple sensory threshold. The purpose of the mood was to inform the individual of his general state and needs. Moods could presumably be applied to other self-regulatory systems such as those involved in the control of eating and drinking behavior, for the cycle of moods and human needs keep the cycle moving. The most fundamental way in which mood might have its effects is by altering the mind. Mood can influence memory by creating ease and success with encoding material or retrieving material from memory. For example it seems reasonable to speculate that bad moods might interfere with the capacity to engage in any task, including remembering, especially when the task demands are relatively great. Overall, the source is useful for getting a foundation on moods and how it may affect memory.

Carlson, J., & Hatfield, E. (1992). Psychology of Emotion. New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich College Publishers.

This source was chosen for a foundation on emotions. The useful section in this book is about structural postulates developed by Plutchik. PlutchikÕs ideas that the primary emotional dimensions can be conceptualized in terms of pairs of polar opposites and that emotions vary in similarity and intensity. Presumably, the emotional pairs feel like opposites, are associated with different physiological reactions, and lead to incompatible behaviors. Plutchick also categorizes emotions as positive and negative. The last categorization is that emotions differ in intensity such as people that are pensive, sad, or experiencing grief. Then by applying all of Plutchik's postulates he developed a Emotion solid in which emotions are bipolar, vary in similarity and intensity. The emotions are basically applied to a simple color wheel, which has three levels. Overall this source is useful for developing a good foundation. The emotion solid will be incorporated into the test of emotions in our study.

The Learning Web Limited, (n.d.). Music and learning: eight ways to use music for teaching and learning. Retrieved Mar. 09, 2006, from The Learning Revolution Web site: http://www.thelearningweb.net/music-learning.html.

This website was chosen for its content on different techniques to use for teaching in a classroom. The section most useful gives eight ways to use music as a teaching tool. The eight ways are (direct quote):
1. Music relaxes the mind and lowers stress levels that inhibit learning. When used effectively, it increases alpha levels in the brain, boosting memory and recall and allowing the brain to access reserve capacities.
2. Music acts directly on the body, specifically on metabolism and heartbeat. Listening to certain types of music can trigger the release of endorphins, producing a tranquil state that leads to faster learning.
3. Music stimulates and awakens, reviving board or sleepy learners and increasing blood and oxygen flow to the brain.
4. Music is mathematical. Certain musical structures stimulate specialized brain circuits, allowing learners to decode complex ideas more easily.
5. Music inspires emotion, creating a clear passage to long-term memory.
6. Music is a stage-changer and can be used effectively to get students into an effective learning state.
7. Music is a universal language, uniquely capable of crossing cultural barriers and training in ethnic traditions and values. It can set a dramatic stage for lessons in history, foreign language, sociology, political studies and geography.
8. Music is a powerful anchor that moors learning in memory...These eight steps are summarized from An introduction to The Music Revolution, by Dr. Jeannette Vos, co-author of the world's biggest-selling book in 1999,The Learning Revolution. That introduction is one of many interesting articles in the "Topics" section of this website.
Overall this a very useful source. It gives examples on how music effects the body such as relaxing the mind.

Brewer, C. B. (1995). Music and learning: integrating music into the classroom. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2006, from Music and Learning: http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/brewer.htm

This website was chosen for its content on why music should be used in a classroom. It gives information on the positive results seen when using music in the classroom such as accelerated learning. It gives examples on how music can affect our body such as increase focus and concentration and improve attention, and many other elements. It further goes into discussion on implementing music into a learning curriculum by creating active learning experiences. Another use of music is for memorization through songs, chants, poems and raps. The content facts and details through rhyme, rhythm, and melody. Overall this source gives good information on pass research and implementations to benefit learners.

Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, (n.d.). Music and learning. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2006, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/musiclearning/index.htm.

This website was chosen for its content on music enhances the ability of information retention. One of the studies cited was about how music overall increases brainÕs temporal region, which is the auditory cortex that controls transferring sound and music. They also found that music helps to improve cognitive functioning, increase the size of the brain neurons, and assist person to achieve higher mental performance. Then the researchers address topics on task performance while listening to music. The different types of music has different effects on the brain, and also the individual chooses music based on their own emotions at a particular time. In another study cited, researchers found that students listening to classical music in the background score higher in math than students who were not listening to any music. However, the researchers also found that listening to soft rock, jazz or fast pace background music in the work place can enhance performance efficiency. The author further concludes that there is no proof whether background music is really the cause of better academic or work performance. This then ties into our study in trying to decipher is certain types of music affect memory (academics).

Vaidya, G. (n.d.). Retrieved Mar. 09, 2006, from Music, Emotion, and the Brain Web site: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro04/web2/gvaidya.html.

This source was chosen for its information tying together music, emotion and brain functions. The first topic addressed is problems with studying music and how it affects emotion. The emotions created by a piece of a music may be affect by memories from the past, the environment, the listenerÕs mood, personality, and culture. Under such circumstances, it is extremely difficult to deduce what intrinsic quality of the music, if any, created a specific emotional response in the listener. Even when such seemingly intrinsic qualities are found, they are often found to be at least partially culturally dependant. The source then discusses possible characteristics that might influence emotion form music. For example, major keys and rapid tempos cause happiness, whereas minor keys and slow tempos cause sadness, and rapid tempos together with dissonance cause fear. There is also a theory that dissonance sounds unpleasant to listeners across all cultures. Dissonance is to a certain degree culture-dependent, but also appears to be partly intrinsic to the music.

Stanford encyclopedia of Philosophy, (2004). Memory. Retrieved Mar. 09, 2006, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/memory/.

This source was chosen for its content about the concept of memory. It is used as a foundation for understanding how memory works in order to apply musical concepts and emotional concepts in our research. This source describes the different types of memories from episodic memory to causal constructive remembering. A strong argument was that if memories are not fixed mental images or discrete items of any kind, permanently stored in the individual mind or brain, then the relatively unstable individual memory may need support from more stable external scaffolding or props. This argument can be applied to our research, that music can be a logical scaffolding of storing and recalling memories.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studying the effects of music on the human mind and how it can effect someoneÕs emotions and memory requires a complex testing of a large sample of people. We will have two different ÒroundsÓ of tests in which memory is studied and then emotional responses will be examined. We want to be able to sample as many people as possible and realize that we need a large group in order to come up with sound results. Ideally, we would like to have around 100 people participate and are requiring a minimum of 50 people. Our participants will have multiple times to choose from in the hopes that they will be more able to attend at least one of the testing times. We are hoping for a range of 15-25 students come to each testing session.

The first round of testing will study the effect that different sounds patterns have on human memory. We will use 30 second samples of music that can fall into the following genres: Classical, Rap, Heavy Metal, Alternative Rock, Cultural, Jazz, and Techno. As an additional study, we will also use television noise, and compare all of this with the results found from silence, the control. While the music is playing, a complicated pattern of dots will be flashed on the screen for 2 seconds, followed by 4 seconds of blank screen. This will be repeated five times to account for the thirty seconds of music being played. Once this has been completed, each person in the study will be asked to recreate the pattern of dots, in order, on a form that will be provided to them in a time of one minute and thirty seconds. This same process will be given for each of the different genres.

The second round of testing will study the effect that different sound patterns have on human emotional responses. This time around, we will be using a different thirty second segment of the same song used in each genre in the first round, but study participants will be asked, and more able, to focus on the actual music. After listening to the music for 30 seconds, participants will be asked to take their heart rate for a ten second period and keep record of it on a provided form. We will then use the concept of PlutchikÕs Emotion and his diagram for the connection between certain colors and levels of emotions. Participants will be asked to gauge their response to the song using the colors/adjectives provided by PlutchikÕs study and his graphical scale.

When looking at the results of these tests we need to make sure that our grading scale is fair and completely unbiased. This will be especially hard to accomplish for the memory portion of the test in which participants will be asked to recreate the dot patterns that they saw. We feel that the best way of performing this task is by having a three point scale for each of the five drawings they will be asked to recreate for each of the separate genres. One point will be awarded if it in no way resembles the correct response, two points if there is a semblance of similarity, and three points if the drawings correspond significantly with the correct response. Each of the songs will then have a fifteen point scale and we will use the scores to graphically represent how different genres of music have affected the memory scores.

In order to test emotional responses to certain music genres, we will ask participants to take their pulse before hearing the song, and then directly after the song and for them to keep track of these numbers. Also given will be a graphical representation of PlutchikÕs work with human emotions. Participants will be asked to circle the corresponding emotion, which in the end will all be compiled and graphically represented.

In order to successfully complete this study, we are going to need to be able to recruit at least fifty people, but ideally around one hundred. We hope to start advertising before Spring Break and to start holding the testing over a multiple night period shortly after school reconvenes. We would like to make use of Leonard Theater for multiple nights. We will provide all forms needed to complete the tests, as well as an iMovie that will be made for the testing of human memory, which will also require use of Leonard TheaterÕs projector.

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