Music is an important part of human culture. Music has been around for the entirety of human history, and musical styles are one of the defining features of the cultures in which they arose. Psychologists have investigated the effects of music for years, and this article will briefly present the results of some recent studies in this context.
The psychological effects of music
One study examined the treatment potential of music in dementia (Brancatisano et al., 2019). The specific intervention used in this study was a “Music, Mind, and Movement (MMM) program” which consisted of several weeks of musical activities highlighting the seven “capacities” of music: engaging, emotional, physical, synchronization, personal, social, and persuasive. Altogether, the 7-week MMM program was found to marginally improve global cognition in participants with dementia. This suggests that music may have a role in the treatment of dementia.
Another study investigated the effect of music on sleep (Cordi et al., 2019). Specifically, one group in this study listened to music before taking a 90-minute nap while the other listened to a control text before taking a 90-minute nap. The researchers found that, for certain patients (those with a low suggestibility index), listening to music before a nap improved the quality of sleep they experienced during the nap.
One study indicated that listening to preferred music reduces negative affect (Groarke & Hogan, 2019). In particular, the study investigated the differences between adults who were able to listen to music they chose themselves for 10 minutes and adults who were made to listen to a pre-selected radio documentary for 10 minutes. The results showed that the participants who were able to listen to their own music had reduced negative affect compared to before the intervention.
One study examined the effect of easy listening music on patients receiving colonoscopies (Ko et al., 2019). Specifically, one group listened to “easy listening music” for 20 minutes before and during the procedure, while the other group underwent the same procedure without music. The results showed that the participants who were able to listen to music reported higher satisfaction with the procedure and with pain management than the other patients, despite the fact that no significant differences were found in anxiety, pain, heart rate, or diastolic blood pressure between the two groups.
One review surveyed the effect of musical activities on children with impaired hearing (Torppa & Huotilainen, 2019). This review mentioned that musical training has been shown to improve the language skills of both typically hearing children and adolescents as well as children and adolescents with hearing impairment and/or cochlear implants. The authors of the review highlight that despite the promising results that have been obtained, more research needs to be conducted, as it is a neglected area that could help young people with hearing impairment.
One study investigated the effect of music therapy on patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Vik et al., 2019). Specifically, this study examined the effects of musical training (which consisted of playing piano under the supervision of an instructor twice a week for eight weeks) on seven participants who had suffered mild TBI. The results showed that this intervention led to “improved well-being and social interaction”, and the participants also performed better on certain neuropsychological tests following the intervention.
Wrapping up
Taken together, these results show that music interventions can help all types of people in a variety of situations. They also suggest that music can help healthy people as well as people in certain painful situations or with certain disorders. In other words, music seems to have beneficial effects in many situations, meaning that more psychological research into music should be conducted in the future.
References
Brancatisano, O., Baird, A., Thompson, W.F. (2019). A ‘Music, Mind and Movement’ Program for People With Dementia: Initial Evidence of Improved Cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(1), 1435. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01435.
Cordi, M.J., Ackermann, S., Rasch, B. (2019). Effects of Relaxing Music on Healthy Sleep. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 9079. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-45608-y.
Groarke, J.M., Hogan, M.J. (2019). Listening to self-chosen music regulates induced negative affect for both younger and older adults. PLoS One, 14(6), e0218017. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218017.
Ko, S.Y., Leung, D.Y., Wong, E.M. (2019). Effects of easy listening music intervention on satisfaction, anxiety, and pain in patients undergoing colonoscopy: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 14(1), 977-986. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S207191.
Torppa, R., Huotilainen, M. (2019). Why and how music can be used to rehabilitate and develop speech and language skills in hearing-impaired children. Hearing Research, 380(1), 108-122. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.06.003.
Vik, B.M.D., Skeie, G.O., Specht, K. (2019). Neuroplastic Effects in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury After Music-Supported Therapy. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13(1), 177. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00177.
