The Psychology of Music
Listening to music makes us feel better, that’s a given - but listening to music actually does make us better. And the songs you choose to play act as a mirror to our personality in ways we might not realize. Music is socially binding and often used to facilitate connections with one another - whether that’s national anthems, hymns, or even lullabies. Both bodily and cognitively, music has been seen to increase performance in a number of areas. The intersection of music and science is a topic I’ve been particularly interested in for some time, so I dug a little deeper into surprising ways that music alters, enhances, and shapes the human responses.
Cognitive Performance
Music is played all around us - and it has a large impact. Many people listen to music while studying or working to help pass the time. Studies have shown that this act, playing music while focusing on another activity, has significant cognitive benefits and sharpens the mind, particularly in older adults. There is a difference in the effects depending on the type and tempo of music, however. Studies have shown that upbeat music facilitates better processing speed, whereas both upbeat and downbeat music lead to better memory . Similarly, learning to play an instrument offers remarkable effects for the brain. The University of Georgia is currently conducting a study using piano training to improve brain function in older patients, a study of which is on the back of a vast array of research showing how learning music improves brain function and slows cognitive decline. The act of listening to music activates almost all of the brain’s different regions and neural pathways. These areas include those that oversee emotions, memory, learning, well-being, focus, movement, and more. The only other activity that triggers all of these cortical regions is social interactions - reiterating just how crucial music is for brain stabilization.
Music for Mental Illness and Memory Decline
Music memory is one of the most resistant brain functions against dementia, so much so that music therapy is often used to calm dementia patients. Music therapy even has the capability to retrieve memories from years prior. Alongside dementia, music is a tool that can be used to aid those struggling with differing mental illnesses. Listening to music induces the release of multiple neurotransmitters including dopamine, cortisol, serotonin, and oxytocin. This neurotransmission stimulation can be used to facilitate social connection for schizophrenic patients in particular, as well as lower stress and stabilize the moods of anyone, regardless of mental illness or lack thereof.
Music as a Weight Loss Tool
Listening to music not only shapes your mind, but also shapes your body. Music by nature creates a lighter atmosphere and, when in a more relaxed space, people are more likely to eat slower and feel fuller quicker. One study demonstrated that, in restaurants where soft music was played and the lighting was lower, people ate 18% less food when compared to those who ate in other restaurants without these factors.
Music to Control Pain
Music therapy has proven to be a promising treatment for those living with chronic pain. In one study, patients living with fibromyalgia were put into either a treatment group or a control group, with music being the only thing differentiating the two. The treatment group was instructed to listen to an hour of music a day vs. the control group who was not listening to music. The weeks-long study showed that those within the treatment group experienced significantly less pain on the whole than those in the control group. Similarly, a 2015 study tested the effect of music in relation to pain due to surgery. Patients who listened to music at any point before, during, or after the procedure had less pain than those who did not. Additionally, the study also noted that, “also a slightly greater, though not statistically significant improvement in pain management resulted when patients were allowed to select their own music” which further demonstrates the power that your own music preferences wield.
Music & Personality
Musical identity and social identity are inextricably linked. On the whole, people tend to prefer music from their adolescence - gravitating towards songs that were released when the listener was between the ages of 10 to 30, with the peak age of preference being 14. David M. Greenberg - a researcher at Bar-Ilan University and the University of Cambridge - conducted a 2021 study that demonstrated how we prefer artists who are more similar to ourselves. In the study, participants were asked to rate artists’ personality traits based on the Big 5 Model (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism). As an example, David Bowie scored highly on Openness and Neuroticism, while Marvie Gaye scored highly in Agreeableness. The findings demonstrated that there was a direct link between the participants’ own personality attributes and those of the artists’ that they liked. In another 2015 study done by Greenberg, the team aimed to see how cognitive styles matched musical preferences. The study broke down people into two broad categories: Systemizers and Empathizers. Empathizers are those who understand the world primarily through thoughts and emotions, meanwhile Systemizers are people who understand the world using rules and systems. The findings concluded that Empathizers prefer an inherent sadness in music, and Systemizers lean towards music with higher intensity. Both types gravitate to music with high depth, but the difference lies in the type of depth. Empathizers are seen to prefer emotional depth and systemizers prefer depth through technical complexity.
Photo by: Greenberg Lab
Test Your Own Personality & Musical Correlation
Dr. Greenberg and his team have created an online quiz that provides further insight into your own correlative personality and musical tastes. I took the test and the results proved to be really interesting and insightful (photos below). You can take it here
