Music as a Facilitator of Social Cognition and Beyond - Aditi Bhanushali

“Music is what tells us that the human race is greater than we realize.”

- Napoléon Bonaparte

Have you ever experienced that exhilarating moment when the lead singer of your favourite band comes on stage, and the crowd goes wild? The feel-good memories of jamming to your favourite songs with your friends? And the thrilling wedding processions? Music is the common ingredient in each of these social situations. It is endorsed as tradition, a cultural norm, and a lifestyle. Like every other art form, music celebrates the expression of individuality and allows people to explore their feelings and emotions.

Research in the field of music therapy reveals fascinating insights into its psychological benefits. Music has been proven to alleviate stress, elevate mood, and induce positive thoughts and emotions(1). It is not only a medium of emotional expression but also aids emotional regulation(2). Neurologist Marcus Raichle in 2001 discovered that music is considered one of the best ways to enter a ‘mind-wandering mode’, facilitating creative imagination and improving memory. He said, ‘Music fuels the mind, and thus it fuels creativity’(3). This shows music as an all-inclusive medium for our cognitive, emotional, and behavioural well being.

Recent ethnomusicological research explores the functions of music beyond an individual communicative system for emotions. In addition to personal development, music also enhances our social cognition. It performs a wide range of functions across cultures, such as documenting important life changes for individuals (5), promoting a sense of re-affirmation (6) and conformity among the members, preserving identity, and promoting social relationships within and between cultures(7). Be it traditional festivals or modern-day concerts, music is said to be a ‘social magnet’ that binds people together. Research on the role of music in social situations suggests that music is especially useful in times of uncertainty and operates beyond the linguistic and interpretative barriers. It transmits an ‘honest signal’(4) to the listener about the emotions of the music’s producer, which are associated with the nature of the signal.

The ability to empathize with one another and relate to each other's situations is necessary for our survival in the society. In this context, researchers in recent years have begun to investigate how music and empathy are linked. Wöllner, C. (2012) showed that people who rate high on levels of empathy are able to perceive and identify a musician’s intentions better than those with lower levels (8). For instance, empathetic people are more likely to understand the real essence of the lyrics of a sad song. Egermann and McAdams (2013) exhibited the role of empathy as a link between emotions that are felt and recognized in music listening(9).

Talking about musical preferences, modern psychologists believe people seek out music and musical environments that reflect and reinforce more explicit and observable traits(10). In an experiment conducted by Rentfrow and colleagues (11), it was concluded that empathy levels are reflected by musical preferences and that people with high empathy levels will prefer music that contains emotional, deep, reflective, and gentle features. Music not only helps individuals thrive but has also shown to strengthen intergroup relations. There has been some evidence indicating that increased empathy facilitated by music decreases stereotypes towards out-groups(12) and increases prosocial behaviour by overcoming cultural boundaries(13). The groundbreaking research by Jonna K. Vuoskoski and colleagues (2017) found that not just making music together but also listening to the same music together fosters implicit affiliation and prosocial behaviour(14). Zillmann and Gan (1997) suggest that music-listening in adolescence is characteristic of increased socialization with peers, leading to peer affiliation based on music preferences and invoking a sense of belonging (16).

The incorporation of music in the line of treatment for various cognitive and behavioural disorders has shown commendable results and is a potential form of complementary therapy for psychiatric disorders (17). Music as an emerging field of therapy broadens the scope for self-expression in therapy, opening avenues for those who struggle with overt communication (15). The efficacy of music therapy extends to physical rehabilitation and facilitating physical movement. Music aids in boosting the client’s motivation to engage in therapy and acts as a channel for expression for them as well as their families(15). Due to its wide-ranging therapeutic properties, music has immense scope for further research and shows potential for revolutionizing how we interact with it.

References:

1. Publishing, H. (2021). Music and health - Harvard Health. Retrieved 20 January 2021, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/music-and-health

2. Sakka, L. S., & Juslin, P. N. (2018). Emotion regulation with music in depressed and non-depressed individuals: Goals, strategies, and mechanisms. Music & Science, 1, 2059204318755023.

3. Victoria. (2021). The importance of music in our lives. Retrieved 20 January 2021, from http://mcxl.se/thoughts/the-importance-of-music-in-our-lives/

4. Cross, Ian. (2009). Music as a communicative medium. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545872.003.0005.

5. Blacking, J. (1976). How musical is man? London: Faber

6. Slobin, M. (1993). Subcultural sounds: micromusics of the West. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press.

7. Clendinnen, I. (2005). Dancing with strangers: Europeans and Australians at First Contact. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

8. Wöllner, C. (2012). Is empathy related to the perception of emotional expression in music? A multimodal time-series analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6(3), 214.

9. Egermann, H., & McAdams, S. (2012). Empathy and emotional contagion as a link between recognized and felt emotions in music listening. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 31(2), 139-156.

10. Bonneville-Roussy, A., Rentfrow, P. J., Xu, M. K., & Potter, J. (2013). Music through the ages: Trends in musical engagement and preferences from adolescence through middle adulthood. Journal of personality and social psychology, 105(4), 703.

11. Greenberg, D. M., Rentfrow, P. J., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Can music increase empathy? interpreting musical experience through the empathizing–systemizing (ES) theory: implications for autism. Empirical Musicology Review, 10(1-2), 80-95.

12. Sousa, M. D. R., Neto, F., & Mullet, E. (2005). Can music change ethnic attitudes among children?. Psychology of Music, 33(3), 304-316.

13. Greitemeyer, T. (2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial behavior: Further evidence and a mediating mechanism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(11), 1500-1511.

14. Vuoskoski, J. K., Clarke, E. F., & DeNora, T. (2017). Music listening evokes implicit affiliation. Psychology of Music, 45(4), 584-599.

15. What is Music Therapy | What is Music Therapy? | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). (2021). Retrieved 24 January 2021, from https://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/#:~:text=Research%20in%20music%20therapy%20supports,outlet%20for%20expression%20of%20feelings.

16. Zillmann, D., & Gan, S. L. (1997). Musical taste in adolescence

17. Solanki, M. S., Zafar, M., & Rastogi, R. (2013). Music as a therapy: role in psychiatry. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6(3), 193-199.