Reading the Mind in the Music: Linking Auditory and Visual Expressions of Emotion
Open Access
Author:
Kragness, Haley Elisabeth
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
David A. Rosenbaum, Thesis Supervisor David A. Rosenbaum, Thesis Honors Advisor Dr. Reginald B. Adams, Jr., Faculty Reader
Keywords:
psychology music emotion
Abstract:
How can we label the rich emotions that music communicates? Predictably, much of the music and emotion literature thus far has focused on verbal labeling of musical excerpts (for example, “sad” and “happy”). However, verbal labels may not sufficiently capture the strength or complexity of music’s emotion. Facial expression, another modality of emotion expression, should be considered when describing music. The present study seeks to explore the relationship between musical, verbal, and facial expressions of emotion. In this study, undergraduate student listeners were asked to listen to three short musical excerpts, six times each. For each listening episode, participants were presented with either two emotional words or two emotional eye images. They were asked to decide which word or image best matched the emotion that the music communicated. Results indicated that facial expression labels were a viable alternative to verbal labels in simple emotional communication in music. Future studies should investigate the use of facial expression labels in complex musical emotions, as well as the effect of visual stimuli on individuals’ interpretations of music.
