A Grounded Theory of Young Tennis Players’ Use of Music to Manipulate Emotional State

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were (a) to elucidate young tennis players' use of music to manipulate emotional states, and (b) to present a model grounded in present data to illustrate this phenomenon and to stimulate further research. Anecdotal evidence suggests that music listening is used regularly by elite athletes as a preperformance strategy, but only limited empirical evidence corroborates such use. Young tennis players (N = 14) were selected purposively for interview and diary data collection. Results indicated that participants consciously selected music to elicit various emotional states; frequently reported consequences of music listening included improved mood, increased arousal, and visual and auditory imagery. The choice of music tracks and the impact of music listening were mediated by a number of factors, including extramusical associations, inspirational lyrics, music properties, and desired emotional state. Implications for the future investigation of preperformance music are discussed.

Toward a better understanding and conceptualization of affect self-regulation through music: A critical, integrative literature review

“…In addition, certain publications focused on specific cultural or age groups and the regulatory use that these groups have for music (e.g., Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). Finally, other publications studied the functions of music (e.g., Schäfer et al, 2013) or with regard to specific populations (e.g., Bishop et al, 2007).…”

“…Studies of tennis players (Bishop et al, 2007) and other professional athletes (Laukka & Quick, 2013) showed that these groups use music in order to elicit emotional states that foster their desired performance outcomes. Athletes can listen to music during warm-ups, training sessions and pre-events preparations.…”

“…Despite being neither descriptive nor an explanatory model of the regulative process, it enables the categorization and analysis of the data related to this topic. Other models have been suggested, but were not chosen due to their specific scope: emotional uses of music by young tennis players (Bishop, Karageorghis, & Loizou, 2007), mood regulation through music by adolescents (Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007), and use of sad music for self-regulation ( Van den Tol & Edwards, 2013). Cole, Martin, and Dennis (2004) identified the lack of definition for emotion and emotion regulation as one of the major issues in the study of emotion regulation.…”

Beyond positive and negative trait affect: Flourishing through music engagement

“…Music can be used to cope with life stressors and is not only cited as a personal mood management strategy (DeNora, 2000;Hays and Minichiello, 2005;Laukka, 2007;Saarikallio, 2007;Sloboda, 1999), but is also used frequently in hospital settings to reduce pain, anxiety or stress, and even to reduce the length of hospitalization (Standley, 1995). Music can also be used to improve task performance, from prolonging time spent on task and enhancing quality of work (Lesiuk, 2005) to mental preparation before a competitive event (Bishop et al, 2007;Karageorghis and Terry, 1997). Music also plays an important role in interpersonal relationships by facilitating the communication of feelings and identity (Hargreaves and North, 1997;MacDonald et al, 2002).…”

Evaluation of a motivational pre-exercise music intervention

“…Although few studies have looked at music-listening before physical activity, links with arousal have been observed; young tennis players reported increased arousal levels alongside more positive mood when they listened to music before playing a match (Bishop et al, 2007). Research beyond sport and exercise finds music used to increase arousal for activities such as housework which might hold little appeal otherwise (Sloboda et al, 2001), and North et al (2004) note that "people do indeed consciously and actively use music in different interpersonal and social contexts in order to produce different psychological states" (p. 75).…”