Adolescents’ expression and perception of emotion in music reflects their broader abilities of emotional communication

Abstract

Background: Musical behavior has been shown to reflect broader individual differences. However, despite the prevalence of music in the lives of young people little is known about the mechanisms through which adolescents' musical behavior connects to their general socio-emotional behavior and adjustment. The current study focused on abilities of emotional communication and investigated whether adolescents' abilities in both perceiving and expressing emotions through music would be reflective of their general abilities of socio-emotional communication and interaction, measured through empathy and conduct problems. Due to the lack of previous research the study was mainly exploratory, but we expected accurate and congruent perception and expression of musical emotions to correlate positively with higher empathy and negatively with conduct problems. Method: Sixty-one 14-year-olds (45 female, mean age 14.72) were given three music-related tasks that assessed emotion perception and emotion expression through music. Participants also filled in self-report scales for empathy (perspective taking and empathic concern) and conduct problems (externalized symptoms).

Social Sustainability in Adolescents’ Music Event Attendance

“…Illustrations like "Music is therapy for my brain, especially in the middle of everyday life full of stress" (female, 18) and "Music is very important for me, it has been like that since I was a toddler. I listen to music every day" (female, 16) described the meaning of music for respondents, confirming the results of studies that emphasize the essence of music in adolescence [2,3,12].…”

“…Sustainability 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 17 since I was a toddler. I listen to music every day" (female, 16) described the meaning of music for respondents, confirming the results of studies that emphasize the essence of music in adolescence [2,3,12]. It is important to see the difference between music and live music.…”

“…Adolescents' music consumption has mainly been studied from the viewpoints of social concern or well-being [11][12][13]. Even though the social dimensions of music events have positive effects on individual young attendees, we try to see the bigger picture regarding the development of popular culture.…”

Influence of Music Appreciation on Self-Cognition of College Students

“…With the development of economy and society, people's demand for music is increasing day by day. From the perspective of audience psychology, different people have different selection psychology, perception psychology, acceptance psychology and group psychology towards music (Saarikallio, Vuoskoski, & Luck, 2014). At present, college students generally have great academic pressure, employment pressure and economic pressure.…”

Gifted Adolescent Wellbeing: An Australian Case Study

“…O'Brien's (2012) studies of positive education suggested: "we cannot flourish as individuals in isolation" (p. 120). Studies of music expression have provided evidence of co-curricular involvement being linked to emotional wellbeing, engagement and authentic relationships (Saarikallio, Vuoskoski, & Luck, 2014). In response to a gifted education inquiry in Australia, Munro (2012) claimed: "the multiple groups and cultures to which a student belongs influence the display of gifted and talented knowing and thinking" (p. 2).…”