On the Enjoyment of Sad Music: Pleasurable Compassion Theory and the Role of Trait Empathy

Huron, David; Vuoskoski, Jonna K.

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01060

Cited by 44 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…When we engage in music activities, we perceive the emotional and psychological content of music, and interpret the thoughts and feelings of others ( Greenberg et al, 2015 ). Researchers have also suggested that music and empathy are closely linked ( Eerola et al, 2016 ; Huron and Vuoskoski, 2020 ). For instance, both perceived and induced emotion from music can be moderated by empathy ( Egermann and McAdams, 2013 ), and empathy can also modulate physiological reactions to music ( Miu and Balteş, 2012 ).…”

Section: Musical Training Boosts Empathy and Prosocial Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Musical Training in the Development of Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Music not only regulates mood but also promotes the development and maintenance of empathy and social understanding. Since empathy is crucial for well-being and indispensable in social life, it is necessary to develop strategies to improve empathy and prosocial behaviors. To fulfill this aim, researchers have extensively investigated the effect of intensive musical training on the development of empathy. Here, we first summarize evidence showing the powerful influence of musical training on the development of empathy and then discuss psychological mechanisms responsible for those observations. The conclusions drawn from most previous studies were mainly based on behavioral measurements, while the neural basis of musical training in the development of the empathic brain is still unclear. Fortunately, brain imaging research has contributed greatly to our understanding of the neural underpinnings associated with musical training and its possible connection to the development of the empathic brain. One of the most distinctive signatures of musical training is structural and functional changes of multiple brain regions, and such changes might be related to some of the empathic behaviors observed in musically trained children. Therefore, intensive musical training in childhood may increase levels of empathy, and applied research is required to optimize the training strategy before implementing music education in empathy regulation. Moreover, future longitudinal studies are needed to better understand neural mechanisms underlying the causal effect of musical training on empathy development. These findings have important implications for understanding the development of the empathic brain and for improving prosocial behaviors.

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Section: Musical Training Boosts Empathy and Prosocial Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Musical Training in the Development of Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…In a questionnaire study investigating listeners' typical responses to music, feeling moved was found to be the fourth most common emotional response to music listening (Juslin and Laukka, 2004). Although it might not be immediately apparent how music listening could evoke experiences of intensified communal sharing, there are multiple ways in which engagement with music can evoke kama muta: A listener might identify with or feel a connection to the music in general, for example through empathy or rhythmic entrainment (e.g., Trost et al, 2017;Huron and Vuoskoski, 2020), as well as to the composer, the musicians, or other fans/listeners. Listening to familiar music might also evoke nostalgic feelings by reminding us of important social relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corona Concerts: The Effect of Virtual Concert Characteristics on Social Connection and Kama Muta

et al. 2021

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The popularity of virtual concerts increased as a result of the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus pandemic. We aimed to examine how the characteristics of virtual concerts and the characteristics of the participants influenced their experiences of social connection and kama muta (often labeled “being moved”). We hypothesized that concert liveness and the salience of the coronavirus would influence social connection and kama muta. We collected survey responses on a variety of concert and personal characteristics from 307 participants from 13 countries across 4 continents. We operationalized social connection as a combination of feelings and behaviors and kama muta was measured using the short kama muta scale (Zickfeld et al., 2019). We found that (1) social connection and kama muta were related and predicted by empathic concern, (2) live concerts produced more social connection, but not kama muta, than pre-recorded concerts, and (3) the salience of the coronavirus during concerts predicted kama muta and this effect was completely mediated by social connection. Exploratory analyses also examined the influence of social and physical presence, motivations for concert attendance, and predictors of donations. This research contributes to the understanding of how people can connect socially and emotionally in virtual environments.

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“…People also enjoy music that taps into nominally aggressive musics like heavy metal, and into fear, such as in the enjoyment of horror films. Most recently, all of our hard work on sad music has paid off with some really interesting insights that transcend the narrow topic of sad music (Huron & Vuoskoski, 2020).…”

Section: Music and Sadnessmentioning

confidence: 99%