Listening to music can be an enjoyable experience. It has a calming effect, and can help to relax and reduce stress. However, listening to music can also be an addictive activity. There are many factors to consider, including the type of music you listen to, and whether you enjoy it or not.
Social functions
Music has several functions. It can be used to communicate, establish relationships, enhance self-awareness, and provide a sense of arousal.
Studies of music function have been varied, both in the methodology and the target population. Some studies have been motivated by aesthetics or cognitive psychology, and others by social identity.
In the current study, researchers investigated the social functions of mobile music listening. To do this, they interviewed 834 listeners and collected information about their listening habits. Using principal component analysis (PCA), they identified a total of 129 non-redundant functions.
Among these, arousal and mood regulation was identified as the most important. The other two dimensions were deemed less important.
The social bonding and value-expressive functions were found to be closely related to each other. This relationship was influenced by the value orientation of the individual.
Emotional functions
Music listening is often defined as an activity that provides a person with pleasure and enjoyment. However, there are several other functions of music. For instance, Wells and Hakanen (1997) suggested that people listen to music for a variety of reasons, including to improve their mood, relieve boredom, or maintain a pleasant mood.
Many studies have explored the many ways in which music can affect listeners. While some of these studies focus on the effects of aesthetics, others seek to better understand listeners’ motivations for engaging in musical activities. Others explicitly study listeners based on their demographics.
A recent study took a different view of the peak emotional response to songs. It tested the effect of contextual information on the intensity of the experience. Specifically, participants were asked to describe their feelings while listening to a piece of music.
Cognitive or self-related functions
Listening to music has many psychological and physical benefits. From relaxation to stimulation, music can be used to relieve pain, improve cognition, and increase happiness. Music has also been used as a therapy to calm patients who suffer from schizophrenia or dementia.
Studies on musical functions have been both empirical and theoretical. Some of them have focused on cultural psychology or aesthetics, while others have tried to assemble representative samples of listeners. These different methods of research have left a rather heterogeneous picture of the musical functions.
A comprehensive investigation of the basic functions of music listening is necessary. There is a wealth of speculation about the origins of music, its potential to influence emotions and thoughts, and the physiological and cognitive functions that it performs.
Arousal-related functions
Music has been associated with various functions, including self-awareness, social relatedness and mood regulation. It has also been speculated that music may have evolved to serve specific purposes, such as communication or social cohesion. However, it remains to be investigated whether music truly has any biological or psychological properties.
Many scholars have conducted empirical studies to investigate the functions of music. Some of them have been based on cultural psychology or aesthetics, while others were motivated by developmental questions. They have produced different results, leaving a heterogeneous picture of the functions of music.
A recent study proposes a new approach to understanding the peak emotional response to music. To do so, researchers tested the effect of chills and tears, two forms of psychophysiological arousal, on the cardiovascular system.
Aesthetic functions
The aesthetic functions of listening to music include the appreciation of beauty and the value of the musical object. These include the reflection of the origin of the music, its performance, its expressiveness and meaning, and its purpose. Moreover, music can be used to activate emotions, moods and experiences.
A number of studies have been conducted to study the differences in people’s aesthetic experience. Using a variety of methodologies, these researches have examined different components of the aesthetic experience. Some have been motivated by aesthetics and cognitive psychology, while others have been motivated by sociological factors.
In general, the findings indicate that people are more willing to appreciate the expressiveness of a work. This expressiveness is a key component of the value judgment of a work.
