Glossary // Glossary term Empirical
Music-based emotion regulation
The use of listening to, playing or moving to music to change or maintain emotional states, for example for relaxation, distraction, discharge or reflective processing. Survey and interview studies describe these uses across the lifespan, and meta-analyses of music interventions report reductions in stress-related outcomes. The same strategy can be helpful or unhelpful depending on how it is used: music used to dwell on distress has been associated with rumination rather than recovery. People use music to change, maintain and release emotional states. This note reviews meta-analyses of music and stress, studies of how people regulate mood with music, and what the evidence cannot yet say about resolution. Allostasis and allostatic load, the cognitive control of emotion, the stress-buffering effects of social support and the use of music for mood regulation explain what a night of collective movement does for the body, and what it cannot change. The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at. (2007). The role of music in adolescents' mood regulation. doi:10.1177/0305735607068889 Supports the claim that adolescents describe distinct music-based mood-regulation strategies, including discharge. A very small qualitative sample that describes strategies rather than measuring effects. (2011). Music as emotional self-regulation throughout adulthood. doi:10.1177/0305735610374894 Supports the claim that music-related emotional self-regulation goals and strategies remain broadly similar across adulthood, with some age- and event-related changes. Qualitative and small; no effect measures. (2016). Toward a better understanding and conceptualization of affect self-regulation through music: A critical, integrative literature review. doi:10.1177/0305735616663313 Supports the claim that research on affect regulation through music is conceptually inconsistent and can be organised into goals, strategies, tactics and mechanisms. A conceptual review, not a synthesis of controlled effects. (2019). Music as an emotion regulation strategy: An examination of genres of music and their roles in emotion regulation. doi:10.1177/0305735617734627 Supports the claim that preference for energetic and rhythmic music is associated with using music to regulate emotion. Cross-sectional self-report; it does not test whether any music regulates emotion effectively. (2020). Neuroticism and emotion regulation through music listening: A meta-analysis. doi:10.1177/1029864918806341 Supports the claim that neuroticism correlates positively with emotion regulation through music listening (r = .22). Pools correlational studies, so it is graded D and does not address effectiveness. (2020). Effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes: A systematic review and two meta-analyses. doi:10.1080/17437199.2019.1627897 Supports the claim that music interventions reduced physiological (d = .380) and psychological (d = .545) stress-related outcomes. Interventions and settings are varied, and stress reduction is not the same as resolving a stressor.Where the site uses it
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