Publication Date
Spring 4-18-2013
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Major
Psychology: Clinical/Experimental
Primary Subject Area
Psychology, Experimental
Keywords
spirituality, emotional responses to music, music, emotion, religion, correlation
Disciplines
Other Psychology | Quantitative Psychology
Recommended Citation
Norman, Anais D., "The Psychological Relationship Between Spirituality and Emotional Responses to Music" (2013). Senior Honors Theses. 344.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/344
Abstract
A study was conducted with 251 undergraduate psychology students at a Christian university to determine the nature of the relationship between spirituality and music-based emotions. Two hypotheses were proposed: First, students with higher levels of spirituality would experience higher emotional intensity while listening to music. Second, students will experience equal emotional intensity when listening to the “sacred” or “secular” selections. In answer to the first hypothesis, results indicated that overall intensity in emotional response to musical selections did significantly and positively correlate with higher spirituality scores. In answer to the second hypothesis, the strength of emotional intensity did differ, and intensity was found to be significantly higher for the secular musical selections. Implications of these results are explored.
