MUSI3781: Psychology of Music

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• To provide an understanding of how music influences listeners and performers in everyday contexts, and the essential mechanisms and processes involved in different kinds of music-related activities.
• To develop critical understanding of the findings and approaches within music psychology.
• To execute and report an empirical music psychology research project.
• To recognize the interdisciplinary nature of the field since the topics featured in the lectures have different emphases on biological, psychological, neural, cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural factors that require different sets of approaches, methods, and disciplinary backgrounds.

• The module is organised thematically, with each lecture, seminar, and assignment focussing on specific research areas that are well established in music psychology. The following are examples of the kind of themes that will be covered: qualitative methods and analysis; quantitative methods and analysis; music and the brain; music and emotions; music and human development; music and memory; functions of music in everyday life; music and film. Throughout the course, methodological issues involved in these themes are highlighted and students are encouraged to interpret the evidence offered within the themes critically.
• In addition to identifying central processes and mechanisms involved in each area of focus, students will carry out their own project where they address a clear research question using an empirical design and methods.
• To improve the critical and research skills of the students, they will complete a formative assignment on which they receive feedback. This formative will be related to both summative assignments.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students should acquire broad knowledge about central issues of music psychology, deeper knowledge about abilities required and functions of music, and working knowledge of theories and methods utilised within music psychology.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students should learn how to appraise existing scholarship in the field of music psychology, critically empirical studies, and be able to argue how the theoretical and empirical issues are connected. Students will also learn to design and run an independent empirical research project and will be able to analyse the resultant data in an appropriate manner.

Key Skills:

• The module will establish a critical approach to the study of music psychology and provide opportunities to develop skills in collating and appraising research evidence in this field, music psychological research design, and qualitative and quantitative analysis.

• This module will involve a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Complex ideas, central themes, and pertinent key studies will be introduced in the lectures. In the seminars, which will be focused on methods and be interspersed throughout, students will have a chance to learn their independent research. The formative essay assignments enable them to focus on relevant music psychology topic of their own choice, promoting a deeper working knowledge of mechanisms and concepts invoked in music psychology.

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