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SIGNIFICANE OF MUSIC IN COLLEGE STUDENTS1

The Presence and Significance of Listening to and Playing Music During the College

Years

Jason Stone

Saint Michael’s College

Author Note

Carolyn Whitney, Psychology Department


Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to:

1 Winooski Park, Colchester, VT, 05439

[email protected]


The Presence and Significance of Listening to and Playing Music During the College

Years

As you walk around a college campus, you will see many students with ear buds

in, or playing music outside with their friends. It seems that music plays an important

role in the lives of college students. So much so that numerous studies have been done to

examine the effects of music on students, both biologically and psychologically. A study

done in 2003 looked into the daily music listening habits of 47 non-music majors and

music majors. After keeping journals of their music habits and emotions over a two-

week span it was discovered that rock was the most commonly listened to genre of music.

Studying and driving were the most common activities engaged in while listening to

music (Stratton & Zalanowski, 2003). Exercising was in the lower half of activities. For

the study I am conducting I expect to see higher amounts of music listening during

exercising due to the advances in technology that allow music players to be extremely

small. Music was also listened to at an average of 161.4 minutes a day. It will be

interesting to see if this number will differ after a time span of ten years.

More pertinent to the study I am conducting is the mood changes that came before

and after listening episodes. All of the positive moods in participants increased after

listening to music. All negative moods except for fearful, which remained the same,

decreased. (Stratton & Zalanowski, 2003). These findings are extremely relevant and

indicated that there is a relationship between music and moods, but this study does not

examine the amounts of stress in relationship to music listening.


Researchers have approached measuring stress in individuals in more than one

way. For example they have used physiological measures to measure cortisol. Higher

cortisol levels indicate higher levels of stress (Toyoshima, Fukui, & Kuda, 2011) and

(Field, Martinez, Nawrocki, Pickens, Fox, & Schanber, 1998). Researchers also take

self-reported measures to see what the participants self-perceived stress levels are (Hatta

& Nakamura, 1991)

In a study that used self-reported measures it was found that students who had

high anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem gained psychological help from musical

therapy (Wu, 2002). Directly after therapy they had lower reports of anxiety and

depression. However during a 2 month follow-up after the therapy ended only depression

had remained lower. These findings are important because they show that music can

have an influence on the psychological well being of people. However in the study I am

conducting I will be looking deeper into seeing whether or not listening to music in an

average setting can mimic any of the same effects as music therapy.

Other studies have also found that music can help reduce anxiety and anger

increasing relaxation directly after experiencing a stressor (Labbé, Schmidt, Babin, &

Pharr, 2007). In another study done by Hirokawa & Ohira, (2003) they found that after

experiencing a stressor low-uplifting music increased the sense of well-being and high-

uplifting music increased liveliness and decreased depression. Both of these studies

show after experiencing stressful situations music can help relieve the symptoms that go

along with this stress. In the study I am conducting I will be more concerned in the

overall stress of college students as compared to a specific stressful event.


In a replication study researchers found similar results that certain types of

personalities were correlated with how music was used. People high in neuroticism,

which are people who are more likely to experience negative emotions, used music to

regulate their emotions. People high in extraversion, which are people who have positive

emotions and seek pleasure, used music as a background stimulus while participating in

other activities. Lastly people high in Openness, which is where people have higher

appreciations for art, emotions and imagination, used music in a cognitive or intellectual

way (Chamorro-Premuzic, Goma-i-Freixanet, & Muro, 2009). It is interesting to notice

that although music plays an important role in many people’s lives, depending on the

person it can play a different type of role.

In a study done by Field et al., (1998) it was discovered that cortisol levels in

chronically depressed female adolescents were decreased after listening to a 23-minute

session of rock music. They also found that in the frontal EEG, 10 out of the 14 girls had

a frontal EEG shift from the right to the left. Out of the four that didn’t see any shift,

after switching the music from rock to classical, three also had a shift towards the left.

This is significant because more activity in the left frontal EEG is associated with

positive affect while more activity in the right frontal EEG is associated with negative

affect. The only concern regarding this study is that participants did not report any

change in mood state.

Although so far all that has been discussed is the effect of listening to music, it is

also of great interest the effect that playing an instrument can have on stress levels and

psychological health. Creative activities have lowered cortisol levels and also self –

reported anxiety levels. Yet playing the piano was significantly greater at lowering both


cortisol and anxiety as compared to calligraphy and clay molding (Toyoshima et al.,

2011). There has not been much research in regards to self-reported stress levels. I will

also explore the associations between playing an instrument and GPA.

Music clearly has multiple effects on behaviors and thoughts, and is something

that is very important in college students lives. This study will further explore the

presence and importance of music for college students during such a strenuous time.

Method

Design

Not sure if a design is needed for a simple correlational study.

Participants

In this study participants will be undergraduate college students at Saint

Michael’s College. The average age will range from 17-22. Approximately 50 to 100

students will be expected to participate from all grade levels. Initially all undergraduate

students will be sent an e-mail asking them to fill out numerous questionnaires. If I do

not receive enough feedback I will than put hard copies into people’s mailboxes. If that

still does not produce the needed sample size I will have “Introduction to Psychology”

students fill out the questionnaires. There will be a demographics survey included as

well in order to know important facts of the participants. Due to the survey convenience

sampling will be used.

Materials

The instruments used will be surveys with questions regarding to the amount of

time spent listening to music, what genres of music are most listed to, the importance of


music in the participants’ lives, the setting in which they listen to music, involvement

with playing an instrument, demographics, self-esteem, stress, and happiness.

Procedure

Also not sure whether or not a procedure section is required since I am not

forming an experimental study.

Results

Anticipated results are that students who listen to music as a relaxer while

partaking in no other activity will have lower stress levels. There will also be a

significant difference in stress levels of those who listen to calm, low tempo types of

music as opposed to those who listed to high tempo music. Students who play an

instrument will have lower stress levels if they play the instrument every week and not

just occasionally.


References

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Gomà-i-Freixanet, M., Furnham, A., & Muro, A. (2009).

Personality, self-estimated intelligence, and uses of music: A Spanish

replication and extension using structural equation modeling. Psychology Of

Aesthetics, Creativity, And The Arts, 3(3), 149-155. doi:10.1037/a0015342

Field, T. M., Martinez, A., Nawrocki, T., Pickens, J., Fox, N. A., & Schanberg, S. (1998).

Music shifts frontal EEG in depressed adolescents. Adolescence, 33(129), 109-

116.

George, D., Stickle, K., Rachid, F., & Wopnford, A. (2007). The association between

types of music enjoyed and cognitive, behavioral, and personality factors of those

who listen. Psychomusicology: A Journal Of Research In Music Cognition, 19(2),

32-56.

Hatta, T., & Nakamura, M. (1991). Can antistress music tapes reduce mental stress?.

Stress Medicine, 7(3), 181-184. doi:10.1002/smi.2460070309


Hirokawa, E., & Ohira, H. (2003). The Effects of Music Listening after a Stressful Task

on Immune Functions, Neuroendocrine Responses, and Emotional States in

College Students. Journal Of Music Therapy, 40(3), 189-211.

Labbé, E., Schmidt, N., Babin, J., & Pharr, M. (2007). Coping with stress: The

effectiveness of different types of music. Applied Psychophysiology And

Biofeedback, 32(3-4), 163-168. doi:10.1007/s10484-007-9043-9

Rubin, A. M., West, D. V., & Mitchell, W. S. (2001). Differences in aggression, attitudes

toward women, and distrust as reflected in popular music preferences. Media

Psychology, 3(1), 25-42. doi:10.1207/S1532785XMEP0301_02

Stratton, V. N., & Zalanowski, A. H. (1997). The relationship between characteristic

moods and most commonly listened to types of music. Journal Of Music Therapy,

34(2), 129-140.

Stratton, V. N., & Zalanowski, A. H. (2003). Daily music listening habits in college

students: Related moods and activities. Psychology And Education: An

Interdisciplinary Journal, 40(1), 1-11.

Toyoshima, K., Fukui, H., & Kuda, K. (2011). Piano playing reduces stress more than

other creative art activities. International Journal Of Music Education, 29(3), 257-

263. doi:10.1177/0255761411408505


Wu, S. (2002). Effects of music therapy on anxiety, depression and self-esteem of

undergraduates. Psychologia: An International Journal Of Psychology In The

Orient, 45(2), 104-114. doi:10.2117/psysoc.2002.104

Appendix

Certificate of Informed Consent

Title of Study: Music and its Role in College Students Everyday LivesInvestigator: Jason Stone

Thank you for giving up your time today to fill out these surveys today. In this study you will be answering a range of question regarding personal music likes, importance of music, and how often it is used it your life.

Risks and Benefits: There are no known risks for participating is this study. All responses are anonymous. The surveys are completed online and cannot be traced back to specific names. Participation in this study will put you into a lottery for the chance to win 10 dollars.

Contacts: If you have any questions regarding this survey please contact Jason Stone at [email protected]

Participation: Participation in this study is completely voluntary. You can stop participating at anytime or refuse to answer certain questions if you so feel so. If you have no objections, it would be most appreciated if you complete the surveys to the best of your abilities.

Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in this study. Your signature below indicates that you meet this requirement. Your signature also indicates that you agree to participate in this study.

Date:___/___/___

Name (print):________________________ Signature:__________________________ Age:___

mailto:[email protected]


Debreifing Form

The Presence and Significance of Listening to and Playing Music During the College Years

Jason StoneDepartment of Psychology


In this study each student was sent out surveys regarding their involvement with music in college. They were asked to answer how important music was in their lives, how often they listen to music, what genres of music they listen to, whether or not they play an instrument, and other assorted demographic questions. For this study I expect to see that students who listen to calming music, as their main activity, will experience lower levels of stress. I also expect to see that students who play an instrument more than once a week will also experience lower levels of stress.

Previous research shows that people how listen to calming music directly after a stressor have lower levels of stress. Stress can also be lowered through the use of musical therapy. This study will investigate whether or not these same effects can be created to students who listen to music on their own time. It will also judge the overall stress of students not just their well-being directly after a stressor. Some of the following references can provide further information if you are interested:

Labbé, E., Schmidt, N., Babin, J., & Pharr, M. (2007). Coping with stress: The effectiveness of different types of music. Applied Psychophysiology And Biofeedback, 32(3-4), 163-168. doi:10.1007/s10484-007-9043-9

Stratton, V. N., & Zalanowski, A. H. (2003). Daily music listening habits in college students: Related moods and activities. Psychology And Education: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 40(1), 1-11.

Toyoshima, K., Fukui, H., & Kuda, K. (2011). Piano playing reduces stress more than other creative art activities. International Journal Of Music Education, 29(3), 257-263. doi:10.1177/0255761411408505


If you would like to see the results of this study you can contact Jason Stone (518-683-8792) anytime after May 1st. If you have any other questions you can contact me at any time.

Thank you for your time and helping my research process.

Forms for collecting data have not been created yet. I would like your help on how

to construct questions because I have not had any experience in this yet.

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