Why is this research being conducted?

In the first two studies, measures of identity were found to be among the most powerful predictors of participants’ music engagement. These findings further support the idea that our identity and the music we consume may be closely related in some way. Indeed, some have suggested that the music people enjoy may serve a social function to express or define their identity1,2. If music is used as a ‘tool’ to express or define our identity, then we might expect participants listening to their favourite music to elicit a more positive sense of identity than those who listen to popular music or unfamiliar music.

In the first two studies, it was also apparent that participants’ engagement with music significantly declines with age. Most notably, young people were more likely to use music to express their identity than older adults. To test this idea, the proposed project will investigate whether listening to our favourite song has a significantly greater effect on the mood and identity of adolescents and young adults (18-39) than on older adults (40-60 and 61-90).

How was this investigated?

The study distributed an anonymous online questionnaire.

Participants answered questions about music genre preference (STOMP-R)3, favourite songs, and mood (visual analogue mood scale)4.

Participants then listened to either their favourite song, a song likely to be familiar from their early adulthood, an unfamiliar song, or white noise.

Participants then answered questions about mood4 and identity (I am task)5.

How many people took part?

290 people completed the questionnaire and were split equally across the four conditions (favourite song, familiar song, unfamiliar song, or white noise).

The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 90 (M = 47.62, SD = 16.77) and were divided into three age groups for analysis: 18-39, 40-60, and 61-90.

There were 144 males and 146 females.

What are the preliminary findings?

Listening to a favourite or familiar song significantly improved mood and evoked nostalgia. However, this effect was greatest when listening to a favourite song.
Listening to an unfamiliar song or white noise significantly decreased mood.
Listening to different types of songs had no effect on descriptions of identity.
There was no difference in mood or identity descriptions between age groups.

What can we conclude?

Across all age groups, listening to a favourite song significantly improves mood and evokes nostalgia compared to listening to a familiar song, an unfamiliar song, or white noise.

What's next?

Although listening to a favourite song did not affect identity descriptions, it may still have an impact on other aspects of identity, such as self-esteem, self-clarity, or self-certainty. Therefore, the next study will replicate this design, incorporating additional measures of self-esteem, self-concept clarity, and self-certainty.

References

MacDonald, R., & Saarikallio, S. (2022). Musical identities in action: Embodied, situated, and dynamic. Musicae Scientiae, 26(4), 729-745.
DeNora, T. (1999). Music as a technology of the self. Poetics, 27(1), 31-56.
Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2003). The do re mi’s of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1236-1256.
Machado, L., Thompson, L.M., and Brett, C.H.R. (2019). Visual analogue mood scale scores in healthy young versus older adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 31(3),417-424.
Rathbone, C. J., & Moulin, C. J. A. (2024). Understanding the relationship between self and memory through the IAM task. Memory, 32(6), 803–818.

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