Specific Areas of Interest:
Psychology of Aesthetic Preference
Musical Communication of Emotion
Social Psychology of Music
Timing Variations and Musical Emotion
With respect to the psychology of music, he is currently conducting research to answer these and other questions:
How does sadness influence music choice?
How do timing variations influence music perception and preference?
How do absolute and relative pitch height contribute to the communication of specific emotions?
Ron Friedman is Associate Professor of Psychology and Head of the Social
Personality Area in the Psychology Department at the University at Albany.
He is interested in the links between emotion, motivation, and cognition. With
his students, he is currently exploring how situational cues and personality
impact emotional responses to expressive media, particularly music.