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The article explores the mysterious nature of attraction and the unconscious forces that influence our choices in romantic partners. It suggests that when we think about our "type," we often consider physical features or positive qualities that seem desirable. However, there are subtle characteristics at play that draw us towards certain individuals, even if they possess negative traits. The author argues that attraction is based on a fundamental law: we are drawn to people whose defenses align with our own. For example, if we tend to be quiet and withdrawn, we may be attracted to partners who are more assertive and aggressive. If we are insecure or clingy, we may be attracted to aloof or less available partners who require us to chase them. These attractions are not necessarily based on a perfect complementarity, but rather on the alignment of our defense mechanisms, which helps maintain a certain distance and reinforces our individual defenses. The article suggests that our patterns of attraction and the types of people we are drawn to can be traced back to our early relationships and the development of defense mechanisms during childhood. These defenses, which we internalize as part of our personality, are influenced by our beliefs about ourselves. If we hold negative self-perceptions, such as feeling unlovable or unattractive, we may unconsciously seek out partners whose behavior supports these beliefs. I think it is crazy that we all see people differently and have different
attractions.

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There's a lot of mystery surrounding attraction. When we talk about our "type," what pops into our head may be certain physical features or positive qualities that seem totally reasonable to desire. Yet there appear to be mysterious forces at play pushing us to choose certain people, and not all of these forces work to our benefit. Most of us have felt a spark with someone we knew wasn't right for us. We may even notice a pattern of selecting people who are precisely wrong for us. Too often we fail to acknowledge, or even notice, the less favorable qualities that are luring us toward certain choices-subtle characteristics that are drawing us in. Without knowing why, many of us aren't just attracted to certain people despite their negative traits, but because of them.

To understand why we're drawn to the people we are, we have to understand a basic law of attraction: We choose people whose defenses fit with ours. If we protect ourselves by being quiet or withdrawn, we may choose partners who are more pursuing and aggressive. If we are insecure or clingy, we may choose partners who are aloof or less available-people we have to chase. If our defense is to try to control everything around us, we may choose a partner who is passive and eager for guidance. In a sense, we fit with these people not because their patterns perfectly complement ours, allowing us to get closer, but because the way our defenses line up actually sustains our individual defenses and serves to keep each of us at a certain, safe distance.

The reason we keep winding up with the same type of person, or stuck in the same dynamic, dates back to our earliest relationships. As young children, we developed defenses to cope with painful or frustrating circumstances. Growing up, we became wedded to our defenses, believing them to be part of our personality. If we formed negative ideas about ourselves-for instance, that we're unlovable or unattractive-we now seek out people whose behavior will support these beliefs.

We choose partners, then, who reinforce familiar attitudes we've long had toward ourselves. You may think you were drawn to the aloof and mysterious guy because he seemed deep and interesting, but ultimately, you may have been drawn in by his emotional absence or inability to fully relate to you. You may not be able to stop thinking about that woman who demanded your attention all night, but it may actually have been her controlling attitude that won you over.

Our defenses informed the attachment patterns we developed as young children to get our needs met by our primary caregivers. These early attachment patterns became models for how we expected relationships to work in our adult lives. If we felt rejected, ignored, intruded on, insecure, criticized, resented, or drained in our early life, we may grow up to tend to seek out relationships that recreate that same emotional climate. If as kids we felt our needs were ignored or overlooked, we may now feel drawn to people who are emotionally unavailable, noncommittal, or even married to someone else. If we felt we had to take care of everyone in our household, we may now seek partners we feel we have to rescue. If we felt rejected or unloved, we may find people we have to convince to love us or whom we have to "win over."

The problem is, of course, that we may not even like or want a relationship with someone who has these qualities. We may even feel driven a bit crazy by them. But in truth, it's that feeling to which we may actually be attracted. On some deep, unconscious level, we feel we may need someone with these precise qualities to survive, to heal our old wounds, or to make us feel like our needs will be met. For example, if we feel a need to be taken care of, we may find someone who's quick to take the reins, wants to be the boss, and promises to take care of us. If we're driven to take care of ourselves and don't want to rely on anyone else, we may select people who are pseudo-independent, distant, and unavailable.

Our early attachment styles, and the defenses and adaptations we form around them, have a strong influence on the partners we choose in the present. To break any negative patterns of choosing the same partner, we have to consider: What are the not-so-great qualities I'm seemingly attracted to? What are the negative traits of my type? Think about the people you've dated and note any patterns or similarities. Don't just think about the obvious comparisons, but more subtle aspects of how they treated you and how they made you feel about yourself. What characteristics did they seem to look for in you? Did they want you to take care of or control them? Did they pull away when you got too close?

Of course, when you first met, there were probably a lot of obvious and sensible reasons you chose that person-like a sense of humor, sensitivity, an amazing smile, or a great laugh. Try to think about whether there were any less obvious qualities that drew you to these people or deepened your attraction to them. Was it a faraway look in their eyes? An initial disinterest? Did they pursue you aggressively? Did they fawn over you or build you up? As you consider this, you may be able to start making connections to your past. Do any of these relationship dynamics or feelings seem familiar? Do they remind you of anything or anyone from your early life?

As we come to know our patterns, we can start to make different choices about who we date. This may involve making some decisions that are initially uncomfortable but will ultimately make us happy. We may have to date outside our comfort zone, pushing through the trials of getting close to someone who challenges our defenses. If we feel easily overwhelmed, like someone will want too much from us, we may have to stick it out with that person who outwardly shows affection. If we feel like we need to go after someone or they'll never show any interest, we may have to wait for that person at a party who approaches us, instead of vice versa.

These old patterns of defending ourselves can steer us in the wrong direction, pushing us to pick partners who fit with our defenses. Finding people who challenge our defenses and offer us a more secure attachment is the best strategy for changing our ideas about how relationships work, challenging critical feelings about ourselves, and ultimately even changing our patterns so we can bring more love and closeness into our lives. In the end, we may find ourselves with a new, healthier "type" that offers just as much spark-but with the potential for deeper, longer-lasting closeness and attraction.
Read more from Dr. Lisa Firestone at PsychAlive.org

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There's a lot of mystery surrounding attraction. When we talk about our "type," what pops into our head may be certain physical features or positive qualities that seem totally reasonable to desire. Yet there appear to be mysterious forces at play pushing us to choose certain people, and not all of these forces work to our benefit.

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The article highlights that forgetfulness can be a normal part of the aging process. As people grow older, changes occur in the body, including the brain, which can result in mild forgetfulness. These changes may manifest as a slower learning process, difficulty remembering information, or misplacing items like glasses. However, such mild forgetfulness is typically not indicative of serious memory problems like Alzheimer's disease. The article also mentions that confusion and forgetfulness caused by emotions are often temporary and tend to fade as the feelings subside. Supportive friends and family can help alleviate emotional problems. However, if these feelings persist for more than two weeks, it is important to seek help from a doctor or counselor. Treatment options may involve counseling, medication, or a combination of both. Additionally, the article suggests that engaging in activities and acquiring new skills can contribute to a person's overall well-being and improve their memory

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Symptoms and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

Share this infographic and help spread the word about what memory problems are normal and not.

Many people worry about becoming forgetful. They think forgetfulness is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. But not all people with memory problems have Alzheimer's.

Other causes for memory problems can include aging, medical conditions, emotional problems, mild cognitive impairment, or another type of dementia.

Age-related memory changes

Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. As people get older, changes occur in all parts of the body, including the brain. As a result, some people may notice that it takes longer to learn new things, they don't remember information as well as they did, or they lose things like their glasses. These usually are signs of mild forgetfulness, not serious memory problems, like Alzheimer's disease.

Normal Aging

Alzheimer's Disease

Making a bad decision once in a while

Making poor judgments and decisions a lot of the time

Missing a monthly payment

Problems taking care of monthly bills

Forgetting which day it is and remembering it later

Losing track of the date or time of year

Sometimes forgetting which word to use

Trouble having a conversation

Losing things from time to time

Misplacing things often and being unable to find them

Memory loss related to medical conditions

Certain medical conditions can cause serious memory problems. These problems should go away once a person gets treatment. Medical conditions that may cause memory problems include:

Tumors, blood clots, or infections in the brain

Some thyroid, kidney, or liver disorders

Drinking too much alcohol

Head injury, such as a concussion from a fall or accident

Medication side effects

Not eating enough healthy foods, or too few vitamins and minerals in a person's body (like vitamin B12)

A doctor should treat serious medical conditions like these as soon as possible.

Al's story

Al didn't know what was happening. He was having a hard time remembering things. He wasn't eating or sleeping well and didn't want to see friends. He was confused and irritable.

His wife was worried. She took him to the doctor. It turned out that Al was having a bad reaction to one of his medicines. Once his doctor changed his medicine, Al felt more like himself.

Memory loss related to emotional problems

Emotional problems, such as stress, anxiety, or depression, can make a person more forgetful and can be mistaken for dementia. For instance, someone who has recently retired or who is coping with the death of a spouse, relative, or friend may feel sad, lonely, worried, or bored. Trying to deal with these life changes leaves some people feeling confused or forgetful.

The confusion and forgetfulness caused by emotions usually are temporary and go away when the feelings fade. Emotional problems can be eased by supportive friends and family, but if these feelings last for more than 2 weeks, it is important to get help from a doctor or counselor. Treatment may include counseling, medication, or both. Being active and learning new skills can also help a person feel better and improve his or her memory.

Gloria's story

Gloria was feeling sad all the time. She just wanted to sleep all day and night. She was becoming really forgetful, too. Gloria's nephew Bob was afraid something was very wrong. He took her to see a doctor. The doctor said she had depression and needed to take medicine and see a counselor.

After 3 months, Bob could see the change in his aunt. She was eating and sleeping better. Gloria was spending more time with friends and doing volunteer work.

Learn more about Alzheimer's disease from MedlinePlus.

Read about this topic in Spanish. Lea sobre este tema en español.

For more information about memory loss

NIA Alzheimer's and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
800-438-4380
adear@nia.nih.gov
www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
The NIA ADEAR Center offers information and free print publications about Alzheimer's and related dementias for families, caregivers, and health professionals. ADEAR Center staff answer telephone, email, and written requests and make referrals to local and national resources.

Alzheimers.gov
www.alzheimers.gov
Explore the Alzheimers.gov portal for information and resources on Alzheimer's and related dementias from across the federal government.

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

Share this infographic and help spread the word about what memory problems are normal and not.

Many people worry about becoming forgetful. They think forgetfulness is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. But not all people with memory problems have Alzheimer's.

Other causes for memory problems can include aging, medical conditions, emotional problems, mild cognitive impairment, or another type of dementia.

Age-related memory changes

Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. As people get older, changes occur in all parts of the body, including the brain. As a result, some people may notice that it takes longer to learn new things, they don't remember information as well as they did, or they lose things like their glasses. These usually are signs of mild forgetfulness, not serious memory problems, like Alzheimer's disease.

Normal Aging

Alzheimer's Disease

Making a bad decision once in a while

Making poor judgments and decisions a lot of the time

Missing a monthly payment

Problems taking care of monthly bills

Forgetting which day it is and remembering it later

Losing track of the date or time of year

Sometimes forgetting which word to use

Trouble having a conversation

Losing things from time to time

Misplacing things often and being unable to find them

Memory loss related to medical conditions

Certain medical conditions can cause serious memory problems. These problems should go away once a person gets treatment. Medical conditions that may cause memory problems include:

Tumors, blood clots, or infections in the brain

Some thyroid, kidney, or liver disorders

Drinking too much alcohol

Head injury, such as a concussion from a fall or accident

Medication side effects

Not eating enough healthy foods, or too few vitamins and minerals in a person's body (like vitamin B12)

A doctor should treat serious medical conditions like these as soon as possible.

Al's story

Al didn't know what was happening. He was having a hard time remembering things. He wasn't eating or sleeping well and didn't want to see friends. He was confused and irritable.

His wife was worried. She took him to the doctor. It turned out that Al was having a bad reaction to one of his medicines. Once his doctor changed his medicine, Al felt more like himself.

Memory loss related to emotional problems

Emotional problems, such as stress, anxiety, or depression, can make a person more forgetful and can be mistaken for dementia. For instance, someone who has recently retired or who is coping with the death of a spouse, relative, or friend may feel sad, lonely, worried, or bored. Trying to deal with these life changes leaves some people feeling confused or forgetful.

The confusion and forgetfulness caused by emotions usually are temporary and go away when the feelings fade. Emotional problems can be eased by supportive friends and family, but if these feelings last for more than 2 weeks, it is important to get help from a doctor or counselor. Treatment may include counseling, medication, or both. Being active and learning new skills can also help a person feel better and improve his or her memory.

Gloria's story

Gloria was feeling sad all the time. She just wanted to sleep all day and night. She was becoming really forgetful, too. Gloria's nephew Bob was afraid something was very wrong. He took her to see a doctor. The doctor said she had depression and needed to take medicine and see a counselor.

After 3 months, Bob could see the change in his aunt. She was eating and sleeping better. Gloria was spending more time with friends and doing volunteer work.

Learn more about Alzheimer's disease from MedlinePlus.

Read about this topic in Spanish. Lea sobre este tema en español.

For more information about memory loss

NIA Alzheimer's and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
800-438-4380
adear@nia.nih.gov
www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
The NIA ADEAR Center offers information and free print publications about Alzheimer's and related dementias for families, caregivers, and health professionals. ADEAR Center staff answer telephone, email, and written requests and make referrals to local and national resources.

Alzheimers.gov
www.alzheimers.gov
Explore the Alzheimers.gov portal for information and resources on Alzheimer's and related dementias from across the federal government.

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

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Do Memory Problems Always Mean Alzheimer's Disease?

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Symptoms and Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease Many people worry about becoming forgetful. They think forgetfulness is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. But not all people with memory problems have Alzheimer's. Other causes for memory problems can include aging, medical conditions, emotional problems, mild cognitive impairment, or another type of dementia.

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I personally believe music says a lot about who you are. Usually a fandom of a certain genre of music are very similar. In this article they asked more than 30,000 people to rate 104 different kinds of genres of music, and then complete the Big 5 personality "test" and also provide information about their favorite music. They found that music and personality are linked. Music like pop and hip hop, reflect in the person's personality. From the research people who listen to pop, are commonly extroverted, honest and controversial. In my opinion, when I listen to pop music I feel very "in my own world." Unlike pop, people who listen to rap/hip-hop tend to be aggressive or violent. They were also found to be more outgoing. Which also in a way makes sense because rap music is fast, and loud. So it can be reflected that their fans are fast and loud. And so on with the rest of the genres. They also found that people tend to use music to relate to other people as it defines them. Which is why people are often so defensive when they are criticized about their music taste, because it almost feels like they are being criticized about themselves. I agree with this observation strongly. Anytime someone says something negative about my music taste I feel personally attacked. Music is who I am. It defines me. I can related to music.

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Music plays an important role in the lives of people all over the world, which is why many wonder what individual factors might influence musical preferences. Could the contents of your playlist, for example, reveal something about your personality?

People listen to music as a way to set the mood, to motivate a workout, or even to gain inspiration. How much are those choices influenced by underlying personality traits?

Personality Traits Linked to Musical Styles

One large-scale study conducted by researchers at Heriot-Watt University looked at more than 36,000 participants from all over the world. Participants were asked to rate more than 104 different musical styles in addition to offering information about aspects of their personalities.

According to the researcher, Adrian North, the reason people sometimes feel defensive about their taste in music might be related to how much it relates to attitudes and personality.

North suggests that people do define themselves through music and use it as a means to relate to other people. His research points to the connection that people often make between who they are as an individual and their musical tastes.

Keep in mind that these are the results published in only one study rather than being replicated and validated by a variety of researchers and different study designs. The following are some of the personality traits the study linked to certain musical styles.

Fans of the top 40 pop hits tend to be extroverted, honest, and conventional. While pop music lovers are hardworking and have high self-esteem, researchers suggest that they tend to be less creative and more uneasy.

Rap and Hip/Hop Music

In spite of the stereotype that rap lovers are more aggressive or violent, researchers have actually found no such link. Rap fans do tend to have high self-esteem and are usually outgoing.

Country Music

Country music fans are typically hardworking, conventional, and outgoing. While country songs are often centered on heartbreak, people who gravitate towards this genre tend to be very emotionally stable. They also tend to be more conservative and rank lower on the trait of openness to experience.

Rock/Heavy Metal Music

Despite the sometimes aggressive image that rock and heavy metal music project, researchers found that fans of this style of music are usually quite gentle. They tend to be creative, but are often introverted and may suffer from low self-esteem.

Indie Music

Fans of the indie genre are typically introverted, intellectual, and creative. According to researchers, they also tend to be less hardworking and less gentle. Passivity, anxiousness, and low self-esteem are other common personality characteristics.

Dance Music

According to researchers, people who prefer dance music are usually outgoing and assertive. They also tend to rank high on the trait of openness to experience, one of the five major personality traits. People who prefer fast-paced electronic music also tend to rank low on gentleness.

Classical Music

Classical music lovers are typically more introverted but are also at ease with themselves and the world around them. They are creative and have a good sense of self-esteem.

Jazz, Blues, and Soul Music

People who enjoy jazz, blues, or soul music were found to be more extroverted with high self-esteem. They also tend to be very creative, intelligent, and at ease.

What the Research Says

A number of studies have found that musical tastes can actually be good predictors of personality traits, yet not all the research agrees.

Predictions of Personality Traits

Research conducted by psychologists Jason Rentfrow and Sam Gosling suggested that knowing the type of music you listen to can actually lead to surprisingly accurate predictions about your personality.

Extroverts tend to seek out songs with heavy bass lines while those who enjoy more complex styles such as jazz and classical music tend to be more creative and have higher IQ-scores. Rentfrow and Gosling have extended their studies, looking at the different facets of music that can be linked to preferences.

Music and Cognitive Styles

Another study found that the types of music you enjoy may be connected to the ways your brain processes information. Researchers suggest that there are two ways of responding to the world: empathizing involves being able to respond to the world based on social cues, while systemizing involves interacting based upon preset conceptions of how people think they should respond.

In the study, researchers found that people who were empathizers were also more likely to enjoy mellow but emotionally-rich contemporary music, which ranged from indie-rock to country to folk. The systemizers, however, were more likely to prefer complex, intense, energetic music that was upbeat and positive.

The systemizers, who researchers suggest tend to follow career paths in math and science, are more drawn to the structural complexity of the music, often liking classical, jazz, and world music.

Empathizers, who are often drawn more to creative careers or those that involve working with people, are more likely to prefer softer music that evokes strong emotional responses.

Other Factors Also Play a Role

Experts note that personality traits alone do not account for musical preferences. While music is often an important way to express self-identity, research has shown that people listen to music for a variety of purposes.

One study suggested that some of the key psychological functions that music serves include improving performance, stimulating curiosity and imagination, and amplifying certain moods or emotions. Other factors including gender, age, social class, and cultural background also play important roles in musical taste.

A Word From Verywell

The next time you are putting together a playlist to listen to during your commute or workout, consider how your personality might be reflected in your song choices. You might also consider listening to styles of music that you don't normally prefer; research suggests that doing this may actually have a lasting impact on the brain.

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What Does Your Taste in Music Reveal About Your Personality?

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Music plays an important role in the lives of people all over the world, which is why many wonder what individual factors might influence musical preferences. Could the contents of your playlist, for example, reveal something about your personality? People listen to music as a way to set the mood, to motivate a workout, or even to gain inspiration.

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Technology is rapidly changing as time goes by. Every year there is something new to talk about in the technology field. There is always a new version of the Iphone, a new computer, a new tracking device. It is always something new. In this article it talks about how psychology has developed techology wise. Ever since covid everything has become vitural, school, job interviews, meetings, dates, and even therapy sessions. Nowadays, people are able to pull out their phone and send a text to their therapist and have a full session over their phone in many different ways. This is not the only way people can get help online. There are many quiz like websites online that can generate what kind of personality a person has based on a few questions you have to answer. Now no matter where you are, anyone is able to recieve mental help just from their phones. This can benefit people who have trouble physically expressing their emotions and rather write them down. There are plenty easy access websites and apps that are free to people to vent and express their emotions without the confrontation part. I find this a good thing because there might be people who can't get out of their houses due to having kids, or no way of transportation, so this way they can stay home and seek the help they need.

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Texting and Counseling

Our world continues to modernize, globalize, and see rapid improvements in technology. There are many, many consequences of this. One of them is that the practice and study of psychology are rapidly changing as well.

Just a couple of generations ago, it would have been unheard of for a client in a psychotherapeutic session to pull out their phone and refer to a text message interaction with another person with whom they've had a conflict. Yet, today, this is commonplace.

Likewise, where diagnostic tests used to be administered via pencil and paper, today, they are wholly online. What was once a set group of questions on an assessment can now evolve as the person takes the test based on how they've answered previous questions.

These are but two examples of how technological advancements are changing psychology. There are many others. But they give us a good idea of the disparate manner in which technology can be used in psychological applications - and for the betterment of those being served.

Let's explore these and other examples of how the dynamic of technology and psychology is changing.

Texting and Counseling

Since the birth of modern psychology, popular methods of communication have influenced psychotherapy sessions. Then, as is typical still today, the psychotherapeutic relationship was based on face-to-face interactions between clients and their therapist.

In the context of this relationship, therapists in years past might have asked their clients to bring in "documentation" of events in their lives - a handwritten letter, for example, from one spouse to the other outlining the reasons they want a divorce. As another example, a therapist and their client might survey a collection of printed photos as a means of processing grief after the death of a loved one.

Indeed, in therapeutic sessions, the client's recollection of conversations and life events have always played an important role. But as technology has advanced and people use mobile devices to communicate more frequently, many therapists find that the "old ways" of sharing memories via physical objects like notes and photos is less common.

Instead, some clients today like to refer directly to their text history or photo album on their smartphone to work through issues in therapy. So, the handwritten notes from ex-spouses are now replaced by text exchanges in which both sides of the conversation can be seen in living color on the phone's screen. Not only is this perhaps a more convenient way of sharing details about one's troubles, but it also gives the therapist insight into both sides of the story.

This can be especially helpful in working with adolescents on interpersonal relationship issues. For example, rather than relying on the client's memory of an interaction, the client and therapist together can look at what was actually said during the interaction. In some cases, the client will have forgotten or mentally skewed the recollection of her or his part in the conflict, but the phone's history helps to clarify the involvement of both parties.

So, technology in this respect offers convenience for the client, greater detail for the therapist to gain insights, and as a result, it can help in the process of identifying destructive or inappropriate behaviors on the part of the client. In other words, technologies as simple as texts can assist psychologists in the process of identifying troublesome behaviors and developing a treatment plan to help their clients change those behaviors.

Delivery of Mental Health Services

One of the most significant ways in which technology is impacting psychology is in the availability and delivery of mental health services.

In today's world, clients don't have to be face-to-face with their psychologist. They don't even have to be in the same city, state, or country, for that matter! People seeking psychological services can access them from anywhere at any time thanks to advances in technology.

For example, in some rural areas, residents might not have easy access to in-person psychological treatment. In years past, this might have meant traveling a great distance to the nearest mental health clinic (or foregoing psychological treatment altogether).

But technology has changed this unfortunate reality with services like teletherapy.

Teletherapy is essentially digital psychological services. So, instead of meeting with your therapist in person for an hour, you would meet online for an hour.

The manner in which teletherapy is delivered varies greatly. In some instances, it might take place via text messaging or online chat. These would be the least preferred delivery methods because the therapist can't get the whole experience of communicating with someone - the nuances of tone of voice and body language are lost in a purely text-based exchange.

For this reason, teletherapy is better delivered when video is also involved. Whether this occurs on Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, or some other platform, a video interaction with a client gives therapists that "face to face" information they need to glean the most insights into the client's behavior.

This is not the full extent of how technology has changed the delivery of psychological services, either.

People seeking help with psychological difficulties can turn to services online, either through websites or apps. In some cases, websites and apps might simply offer educational materials about mental health, but in other cases, they might also provide therapeutic services, or connect you to other online services where you can seek help.

What's important to remember about websites and apps is that they are often not regulated. This means that while the therapist you might see in person has to meet certain educational and experiential requirements to be licensed to deliver therapeutic services, no such requirements are in place for therapy you might receive via website or app. This being the case, you need to be cautious when seeking help from these resources.

Nevertheless, while there are some things regarding technology and the delivery of psychological services that should still give us pause, there is no denying that technology has made access to psychological services far easier than it was even just 15-20 years ago.

Advances in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

One of the fastest-growing specializations in the field of psychology today is industrial-organizational psychology.

Psychologists in this specialization work with employers to improve employee retention rates, boost productivity, mediate conflicts between employees, and collaborate with others to improve the employee experience. Many people in this career also work closely with computer programs.

For example, some industrial-organizational psychologists might use computer programs to deliver interest inventories to prospective employees to see if their interests align well with the job for which they've applied. Likewise, an industrial-organizational psychologist could use computer applications to conduct assessments of current employees.

Since one of the many duties of IO psychologists is to enhance the workplace experience, they might develop an app whereby employees can submit complaints about a co-worker anonymously. Likewise, an app might allow IO psychologists to glean honest information about the workplace experience - with the benefit of anonymity, employees might be more inclined to offer truthful feedback about what the work environment is really like. Gaining this kind of information quickly and easily enables industrial-organizational psychologists to get the data they need to develop ways to enhance the experience in workplace settings.

These are but a couple of examples of how technology is changing this specific field of psychology. But it's important to note that the impact of technology goes well beyond these examples.

In fact, technology and its relationship to IO psychology has expanded so much in recent years that some institutions of higher learning are recommending students complete secondary courses of study in computer programming or other technology-related fields in preparation for becoming IO psychologists. That is how important technology has become to the practice of industrial-organizational psychology.

Technology is Bringing Neuroscience and Psychology Together

Another way in which technology is influencing psychological studies is in the field of neuroscience.

In the past, neuroscientists were confined to a brain imaging lab to do their studies - after all, one can't pick up an MRI scanner and take it into the field. But now, neuroscientists are using technology to study brain mechanisms and processes in the field both quickly and easily.

The setup is simple: scientists at the University of California at San Francisco's Neuroscape Center developed ACE, a cognitive assessment installed on a tablet that is used to study executive functioning in children.

ACE included a variety of video games that use adaptive algorithms to adjust how the game proceeds - and how difficult it is - based on the childrens' input. This allows researchers to collect extremely precise data on cognition across a range of ages and levels of cognitive development.

Using this data, researchers at UCSF hope to gain deeper insights into the structures of the brain and their functions. The goal of all this is to identify interventions that can be deployed to help children in the development of their executive functioning. This, in turn, can help children learn, do better in school, and set them up for greater success later on in life.

Computerized Testing

Changes in testing have significantly changed many aspects of psychology. Personality assessments and IQ tests that were once completed with pencil and paper are now completed on computers.

As computer technology has developed, tests have developed as well. Test takers using computers can be fed different questions based on their answers of previous questions. Research psychologists and diagnosticians take advantage of this to create more accurate assessments. The more accurate an assessment, the better-equipped a psychologist is in devising methods to take action and facilitate change in their clients' lives.

But computerized testing also comes with disadvantages. Online testing, for example, can't be done if internet service goes down. Technical difficulties like a computer that constantly freezes can skew test results. Likewise, physical conditions of the test-taker like color blindness can impact the results.

As a result of these and other issues, today's psychologists need to understand the potential problems with computerized testing and address them in order to more accurately diagnose disorders, identify personality traits, explore interests, and determine intelligences, among other things. Technology isn't an end-all, be-all for assessment and diagnosis, but when used in the right manner and when its limitations are taken into account, technology can be of great benefit for the purposes of assessment.

What Does the Past Tell Us About the Future of Technology and Psychology?

From the psychological effects of electronic games to new mobile apps geared at improving mental health, the impacts of technology thus far on psychology are profound.

It has changed the way that psychology is taught. It has changed the way psychology is practiced. It's even changed the way that psychology is evolving as a scientific field of study.

Whether you choose to pursue a career in industrial-organizational psychology, become a counseling psychologist, seek to discover new and better understandings of human behavior in research, or something in between, technology will play an important part of your future in this field.

The technology already in use today and emerging technical possibilities in the near and distant future will greatly affect both your preparation and your practice in the field of psychology.

If what has already occurred in terms of technology's impact on psychology is informative of the future, it tells us that the tools that will be available for education, practice, and research will be highly useful in delivering improved services. Some of these technologies might make it easier for people to access mental health care. Technology might also help solve mysteries of human behavior or even assist researchers in finding better treatments for mental disorders.

Many exciting things are happening today in the world of technology. Psychologists are influenced by technological advancements in many ways, however the impacts of technology on psychology can be both beneficial and detrimental. As technology develops, clinicians, counselors, researchers, and human resources specialists must all be prepared to handle both the good and bad issues created by technology.

Though we don't know what the future holds, we can be certain that technology will play an increasing role in psychology. And if the past is any indication, the future of this relationship is bright.

Sean Jackson
B.A. Social Studies Education | University of Wyoming M.S. Counseling | University of Wyoming B.S. Information Technology | University of Massachusetts
Updated June 2021
Related:

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What Technology Advances Are Affecting Psychology Studies? - Online Psychology Degree Guide

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Our world continues to modernize, globalize, and see rapid improvements in technology. There are many, many consequences of this. One of them is that the practice and study of psychology are rapidly changing as well.

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There are many ways kids can strive in learning. There is Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic. I chose to write about the benefits of visual learning because I personally learn best when I learn visually. Visual learning is learning that includes graphics, videos, and images to remember important ideas and concepts. This helps learners remember easily because of the various engaging graphic aids. Students that use visual learning techniques can better manage and accomplish their objectives. The techniques can aid pupils in honing abilities including critical thinking, better decision-making, problem-solving, and comprehension. When I watch a video in class or look at a graphic, I am immediatley am interested. Personally when I read or listen to a teacher just talk I easily get distracted, but with videos and engaging images or activites I am automatically intregied. According to an education consultant, people use their short-term memory to process words. It means they cannot comphreand too much information. Images have the opposite effect, they are stored in the long-term memory. Smaller bullets are easier to compreheand rather than long paragraphs. Visuals drives motivation. When you engage the learner and provide them with graphics and images or videos they can easily be motivated to learn because of the low amount of effort having to be done. Visuals help overcome boredom and give students better preformance rates. I honestly wish teachers taught us like elementary school students at time, because at one point school becomes boring, and students lose motivation, and grades fall, and everything just goes downhill. I truly believe if teachers gave us thiings to color or videos to watch i would be more eager to learn.

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Humans can remember things taught visually in memory for a longer period. Most students in this generation of change and technology are visual learners. Assume that you are learning about a chemical process. Would you prefer a textual description, or is a pictorial or video representation of the process better?

Most people would choose the second option since visuals hold more appeal than textual information. This is especially so for curious young minds. According to several studies, students tend to react to visual information faster than they respond to plain text. Beyond that, visual materials can also help improve learning on many levels.

This is a learning style involving graphics, videos, and images to communicate thoughts and ideas. Visual learners rely on various graphic aids to learn and remember information. Essentially, learning is seeing.

This modern method of teaching and learning is transforming the way teachers impart information and the way students learn. The classroom is a great place to learn visually. This is why many teachers are adapting visual teaching methods by using images, whiteboards, presentations, videos, and more.

Visual learning strategies can help students manage and achieve their goals. The strategies can also help students develop skills such as critical thinking, better decision-making, problem-solving, and better understanding.

Visual information plays an important role in education. It is more appealing to students than hearing or reading plain text. According to an education consultant, people use their short-term memory to process words.

This means they cannot retain too much information. Images, however, go straight to the long-term memory where they permanently stay. According to another study, students can retain between 10 and 20 percent of spoken or written information. In comparison, they can retain around 65 percent of visual information. Other benefits of visual learning include:

It is simple to process information listed in bullets compared to information written in paragraphs. That same information in a video or an image is even simpler and quicker to process.

According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, 90 percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual. In addition, the brain can process visuals more than 60,000 times faster than text, which is quite surprising.

Students tend to struggle with certain subjects, finding them uninteresting. Thus, they lack the motivation to invest the effort they need to learn. In such cases, visuals are a good option to help students overcome boredom and find the motivation to perform better.

Humans process visual information and emotions in the same part of the brain. Emotional response and visual stimuli have a simple link. They work together to generate memories. Visual metaphors and images, therefore, can create strong impressions in students. They can also create lasting memories.

To learn more about the importance of visual learning in school, visit Grove Eye Care at our office in Richmond or Midlothian, Virginia. You can call (804) 353-3937 or (804) 888-8998 today to schedule an appointment.

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Why Visual Learning Is Important in School

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Humans can remember things taught visually in memory for a longer period. Most students in this generation of change and technology are visual learners. Assume that you are learning about a chemical process. Would you prefer a textual description, or is a pictorial or video representation of the process better?

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Nature brings a lot of benefits. Just being outside on a nice sunny day can improve someone's mood immediately. In this study done in this article they found that after taking a class outside, it wasn't only fun for the kids, they also were more focused when they returned to their class. These two third grade classes were sent outside for half of their biology lesson, and went back inside for the rest of the class. While they were outside the kids participated in regular classes as if they were inside, and while they were inside they participated in interactive lessons. Results showed that kids can actually pay better attention after a lesson outside. Redirection of the children was at a low and they were much less jittery. Just as in adults being outdoors can make children less stressed, restore depleted attention and improves immune function. I have gone outside for class a couple times in my whole high school career, and I can say it has a lot of benefits. Just knowing the weather is already going to be nice gives me motivation to do better. When I know I am going outside I am immediately eagar to learn. Being outside distracts me from the fact that I am at school and just all the background noises calm me down. Kuo states that " “Kids are so starved for nature that you can take them out into a not-very-natural area, give them a lesson without really engaging much with nature, and even this pretty small, pathetic dose helps them function remarkably better,"

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As any teacher knows, students need to be engaged with learning to absorb lessons in any meaningful way. Otherwise they can become distracted, disrupting everyone in the classroom and taking time away from instruction.

There are many ways to foster engagement, of course. But one may surprise you: holding classes outside. Findings from a new study show that learning outdoors is not just a fun, novel experience for kids, but also helps them focus once they return to the classroom.

In this study, third-grade students from two classrooms were assigned to conduct about half of their biology lessons outside (on a nearby patch of grass) and half inside the classroom during an academic year. The lessons involved things like identifying leaves and understanding the process of decomposition, and were closely matched: The indoor lessons had natural elements (like leaves and soil), while the outdoor lessons were conducted like a regular classroom (without student interaction or free play).

After each lesson, students received a short break and then continued indoors with their regular studies, like math or reading. Their level of engagement during this time was assessed by teacher ratings, independent tallies of "redirects" (how many times teachers needed to redirect students to the task at hand), and ratings of engagement based on classroom photos analyzed by someone blind to the study's purpose.

Results showed that when the students received outdoor biology lessons, they were significantly more engaged in their next instructional period on all measures than if they'd received biology lessons indoors. This held true for different teachers, different times of day, and different times of year.

According to lead researcher Ming Kuo of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this is an important finding with practical implications.

"Kids can actually pay better attention in class after an outdoor lesson," she says. "This is nice for teachers, because you don't have to stop teaching and you still get that bump in attention."

Not only that, the bump in attention was large-much larger than Kuo had expected. In some cases, teachers only had to redirect half as often and kids paid attention one or two "standard deviations" better-research-speak for much, much better-if they'd had an outdoor lesson rather than an indoor one.

This surprised Kuo, who is used to working on highly controlled studies in a laboratory rather than field studies in a classroom.

"I thought that we would have smaller effects when we had a whole class of squirmy third graders," says Kuo. "But maybe when every kid gets a little bit better at paying attention and at controlling their impulses, and then you put them all in one classroom, there's some kind of synergy happening."

What's powerful in this study is that the children didn't spend time wandering down a forested path. The teachers simply changed the location of their lesson to a greener space-something that virtually any teacher at any school could do without taking away from instruction time.

"We could have taken these kids into capital-n Nature; but the kind of nature that we studied turns out to be pretty common-just a patch of grass with an access road," she says. "The kind of outdoor setting we used is probably available for many, many schools."

The restorative power of nature

Why would being in nature benefit kids at all? Perhaps it reduces stress, restores depleted attention, and improves immune function in children, much like it does in adults. And kids who are healthier, calmer, and less depleted may simply learn better.

"Kids are so starved for nature that...even this pretty small, pathetic dose helps them function remarkably better"

―Dr. Ming Kuo

Kuo's study adds to a growing body of research on learning in nature. Prior studies have found that teaching outdoors increases students' interest in a subject and intrinsic motivation to learn, and may help them to retain information longer than regular indoor classes. In addition, kids like learning outside, says Kuo, and they report liking their school more when lessons are held outdoors.

"Being able to pay more attention, being less stressed, and being happier and more interested in doing the work-this can have real effects on how engaged kids are," she says.

Still, Kuo's study is unique in looking at what happens after an outdoor lesson-the carryover effects. And that's important to teachers who may be reluctant to give up class time for going outside, worried their kids will lose all focus.

Kuo understands that teachers may be skeptical-even one of the teachers in her study was doubtful before the experiment started. But, if a teacher can be open-minded, she says, they should at least try it out and see what happens. Kuo argues that the current educational movement to reduce student outdoor time-or enrichment programs like music, art, and theater-is wrong-headed.

"You can add as much instructional time as you want and keep pouring, but once that cup is full, it's full," she says. "You have to find ways to give kids more capacity to take things in, before it makes sense to spend any more time with instructional teaching."

Being in nature seems to increase that capacity, suggesting yet another way kids benefit from being outside. Kuo's work implies that kids need nature, maybe more than we think. She hopes that future researchers will study whether spending more time in nature produces even greater benefits.

In the meantime, it's pretty clear that it doesn't take much nature to make a difference.

"Kids are so starved for nature that you can take them out into a not-very-natural area, give them a lesson without really engaging much with nature, and even this pretty small, pathetic dose helps them function remarkably better," says Kuo. "That feels like a big 'Wow!' to me."

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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The Surprising Benefits of Teaching a Class Outside

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As any teacher knows, students need to be engaged with learning to absorb lessons in any meaningful way. Otherwise they can become distracted, disrupting everyone in the classroom and taking time away from instruction. There are many ways to foster engagement, of course. But one may surprise you: holding classes outside.

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I learned to swim when I was about 7 years old and have been swimming ever since. I don't remember much of the process I went through to get where I am now, but I do remember going through a lot of hard work and struggle. This article points out a very important point, how through all this pain and hard work swimming can is fun. As a child it is the most natural motivator to just be in the water. I also see this almost everyday at my job. Being a child in the water can be so much fun. As babies get older, they can learn to kick as they pretend to be mermaids, or hold their breaths as they pretend to have a tea party underwater. Then children are taught to float as a survival skill. Once they know how to float they can wait for someone to come and save them. Once they perfect the basic survival skills they then start to learn additional skills that will help swim for longer on their own. When learning to swim it takes one step at a time to really develop the skills of swimming.

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Feature by Tonya Nascimento, Swimming World intern TALLAHASSEE, Florida, September 1. SPORT psychology has been getting a bit more press lately, so you may have an inkling of what it

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In this article it talks about the most effective ways to study. Everyone one studies differently and not everything works for everyone. This article talks about the few ways that it is proven to be most effective. The first method is speed practice/distributed practice. This method is revisiting the content multiple times for several days or weeks. I think this method sounds the most effective because you can take mental breaks instead of cramming in one day. The second method they talk about is retrieval practice. This method is trying to remember things from memory. Then looking over the topics you struggle with. I can see this method being very effective because that way you don't waste time on topics you already know and focus on topics you need to learn more.

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Research-Supported Techniques

Outside of lecture, university students are commonly expected to master course content on their own. However, multiple research studies have found that many university students are commonly unaware of, and seldom use, effective learning techniques. 1,2 In the following section (and the linked pages below) we discuss important do's and don'ts of successful learning, plus introduce several of the most promising and effective evidence-based learning methods. These are backed by a growing body of learning science research - a substantial portion of which has been conducted right here at UCSD and in this very department. By taking advantage of these methods, students can transform their learning activities to be more efficient (make better use of time) and more effective (resulting in learning that is more comprehensive and lasts longer).

What Students Need to Do to Succeed

Psychology courses, as well as those in many other departments and at other universities, revolve around high-stakes tests (for example, midterms, final exams). In fact, on average, 80% of the course grade in PSYC classes at UCSD is determined by exam performance. ³ In order to perform well on such exams, it is crucial for students to master a wide range of course content.

How can that objective be accomplished? Through the use of evidence-based learning methods. Note that these are not described as "study methods". Although it is common to describe preparing for an exam as "studying", which is why this page is titled as such, simply "studying" information multiple times ("restudying", "rereading", or "reviewing") is by itself often not very effective. 4,5 Instead, as described below, other methods are far more powerful at improving the learning of course content.

The Most Effective Learning Techniques
If you have only limited time to read this page, at least check out the following two points. For
further details, click on the links to learn more.
Based on decades of learning science research, the two most effective methods known to date are:

Spaced practice / distributed practice - learning that occurs over multiple sessions at different points in time (for example, revisiting a textbook chapter once every three days). This technique refers to when you should be preparing for course exams (that is, multiple sessions spread out over several weeks).

► Further information: Spaced Practice

Retrieval practice / practice testing - instead of simply restudying information, attempting to recall that information from memory (such as by taking a practice test). This technique refers to what you should be doing to prepare for course exams (that is, test yourself via practice tests or other recall-based techniques).

► Further information: Retrieval Practice

Spaced practice involves when you should "study" and retrieval practice involves how you should "study". When you use both (for instance, you can prepare for your exams using a spaced practice schedule and then use retrieval practice during each session), they make a powerful combination.

Additionally, if you perform retrieval practice across multiple days - and, each time, practice recalling information until you attain 100% accuracy (a method called successive relearning) - then recent research shows that your ability to retain that information over long periods of time is maximized. ⁶

Finally, besides spaced and retrieval practice, there are some additional learning techniques that you may wish to try. These included interleaved practice, self-explanation, and others.
Workshops

► Further information: Other Learning Techniques
Downloads

Workshops and Downloadable Resources

For in-person discussion of these techniques, please consider attending this department's "How to Study Less and Remember More" workshop (for dates and times, please check the undergraduate workshops calendar).
UCSD
How to Study Less and Remember More [PDF]

Further Resources
Additional Reading

References

¹ Kornell, N., &amp; Bjork, R. A. (2007). The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14(2), 219-224.
² Karpicke, J. D., Butler, A. C., &amp; Roediger III, H. L. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning: do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17(4), 471-479.
³ Based on analysis of PSYC 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 60, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 120, 144, 145, 154, 163, 164, 161, 171, 181, 182, 190, 191, and 193 courses at UCSD, taught between 2013-2017.
⁴ Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., & Metcalfe, J. (2007). Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning. IES Practice Guide. NCER 2007-2004. National Center for Education Research.
⁵ Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.
⁶ Rawson, K. A., Dunlosky, J., & Sciartelli, S. M. (2013). The power of successive relearning: Improving performance on course exams and long-term retention. Educational Psychology Review, 25(4), 523-548.

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Prepared by S. C. Pan for UCSD Psychology

Graphic adapted with permission from ccnlab.net under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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Outside of lecture, university students are commonly expected to master course content on their own. However, multiple research studies have found that many university students are commonly unaware of, and seldom use, effective learning techniques.

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Muscle memory is when you remember how to do something with little conscious effort. It may last forever, if there are no neurological barriers. When you repeatedly perform an action,neutrons in specific regions of the brain, primarily the cerebellum and basal ganglia, and establishes a new neural connection between the central nervous system and the muscles you are moving. Once you do the action enough times, you don't have to think so much about the specific action. Some examples of muscle memory being shown in complex skills are riding a bike, playing an instrument, typing on a computer. Once you have mastered a skill, because of muscle memory you are able to take a break from the skill and come back without having to start from zero. Muscle memory is also very beneficial to athletes. It gives them time to focus on other things while they practice the skills they mastered because of muscle memory.

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My biggest pet peeve is boys having toxic masculinity. Especially because my favorite celebrities break the social norms of a masculine man. I think being masculine is being comfortable in your own skin, not caring what people think of you if you break the social norms of men. From the beginning of time, men were told to be strong, physically and mentally. Phrases like "boys don't cry" or "the man of the house" emphasize that men are supposed to be emotion-less, independent, and strong. In this article it talks about all the social norms men get backlash for. Men are told to not ask for help, and if they do it is a sign of weakness. This can lead to men making more mistakes and not showing progress. A big social norm towards men is being strictly manly. Once they do one single feminine trait people immediately assume they lost all their masculinity. I think it is time to normalize men breaking all these social norms. In my opinion, it makes them less manly disagreeing with these social norms. It is time to be okay with men who cry and wear nail polish.

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Toxic masculinity has been the backdrop of several recent stories about workplace sexual harassment and assault, discrimination against women, and sexist work cultures. Fortunately, the data suggests most men do not conform to this troubling brand of masculinity. But while survey results suggest that attitudes have changed, the same can't be said for men's behavior. A review of 94 psychological studies, including more 24,000 people and spanning the past 40 years, found that while women have adapted to workplace norms, by engaging in more stereotypically male behavior (becoming more assertive, actively displaying ambition, and showing strength and confidence), men have not adapted alongside them. Even though business increasingly relies on relationships, trust, and reputation, men are not becoming more compassionate, warm, and understanding. Instead many men focus on leading and influencing through fear and dominance rather than building consensus and creating safe environments for employees to share ideas.

Why? Research demonstrates that much the same way women face unfair backlash effects for being more masculine or not feminine enough, men similarly face backlash for not adhering to masculine gender stereotypes. This backlash is likely one (but of course not the only) reason that men engage in behaviors that harm women and are detrimental to their own careers.

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How Men Get Penalized for Straying from Masculine Norms

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Toxic masculinity has been the backdrop of several recent stories about workplace sexual harassment and assault, discrimination against women, and sexist work cultures. Fortunately, the data suggests most men do not conform to this troubling brand of masculinity. But while survey results suggest that attitudes have changed, the same can't be said for men's behavior.

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Diffusion of responsibility is when in a crowd people tend to fail to help someone in a emergency. It is not because they do not have compassion for the person, but according to the "bystander affect" it is because they all collectively think that someone else probably has or will do something. In this article it talks about a experiment they had conducted. There were two scenarios, one of them the subjects were alone, and the other they were three people in total in a room. In this room smoke started to fill the room. About 70% of the singular people immediately reported the smoke to researchers. The subject that was with two other people who knew about the experiment, did not report it and chose to just ignore it, only 10% reported it. Because of this experiment done the researchers noticed a couple of decisions to be made by the subjects. First step is noticing a problem, the next step is to determine if it is an emergency. The next thing they noticed is the subjects deciding to act upon what they are witnessing. The last two things they noticed were actually doing something about it and taking action.  There are many relying factors that go into bystander decision making whether to take action or not. Some include, whether the situation is dangerous, lack of knowledge of what to do to actually help successfully, they can unsure if they actually need to help, or unclear about who is in trouble. They are more likely to help if the individual in need specifically asks for help and/or has a connection with the victim.

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Diffusion of responsibility is a psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to take action when in the presence of a large group of people.﻿﻿

For example, imagine that you are in a large city on a bustling street. You notice a man fall to the ground and start convulsing as if having a seizure. Many people turn and look at the man, but no one moves to help or call for medical assistance.

Why? Because there are so many people present, no one person feels pressured to respond. Each person might think, "Oh, someone else has probably already called for help" or "No one else is doing anything, so it must not be that serious."

This situation is often used to explain the bystander effect, which suggests that the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. This isn't to suggest that people aren't acting because they lack compassion, but they may not be able to process a traumatic event as it unfolds, especially when others are around.

Darley and Latané on Diffusion of Responsibility

In a series of classic experiments conducted in the late 1960s, researchers John Darley and Bibb Latané asked participants to fill out questionnaires in a room which suddenly began to fill with smoke.﻿﻿

In one scenario the subjects of the experiment were alone when the smoke entered the room. Seventy-five percent of these subjects reported the smoke to researchers right away. But in another scenario, there was one subject and two people who were part of the experiment in the room. Since those two ignored the smoke, only 10% of the "naive" subjects reported the smoke.

Darley and Latané noted that once a person notices that something is happening, a series of important decisions must first be made.

1. The first step involves actually noticing a problem.

2. Next, the individual must decide if what they are witnessing is actually an emergency.

3. Next is perhaps the most critical decision in this process: Deciding to take personal responsibility to act.

4. Then the individual has to decide what needs to be done.

5. Finally, the bystander must actually take action.

What complicates this process is that these decisions often need to be made quickly. There is often an element of danger, stress, emergency, and sometimes personal risk involved. Adding to this pressure-packed situation is the problem of ambiguity. Sometimes it isn't entirely clear who is in trouble, what is wrong, or what needs to be done.

Factors That Influence Diffusion of Responsibility

If onlookers are not really sure what is happening, are unclear about who is in trouble, or are unsure if the person really needs assistance, then they are far less likely to take action.

But people are more likely to help if they feel some sort of connection or personal knowledge of the person in trouble. If a victim makes eye contact and asks a specific individual for help, that person will feel more compelled to take action.

And sometimes, people don't step in to help because they feel unqualified. A person who has received specific training in first aid and CPR will probably feel more capable of offering assistance.﻿﻿

Researchers have also discovered a number of different factors that can increase and decrease the likelihood that diffusion of responsibility will occur. If bystanders do not know the victim, they're less likely to help and more likely to expect someone else in the crowd to offer assistance.

Other Instances of Diffusion of Responsibility

Ever been part of a team at work and felt like not everyone was pulling their weight? This too might be an instance of diffusion of responsibility. People feel less motivation to work toward a common goal and slackers may even go out of their way to hide how little they're contributing. This is also known as " social loafing."﻿﻿

A much more consequential type of diffusion of responsibility occurs within hierarchical organizations. Subordinates who claim to be following orders avoid taking responsibility for committing what they logically know to be illegal or immoral actions. This kind of group behavior led to such crimes against humanity as the Nazi Holocaust.

Additional Reading

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How Diffusion of Responsibility Affects the Way We Act in Groups

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Diffusion of responsibility is a psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to take action when in the presence of a large group of people.﻿﻿ For example, imagine that you are in a large city on a bustling street. You notice a man fall to the ground and start convulsing as if having a seizure.

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I decided to choose this topic because growing up I had a speech delay. I had to go to therapy for a couple of weeks to help encourage my speech to improve. My mom told me she was worried that it was more than just a speech delay. In this article, it talks about the difference between a speech delay and autism in a child. Speech delays are very common in children, and can be caused by maturation delay or bilingualism. They are also very common in children with autism. There is a difference though. Children who have speech delays, automatically do not have autism. It is just a small sign of many other signs of autism. Most babies communicate to get something they want, to get a positive response. They are highly motivated to communicate for affection and attention from other people. Most babies also get bored easily if left alone. However children with autism have communication challenges that make it hard to communicate to get what they want. These children are more independent, they are more likely to want to spend time observing things rather than people. They would much rather spend time alone pursuing their own interests. Lastly, they aren't motivated by the actions of affection or attention. It is more challenging for them to understand small communication gestures such as, pointing, pulling and smiling. Some other signs of speech-related signs of autism are, slow response reaction to their name, rely on their own sign language or pictures to communicate, or fail to understand gestures. Children who have speech delays do not automatically mean they have autism, but it is possible for children with autism to have speech delays, along with other communication challenges.

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Speech delays are very common among children with autism. But they are also common in children without autism.

There are, however, very real differences between speech delays in autism and other types of delays. In many cases, these differences are noticeable even to non-experts.

Significant speech delays are always a cause for some concern, but they are by no means always a sign of autism. This article will cover the reasons for speech delays and help you learn to recognize when they're related to autism.

How Speech Delays Differ in Autism

As most babies develop, they quickly learn that communication is the key to getting what they want. Long before they learn to use spoken language, little ones make eye contact, pull on sleeves, babble, point, and otherwise work hard to get their point across to adults and older children.

Over time, the majority of children learn to use spoken language because they get positive results from doing so. In addition, most children:

Are highly motivated by social responses such as smiles and hugs

Are naturally inclined to imitate the actions of people around them

Are likely to spend much more time observing people than observing things

Tend to be social beings who become quickly bored or lonely when left alone

Children with autism, however, may have social communication challenges that make social connection more difficult. While children with mild autism may be much more socially inclined than those with more severe autism, the same issues hold true across the spectrum.

For example, a child with autism:

May be more motivated by his or her own interests than by social responses

May rarely or never imitate others' actions

Be more interested in things than in people

Be content when left alone to pursue their own interests

All of these characteristics lead to different behaviors, desires, and outcomes.

Recap

Children with autism may have a harder time using or understanding non-verbal communication (such as pointing, pulling, and smiling). They may also have less interest in social communication for its own sake.

Symptoms of Autistic Speech Delay

The difference between autistic speech delays and other delays is fairly easy to spot. If you recognize your child in Bobby (listed below), it may be a good idea to consider having your child evaluated for autism.

Johnny isn't talking at all at age 2. But while he isn't saying words yet, he's using babbling sounds and body language to communicate with the people around him. He's pointing, pulling people toward things he wants, and engaging with other people. He actively enjoys playing with his parents and siblings. And he's frustrated when left alone to take a nap.

Bobby is the same age as Johnny. Bobby does have a few words, but he doesn't use them to communicate. Instead, he repeats them over and over to himself. Bobby has not yet figured out how to use gestures, sounds, or words to ask for something he wants. His parents find it almost impossible to hold his attention for more than a few seconds.

Johnny may have a speech delay that requires some form of early intervention. Possibilities include (but are not limited to):

Hearing loss

Apraxia of speech, a problem with control of muscles used in speech

Cognitive (thinking) challenges

Although Bobby is able to use a few words, he may be showing early signs of autism.

Speech-Related Signs of Autism

In addition to late speech, there are a number of other communication-related issues that could be signs of autism. In general, children with autism are more likely to:

Fail or be slow to respond to their name or other verbal attempts to gain their attention

Fail or be slow to develop gestures, such as pointing and showing things to others

Coo and babble in the first year of life, but then stop doing so

Develop language at a delayed pace

Learn to communicate using pictures or their own sign language

Speak only in single words or repeat certain phrases over and over, seeming unable to combine words into meaningful sentences

Repeat words or phrases that they hear, a condition called echolalia

Use words that seem odd, out of place, or have a special meaning known only to those familiar with the child's way of communicating

Children with autism often have speech delays, but speech delays alone do not mean your child has autism. Autistic speech delays usually occur along with other communication issues, such as not using gestures, not responding to their name, and not showing interest in connecting with people. Other possible causes of speech delays include hearing loss and developmental delays.

A Word From Verywell

If you're worried that your child may have autism, it's a good idea to have them evaluated. If the pediatrician determines that your child's significant speech delay is connected to autism, you'll be able to start therapy early and give your child the best chance of gaining effective communication skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age do children with autism start speaking?

It can vary widely among children with autism: Some begin using words earlier than typical children and others are nonverbal into adulthood. Based on research, though, children with autism usually begin producing words at 36 months, while the average child begins at around 12 to 18 months.

How can an autistic child who can't talk learn to communicate?

About 25% of children with autism will not develop the ability to speak. These children may be able to learn to communicate via sign language, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), or augmentative communication.

Additional Reading

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Learn How Late Speech Could Be, But Isn't Always, a Sign of Autism

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Speech delays are very common among children with autism. But they are also common in children without autism. There are, however, very real differences between speech delays in autism and other types of delays. In many cases, these differences are noticeable even to non-experts.

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This article talks about why people people binge watch tv shows and what goes through our brain. If I start a new show, I am binge watching it.  I either am able to finish the whole thing in one sitting or two to three. Inn this article Dr. Renee Carr explains that the reason we watch these shows that interest us, our brain produces dopamine. She states that this chemical produces a feeling of pleasure that reinforces your body to keep doing the activity you are doing. Your brain continuously produces dopamine as you continue to watch your favorite tv show non-stop. Eventually your brain craves the sense of binge-watching. When I start a show I like, it is very hard to stop watching. Eventually I tend to "crave" watching that show and doing absolutely nothing. When I finish this show I feel empty. This is because once we develop a certain degree of tolerance, our brains gradually create less dopamine from the same amount of activity. It becomes increasingly difficult to stop binge-watching since it requires more and more of the same activity to provide the same level of delight. The post feeling of finishing a show is called 'post-binge malaise’. This feeling just causes our anxiety and stress levels to increase.

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Now that we're not allowed to go out and spend every day of our lives at home, one of the things we do to fight boredom and anxiety aside from scrolling through our social media feeds is binge-watching.

It may not be a new concept as many people do this before especially on their favourite movies and shows through television and DVDs or what we call, movie marathon, but now, the concept of binge-watching is related to online streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, IFlix, Viu, etc.

According to a 2017 survey from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American watches 2.7 hours of TV per day or nearly 20 hours each week. Much of that time is spent binge-watching ;  a 2013 Netflix survey found that among nearly 1,500 surveyed TV streamers, 61% of users binge-watch shows regularly which in this case defined binge-watching as watching two or three episodes of a single series in one session.

While binge-watching is an intriguing phenomenon, neuroscience and psychology explains why we love to binge-watch and what happens to our brain when we binge-watch.

Binge-watching can be a form of addiction

Have you ever wondered why you feel good after watching episode after episode of your favourite series? According to Dr Renee Carr, a clinical psychologist, says it's due to the chemicals being released in our brain. This can be experienced when you watch films on soap 2 day.

'When engaged in an activity that's enjoyable such as binge-watching, your brain produces dopamine,' she explains. 'This chemical gives the body a natural, internal reward of pleasure that reinforces continued engagement in that activity. It is the brain's signal that communicates to the body, 'This feels good. You should keep doing this!' When binge-watching your favourite show, your brain is continually producing dopamine, and your body experiences a drug-like high. You experience a pseudo-addiction to the show because you develop cravings for dopamine.'

According to Dr Carr, the process we experience while binge-watching is the same one that occurs when a drug or other type of addiction begins. 'The neuronal pathways that cause heroin and sex addictions are the same as an addiction to binge-watching,' Dr Carr adds. 'Your body does not discriminate against pleasure. It can become addicted to any activity or substance that consistently produces dopamine.'

Over time, though, our brains produce less dopamine from the same level of activity as we build up a level of tolerance. It takes more and more of the same activity to give us that same feeling of enjoyment, making binge-watching that much harder to stop.

That being said, have you ever felt a kind of loss or mourning when you're forced to stop watching your favourite series (or when you finish the entire series)?

According to Matthew Schneier of the New York Times, that experience or feeling is called, 'post-binge malaise'. It is the mourning or emptiness we feel when we finish an entire series and it

According to a study from the University of Toledo, 'post-binge malaise' doesn't do us any good, because they found that binge-watchers reported higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Another research also shows that binge-watching streaming media is directly related to a reduction in sleep quality  -  an effect that isn't seen with traditional TV series when new episodes are only released once each week. And we all know that lack of sleep can affect our overall health and can make us prone to serious medical conditions such as heart diseases , high blood pressure, and obesity.

Humans are being completely immersed

Arjan Chatterjee, Professor of Neurology at Penn Medicine , binge-watching is about the person's experience of being completely immersed. According to him: 'Binge-watching is a very recent phenomenon, but there has been research done on immersion in literature and other kinds of narrative forms such as movies, and to some extent video games. Binge-watching, and long serial television shows would be similar to those categories of experiences.'

He also explains that: 'When watching a show or movie, or reading a book that you just can't put down, part of that "what happens next?" feeling comes from having put yourself in the role. "You forget about yourself as you're immersed. With good writing, you are transported away from where you are. You could be on your couch, but you lose track of the physicality of where you are when you're transported into the story.'

Humans connect emotionally to stories

According to Edward Titchener, a British psychologist, we become glued to complex, emotionally-charged stories because of our ability to recognise the feelings of others. A newly identified phenomenon at the time, he was the person who coined the term empathy in 1909.

In addition to identifying others' discomfort or elation, ' cognitive empathy ' examines how humans can also adopt others' psychological perspectives, including those of fictional characters. It's such a universal emotional state that psychological tests (through the use of puppets, pictures, and videos) have even been developed to study empathy in preschool-age children.

There was also another research that was conducted to study storytelling and the science of empathy. It was done by Paul Zak, a neuro-economist.

In his study, participants were shown a video about a boy with terminal cancer accompanied by the perspective of the boy's father. While the boy was carefree and unaware of his fate, his father understandably found his last months with his son difficult and trying.

There were two primary emotion that was shown by the participants - distress and empathy - as evidenced by raised levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and oxytocin (a hormone linked to human connection and empathy) in viewers.

Zak also found out that the amount of cortisol and oxytocin released in the participants served as a predictor of how much participants were willing to donate when offered the opportunity to donate money to a charity that helps sick children, after the video. The research then suggests that empathetic feelings are a testament to our compulsions as social beings - even in the case of a fictional narrative.

Binge-watching can be a stress reliever

While a study from the University of Toledo said that binge-watching increases stress, anxiety, and depression, Dr John Mayer, a clinical psychologist, believes that t he act of binge-watching can be a perfect stress management tool as it offers us a temporary escape from our daily lives.

According to him: ' We are all bombarded with stress from everyday living, and with the nature of today's world where information floods us constantly,' Dr Mayer says. 'It is hard to shut our minds down and tune out the stress and pressures. A binge can work like a steel door that blocks our brains from thinking about those constant stressors that force themselves into our thoughts. Binge-watching can set up a great boundary where troubles are kept at bay.'

Binge-watching can have a positive and negative effect on our health as it is wired like an addiction in our brain. However, most people use binge-watching as a stress reliever, especially in our current situation. Be a responsible binge-watcher and watch out for your health while enjoying the films and series you love. Happy watching!

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Now that we're not allowed to go out and spend every day of our lives at home, one of the things we do to fight boredom and anxiety aside from scrolling through our social media feeds is binge-watching.

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This article is about the effect on football players when an stadium is empty. As a athlete myself, I understand the importance of having a crowd affecting my performance. In this article studies showed that without the audience home teams score less and perform poorly compared to when they do have an audience. The audience plays a big part in the players performance, the audience plays a big part in motivation, and encouragement. Hearing people cheering you on is motivating because you know you are making people happy, you know you have people who count on you. Not having a audience can ruin this motivation for you. Most athletes play for their fans, people who look up to them. This article's study shows that an audience does not only affect the players but also the referees. The referees tend to give more fouls against the home team in an empty stadium. They hand out more red and yellow cards against the home team. Without the reaction of the fans, the referees might have trouble coming up with a final decision of what to do.

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Football without the fans: Effect of empty stadiums during pandemic

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Playing professional football games in empty stadiums had a hugely negative effect on the success of home teams, with home advantage almost halved, according to new research. The study used the unique opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to test whether home advantage applies when fans are…

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This article is about the effect on people attending concerts and what being in a crowd for the same artist does to our brain. This article says each person is having a better time as a member of a group when they attend a live event and listen to music together because their brain waves synchronize. The purpose of this study was to see if it is the music that is more relaxing strengthens the bonds between audience members, or if music that is more easy to listen to creates stronger bonds in the audience. They were curious to compare how having live performers affects your musical experience. In this study they hired a band to play in a group of people, they asked them to play 8 total songs, half lower groove and the other half higher groove. According to Grahn, "it turns out that you have higher synchronicity amongst the audience members in the live music condition than you do in the recorded condition or the situation where it's recorded and you don't have much of an audience to connect with."
The best synchronization occurs when live artists are present. She went on to say that it is less noticeable when seeing a tape of the performance as a big group and much less noticeable when viewing that recording in a small group.
"In this live scenario, the brain waves synced around the tempo at which individuals typically sense the beat. We refer to this as "the delta band."

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Summary: Brain waves of music listeners synchronize better when they attend a live concert, researchers report. Researchers say the findings indicate people enjoy music more when the performance is live and when experienced as part of a group.
Source: University of Western Ontario.
When individuals attend a live concert and listen to music as a group, their brains waves synchronize - a bond that indicates each individual is having a better time as part of a collective. The new findings, reported last month at a Cognitive Neuroscience Society meeting, are a reminder that humans are social creatures, said neuroscientist Jessica Grahn, a Western Psychology professor in the Brain and Mind Institute who co-led the study.
Grahn's research team partnered with McMaster University's LIVELab, a one-of-a-kind concert hall where scientists measure the brain waves of musicians and their audiences to determine how music creates undeniable social bonds. The team hired a band to perform for 24 participants in the audience, simultaneously measuring their brain wave data while also taking motion captures of how people move to music - live and recorded.

"We thought it would be neat to use the LIVELab to look at people listening to live music and recorded music and look at how social bonding is affected and how our brain wave synchrony is affected," Grahn explained.

The band was asked to play eight songs - half "high groove," half "low groove." Groove, in the psychology world, essentially means, 'How much does this music make you want to move.' High groove songs tend to have a more "funky, toe-tap" sound; low-groove songs are more relaxed, "easy-listening" tunes.

"We asked them to try as much as possible to keep basic acoustics the same, not to vary the loudness levels or the tempo too much between songs, but otherwise, they were free to interpret this however they wanted. We wanted this to be representative of what might happen in a real-world concert," Grahn added.

"We were interested in, for example, whether music that makes you want to move creates greater bonding across audience members, versus music that is more easy listening. We were interested in comparing what the presence of live performers does to your musical experience."

For the second set of data in the study, Grahn's team used a big screen in the LIVELab to present a video of the band's performance to the participants, using the lab's sophisticated acoustics to make sure the sound was identical to what had been perceived in the live performance.

Data was collected from a third condition, afterward, where participants experienced the recorded concert, but this time, instead of having a packed audience, there were three or four individuals sprinkled throughout the audience seating, so they couldn't really see each other or interact with each other, she noted.

Researchers collected electroencephalography (EEG) data from participants in all three conditions and looked at how well synchronized their brain waves became.

"It turns out that in the live music condition, you get greater synchrony between the audience members than you do in the recorded condition or the condition where it's recorded and you don't have much of an audience to interact with," Grahn explained.

Synchronization is greatest in the presence of live performers. It is less so when watching a recording of the performance as a larger group and even lesser when watching that recording in a small group, she continued.

"When the brain waves were synchronized in this live condition, they synchronized around the rate at which people tend to feel the beat. We call this 'the delta band.' This seemed to be the highest in the live condition."

This indicates greater enjoyment of music in the presence of a live performance, as well as greater enjoyment when experienced as part of a group.

Grahn's team also did a network analysis, looking at the synchrony between individuals in the audience. Results showed some individuals connected or had higher rates of synchrony with more individuals in the audience, while some didn't synchronize to the same degree.

"You might have one person who synchronizes quite a lot with several other audience members, and another person who isn't all that synchronized with very many other audience members. It varied from person to person exactly how much synchrony they had and how many other people they have that synchrony with," Grahn explained.

"It turned out people who had more synchronized connections to other audience members enjoyed the concert more and they also felt more connected to the performers than the people who showed fewer audience connections," she continued.

"There's something about the live performance that increases synchronization but also, if your synchronization is greater, the amount of social connectedness you have in terms of measures and brain synchrony, the more you are connected to the performers and the more you are enjoying it."

Grahn's research team also looked at bodily movement among audience members and found synchrony in motion among individuals, as well. Those who nodded their head to the beat indicated greater enjoyment and greater social affiliation at the concert.

There's some evidence that shows one of the reasons music evolved is because it allows large groups of people to synchronize their movement. When people move together, there is evidence they feel a sense of community and more altruistic, Grahn added.

"There's evidence with toddlers, if they're bounced in synchrony with another adult compared to out of sync, that they're more helpful to that adult later on. We were interested in whether people who moved together showed greater affiliation or a sense of liking the person near them that they moved with," she said.

About this neuroscience research article

Source: University of Western Ontario
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Abstract for "What makes musical rhythm special: cross-species, developmental, and social perspectives" by Vani G. Rajendran, Fleur L. Bouwer, Molly J. Henry, Laura K. Cirelli and Jessica Grahn was presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society meeting.

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title="MLA"]University of Western Ontario "Brain Waves Synchronize at Live Music Performances." NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 9 April 2018.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/music-brain-synch-8740/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title="APA"]University of Western Ontario (2018, April 9). Brain Waves Synchronize at Live Music Performances. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved April 9, 2018 from https://neurosciencenews.com/music-brain-synch-8740/[/cbtab][cbtab title="Chicago"]University of Western Ontario "Brain Waves Synchronize at Live Music Performances." https://neurosciencenews.com/music-brain-synch-8740/ (accessed April 9, 2018).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract What makes musical rhythm special: cross-species, developmental, and social perspectives
The ability to synchronize to musical rhythm by picking up on a regular 'beat' occurs spontaneously, in every human culture. Perceiving the beat enhances basic timing processes, perceptual accuracy, and social interactions, yet its mechanisms are poorly understood. It is also unclear when this ability develops, both developmentally and evolutionarily. Burgeoning interest in rhythm and beat interventions in movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease) and language disorders (e.g., dyslexia) means understanding the neural bases of rhythm and beat perception is becoming more important. Here, we approach beat perception from different angles, from the relationship between low-level sound features and beat perception to wider social and developmental implications. First, Rajendran discusses how beat perception arises from acoustic features, relating human behavioral data to spike rates in rodent auditory cortex. Subsequently, Bouwer examines a question of importance to many fields: do events that occur at 'expected' times (e.g., on the beat) show enhancement or suppression of associated neural and behavioural responses? Her EEG work manipulates different temporal expectations, dissociating expectations based on stimulus regularity and based on memory for stimulus timing. Henry adds a social perspective, assessing inter-subject synchronization of EEG signals in live versus videoed musical concerts, with and without other audience members being present. Audience members with greater inter-subject synchronization at the beat rate report greater enjoyment and social affiliation. Finally, Cirelli will considers the developmental relevance of beat perception, showing how infants' emotion and attention is altered by music with rhythmic qualities, with higher beat salience correlating with great attention.

Feel free to share this Neuroscience News.

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Brain Waves Synchronize at Live Music Performances

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Summary: Brain waves of music listeners synchronize better when they attend a live concert, researchers report. Researchers say the findings indicate people enjoy music more when the performance is live and when experienced as part of a group. Source: University of Western Ontario.

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history, approaches, and research methods 

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history, approaches, and research methods 

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This article is about the study published by researchers Danielle Cosme and Emily Falk of the reason why people share on social media. Their research shows the meaning is pretty straightforward. People share on social media because they feel the information is important to themselves or people they know. Humans are sociable creatures that like interacting with one another. Our brain's reward regions are activated when we share knowledge. Additionally, we take into account what the other person is thinking or wants to hear when we interact with them. This trait is known as social relevance. For this study, participants were showed multiple articles and social media posts about different topics, relating to the relevant matters of society and the world. They were then how likely they were to share the posts and articles to their social media. Majority said they were most likely to claim they would spread information they felt was important to themselves or their social circles.

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The average internet user spends nearly three hours a day using social media. It's clear that social media is becoming increasingly crucial to sharing important information with the public -- like how to stay safe from COVID-19, for example -- and researchers want to know what makes a piece of media compelling enough for people to share it online.

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General led by University of Pennsylvania researchers Danielle Cosme and Emily Falk analyzed the behavior of more than 3,000 individuals to explore the psychology behind sharing information online. It turns out that the answer is quite straightforward: People share information that they feel is meaningful to themselves or to the people they know. Cosme and her team test what contributes to "value-based virality" -- essentially that information on the internet can go viral because people find it inherently valuable, either to themselves or to society.

This finding is key to crafting effective messaging for social causes, says Cosme, a research director at the Annenberg School for Communication's Communication Neuroscience Lab. Knowing the psychological ingredients that make a person share a post on social media can help scientists share facts about climate change or public health officials dispel myths about vaccines.

Cosme's research shows that people pay more attention to information they perceive to be related to themselves.

Similarly, humans are social beings and love to connect with each other. Sharing information activates reward centers in our brain. And when we communicate with others, we consider what the other person is thinking or wants to hear -- a quality known as social relevance.

For Cosme's study, participants were exposed to articles and social media posts about health, climate change, voting, and COVID-19. Some participants read headlines and summaries of news articles, others looked at social media posts. All of the participants rated how likely they were to share each message and how relevant they found each one to themselves and to people they know.

The researchers found that no matter the topic covered or the medium of the message, people were most likely to say they'd share messages that they perceived as self- or socially relevant. Further, they found that when participants were asked to explicitly write out why a message was relevant to themselves or people they know, they were even more likely to share it than when they just reflected on the topic.

"Sharing information is a critical component of individual and collective action," Cosme says. "At the beginning of the pandemic, we needed to quickly spread accurate information about what was going on, how to protect ourselves, how to protect each other. Information spreading within social networks can be really impactful for changing our individual behavior, and also changing our collective behavior through shifting our perceptions of what's normative."

With data on tens of thousands of messages, Cosme and her colleagues at the Communication Neuroscience Lab believe this finding can help shape effective public messaging on social media. "We're interested in understanding how we can translate psychological theory into real-world interventions to try to promote behavior change," Cosme says.

One way to improve content sharing is to recruit people who find the content self- or socially relevant to share messages online. Another is to frame messages to be seen as more self- or socially relevant by audiences without tailoring the messages themselves.

"We developed message frames that could be paired with existing news and social media posts," says Falk, the study's senior author. "This means that the same prompts that worked in this study could be tested easily in other contexts as well."

The Communication Neuroscience Lab is continuing this research by looking at brain activity in relation to social media sharing. For these studies, the researchers are using fMRI scanners to understand how specific regions of the brain shape perceptions of self and social relevance.

Overall, the team hopes that the results of the study will give those wanting to create social change the tools to do so effectively. "Big issues require collective action," Cosme says. And spreading accurate information empowers individuals to join together and act.

"This study highlights key psychological ingredients that motivate people to share information about topics that impact our well-being," Falk says. "Sharing is one key lever for shifting cultural norms and motivating larger scale action, so it's really important to understand what makes it happen."

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social psychology; psychology; relationships; learning disorders; stem education; popular culture; media and entertainment; privacy issues

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What makes us share posts on social media?

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The average internet user spends nearly three hours a day using social media. It's clear that social media is becoming increasingly crucial to sharing important information with the public -- like how to stay safe from COVID-19, for example -- and researchers want to know what makes a piece of media compelling enough for people to share it online.

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I have always wondered how dogs understand human language. Especially those dogs that know how to respond with those buttons. I find it so crazy they know exactly what button to push when they want something and exactly what they want. According to a study done in this article, dogs are able to learn the names of items they are trained to learn, because of their strong ablity to "fast-map" new words. Fast mapping is the method of quickly picking up new words by comparing them to well-known ones. Fast-mapping is commonly used for young children that have trouble speaking at a young age. That is not even the crazy part. It is so shocking how smart dogs can be. They way they can be trained to close a door or sense a medical emergency, just doesn't make sense to me. Just like humans, dogs use specific parts of their brains to process different aspects of speech. They use their right side for emotional cues, and their left side for meanings of words. As a dog owner I wonder how my dog understands what I mean when I tell her that we are going on a walk. Most researchers give credit to evolution and necessity. They do believe that breeds do play a part in their intelligence level. And since we live so closely to them with time it encourages their ability in improvement in communication.

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history, approaches and research methods

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history, approaches and research methods

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Music is probably one of the biggest coping mechanisms today. There is just such a wide variety of it, there is a song for everyone. Music can be categorized as cognitive, emotional, social and physiological functions. In this article they give multiple examples on how music can create a connection with one another. Emotionally, for some it can provide a escape. According to this article it can also be a safe form of time-passing. A related theory is that music enhances social cohesiveness and boosts collective action efficiency. Lullabies, national anthems, have brought together families, communities. In a similar vein, music could offer a way to lessen social anxiety and control aggressive behavior in others. I know a lot of people who turn to music to ease their anxiety. Including me I use music to calm myself while I'm driving in stressful scenarios. I can't really explain what it is but I rely on music almost everyday.

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Abstract

Why do people listen to music? Over the past several decades, scholars have proposed numerous functions that listening to music might fulfill. However, different theoretical approaches, different methods, and different samples have left a heterogeneous picture regarding the number and nature of musical functions. Moreover, there remains no agreement about the underlying dimensions of these functions. Part one of the paper reviews the research contributions that have explicitly referred to musical functions. It is concluded that a comprehensive investigation addressing the basic dimensions underlying the plethora of functions of music listening is warranted. Part two of the paper presents an empirical investigation of hundreds of functions that could be extracted from the reviewed contributions. These functions were distilled to 129 non-redundant functions that were then rated by 834 respondents. Principal component analysis suggested three distinct underlying dimensions: People listen to music to regulate arousal and mood, to achieve self-awareness, and as an expression of social relatedness. The first and second dimensions were judged to be much more important than the third-a result that contrasts with the idea that music has evolved primarily as a means for social cohesion and communication. The implications of these results are discussed in light of theories on the origin and the functionality of music listening and also for the application of musical stimuli in all areas of psychology and for research in music cognition.

Keywords: music, functions of music, self-awareness, social relatedness, arousal regulation, mood regulation

Introduction

Music listening is one of the most enigmatic of human behaviors. Most common behaviors have a recognizable utility that can be plausibly traced to the practical motives of survival and procreation. Moreover, in the array of seemingly odd behaviors, few behaviors match music for commandeering so much time, energy, and money. Music listening is one of the most popular leisure activities. Music is a ubiquitous companion to people's everyday lives.

The enthusiasm for music is not a recent development. Recognizably musical activities appear to have been present in every known culture on earth, with ancient roots extending back 250,000 years or more (see Zatorre and Peretz, 2001). The ubiquity and antiquity of music has inspired considerable speculation regarding its origin and function.

Throughout history, scholars of various stripes have pondered the nature of music. Philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, musicologists, and neuroscientists have proposed a number of theories concerning the origin and purpose of music and some have pursued scientific approaches to investigating them (e.g., Fitch, 2006; Peretz, 2006; Levitin, 2007; Schäfer and Sedlmeier, 2010).

The origin of music is shrouded in prehistory. There is little physical evidence-like stone carvings or fossilized footprints-that might provide clues to music's past. Necessarily, hypotheses concerning the original functions of music will remain speculative. Nevertheless, there are a number of plausible and interesting conjectures that offer useful starting-points for investigating the functions of music.

A promising approach to the question of music's origins focuses on how music is used-that is, it's various functions. In fact, many scholars have endeavored to enumerate various musical functions (see below). The assumption is that the function(s) that music is presumed to have served in the past would be echoed in at least one of the functions that music serves today. Of course, how music is used today need have no relationship with music's function(s) in the remote past. Nevertheless, evidence from modern listeners might provide useful clues pertinent to theorizing about origins.

In proposing various musical functions, not all scholars have related these functions to music's presumed evolutionary roots. For many scholars, the motivation has been simply to identify the multiple ways in which music is used in everyday lives (e.g., Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham, 2007; Boer, 2009; Lonsdale and North, 2011; Packer and Ballantyne, 2011). Empirical studies of musical functions have been very heterogeneous. Some studies were motivated by questions related to development. Many related to social identity. Others were motivated by cognitive psychology, aesthetics, cultural psychology, or personality psychology. In addition, studies differed according to the target population. While some studies attempted to assemble representative samples of listeners, others explicitly focused on specific populations such as adolescents. Most studies rely on convenient samples of students. Consequently, the existing literature is something of a hodgepodge.

The aim of the present study is to use the extant literature as a point of departure for a fresh re-appraisal of possible musical functions. In Part 1 of our study, we summarize the results of an extensive literature survey concerning the possible functions of music. Specifically, we identified and skimmed hundreds of publications that explicitly suggest various functions, uses, or benefits for music. We provide separate overviews for the empirical literatures and the theoretical literatures. This survey resulted in just over 500 proposed musical functions. We do not refer to each of the identified publications but concentrate on the ones that have identified either more than one single function of music listening or a single unique function that is not captured in any other publication. In Part 2, we present the results of an empirical study whose purpose was to distill-using principal components analysis (PCA)-the many proposed functions of music listening. To anticipate our results, we will see that PCA suggests three main dimensions that can account for much of the shared variance in the proposed musical functions.

Review of the research on the functions of music

Discussions and speculations regarding the functions of music listening can be found in both theoretical literature concerning music as well as in empirical studies of music. Below, we offer a review of both literatures. The contents of the reviews are summarized in Tables , . Table provides an overview of theoretical proposals regarding musical function, whereas Table provides an overview of empirical studies regarding musical function. Together, the two tables provide a broad inventory of potential functions for music.

Theoretical approaches

Many scholars have discussed potential functions of music exclusively from a theoretical point of view. The most prominent of these approaches or theories are the ones that make explicit evolutionary claims. However, there are also other, non-evolutionary approaches such as experimental aesthetics or the uses-and-gratifications approach. Functions of music were derived deductively from these approaches and theories. In addition, in the literature, one commonly finds lists or collections of functions that music can have. Most of these lists are the result of literature searches; in other cases authors provide no clear explanation for how they came up with the functions they list. Given the aim of assembling a comprehensive list, all works are included in our summary.

Functions of music as they derive from specific approaches or theories

Evolutionary approaches. Evolutionary discussions of music can already be found in the writings of Darwin. Darwin discussed some possibilities but felt there was no satisfactory solution to music's origins (Darwin, 1871, 1872). His intellectual heirs have been less cautious. Miller ( 2000), for instance, has argued that music making is a reasonable index of biological fitness, and so a manifestation of sexual selection-analogous to the peacock's tail. Anyone who can afford the biological luxury of making music must be strong and healthy. Thus, music would offer an honest social signal of physiological fitness.

Another line of theorizing refers to music as a means of social and emotional communication. For example, Panksepp and Bernatzky ( 2002, p. 139) argued that

in social creatures like ourselves, whose ancestors lived in arboreal environments where sound was one of the most effective ways to coordinate cohesive group activities, reinforce social bonds, resolve animosities, and to establish stable hierarchies of submission and dominance, there could have been a premium on being able to communicate shades of emotional meaning by the melodic character (prosody) of emitted sounds.

A similar idea is that music contributes to social cohesion and thereby increases the effectiveness of group action. Work and war songs, lullabies, and national anthems have bound together families, groups, or whole nations. Relatedly, music may provide a means to reduce social stress and temper aggression in others. The idea that music may function as a social cement has many proponents (see Huron, 2001; Mithen, 2006; Bicknell, 2007).

A novel evolutionary theory is offered by Falk ( 2004a, b) who has proposed that music arose from humming or singing intended to maintain infant-mother attachment. Falk's "putting-down-the-baby hypothesis" suggests that mothers would have profited from putting down their infants in order to make their hands free for other activities. Humming or singing consequently arose as a consoling signal indicating caretaker proximity in the absence of physical touch.

Another interesting conjecture relates music to human anxiety related to death, and the consequent quest for meaning. Dissanayake ( 2009), for example, has argued that humans have used music to help cope with awareness of life's transitoriness. In a manner similar to religious beliefs about the hereafter or a higher transcendental purpose, music can help assuage human anxiety concerning mortality (see, e.g., Newberg et al., 2001). Neurophysiological studies regarding music-induced chills can be interpreted as congruent with this conjecture. For example, music-induced chills produce reduced activity in brain structures associated with anxiety (Blood and Zatorre, 2001).

More generally, Schubert ( 2009) has argued that the fundamental function of music is its potential to produce pleasure in the listener (and in the performer, as well). All other functions may be considered subordinate to music's pleasure-producing capacity. Relatedly, music might have emerged as a safe form of time-passing-analogous to the sleeping behaviors found among many predators. As humans became more effective hunters, music might have emerged merely as an entertaining and innocuous way to pass time during waking hours (see Huron, 2001).

The above theories each stress a single account of music's origins. In addition, there are mixed theories that posit a constellation of several concurrent functions. Anthropological accounts of music often refer to multiple social and cultural benefits arising from music. Merriam ( 1964) provides a seminal example. In his book, The anthropology of music, Merriam proposed 10 social functions music can serve (e.g., emotional expression, communication, and symbolic representation). Merriam's work has had a lasting influence among music scholars, but also led many scholars to focus exclusively on the social functions of music. Following in the tradition of Merriam, Dissanayake ( 2006) proposed six social functions of ritual music (such as display of resources, control, and channeling of individual aggression, and the facilitation of courtship).

Non-evolutionary approaches. Many scholars have steered clear of evolutionary speculation about music, and have instead focused on the ways in which people use music in their everyday lives today. A prominent approach is the "uses-and-gratifications" approach (e.g., Arnett, 1995). This approach focuses on the needs and concerns of the listeners and tries to explain how people actively select and use media such as music to serve these needs and concerns. Arnett ( 1995) provides a list of potential uses of music such as entertainment, identity formation, sensation seeking, or culture identification.

Another line of research is "experimental aesthetics" whose proponents investigate the subjective experience of beauty (both artificial or natural), and the ensuing experience of pleasure. For example, in discussing the "recent work in experimental aesthetics," Bullough ( 1921) distinguished several types of listeners and pointed to the fact that music can be used to activate associations, memories, experiences, moods, and emotions.

By way of summary, many musical functions have been proposed in the research literature. Evolutionary speculations have tended to focus on single-source causes such as music as an indicator of biological fitness, music as a means for social and emotional communication, music as social glue, music as a way of facilitating caretaker mobility, music as a means of tempering anxiety about mortality, music as escapism or transcendental meaning, music as a source of pleasure, and music as a means for passing time. Other accounts have posited multiple concurrent functions such as the plethora of social and cultural functions of music found in anthropological writings about music. Non-evolutionary approaches are evident in the uses-and-gratifications approach-which revealed a large number of functions that can be summarized as cognitive, emotional, social, and physiological functions-and the experimental aesthetics approach, whose proposed functions can similarly be summarized as cognitive and emotional functions.

Functions of music as they derive from literature research

As noted, many publications posit musical functions without providing a clear connection to any theory. Most of these works are just collections of functions of music from the literature. Not least, there are also accounts of such collections where it remained unclear how the author(s) came up with the functions contained. Some of these works refer to only one single function of music-most often because this functional aspect was investigated not with the focus on music but with a focus on other psychological phenomena. Yet other works list extensive collections of purported musical functions.

The vast majority of publications identify several possible musical functions, most of which-as stated above-are clearly focused on social aspects. Several comprehensive collections have been assembled, such as those by Baacke ( 1984), Gregory ( 1997), Ruud ( 1997), Roberts and Christenson ( 2001), Engh ( 2006), and Laiho ( 2004). Most of these studies identified a very large number of potential functions of music.

By way of summary, there exists a long tradition of theorizing about the potential functions of music. Although some of these theories have been deduced from a prior theoretical framework, none was the result of empirical testing or exploratory data-gathering. In the ensuing section, we turn to consider empirically-oriented research regarding the number and nature of potential musical functions.

Empirical investigations

A number of studies have approached the functions of music from an empirical perspective. Two main approaches might be distinguished. In the first approach, the research aim is to uncover or document actual musical functioning. That is, the research aims to observe or identify one or more ways in which music is used in daily life. In the second approach, the research goal is to infer the structure or pattern underlying the use of music. That is, the research aims to uncover potential basic or fundamental dimensions implied by the multiple functions of music. This is mostly done using PCA or factor analyses or cluster analyses that reduce a large number of functions to only a few basic dimensions. In some cases, the analyses are run exploratively whereas in other cases, they are run in a confirmatory way, that is-with a predefined number of dimensions. The empirical studies can be categorized according to several criteria (see Table ​TableA2). A2 ). However, when discussing some of the most important works here, we will separate studies where respondents were asked for the functions of music in open surveys from studies where the authors provided their own collections of functions, based on either literature research or face validity.

Surveys about the functions music can have

A number of studies have attempted to chronicle the broad range of musical functions. Most of these studies employed surveys in which people were asked to identify the ways in which they make use of music in their lives. In some studies, expert interviews were conducted in order to identify possible functions. Table ​TableA2 A2 provides a summary of all the pertinent studies including their collections of functions and-where applicable-their derived underlying dimensions. We will restrict our ensuing remarks to the largest and most comprehensive studies.

The various surveys and interview studies clearly diverge with regard to the number of different musical functions. Similarly, the various cluster and factor analyses often end up producing different numbers of distinct dimensions. Nevertheless, the results are often quite similar. On a very broad level, there are four categories that appear consistently: social functions, emotional functions, cognitive or self-related functions, and physiological or arousal-related functions (see also Hargreaves and North, 1999; Schäfer and Sedlmeier, 2009, 2010).

Empirical studies using predefined collections of functions of music

Apart from the open-ended surveys and interview methods, a number of studies investigating musical functions begin with researcher-defined collections or even categories/dimensions. Some of these predefined collections or categories/dimensions were simply borrowed from the existing published research, whereas others were derived from specific theoretical perspectives.

Empirical studies on functions of music emerging from specific theoretical approaches. Some of the above mentioned theoretical approaches to the functionality of music have been investigated in empirical studies. Boehnke and Münch ( 2003) developed a model of the relationship of adolescents' development, music, and media use. They proposed seven functions of music that relate to the developmental issues of young people (such as peer group integration, physical maturation, or identity development). In two studies with a large number of participants, Lonsdale and North ( 2011) applied the model of media gratification (from McQuail et al., 1972) and used a collection of 30 functions of music they assembled from literature research and interviews. In both studies, they ran factor analyses-reducing the number of functions to six dimensions and eight dimensions, respectively. Lehmann ( 1994) developed a situations-functions-preference model and proposed that music preferences emerge from the successful use of music to serve specific functions for the listener, depending on the current situation. Lehmann identified 68 ways in which people use music, from which he was able to reduce them to 15 music reception strategies (Rezeptionsweisen) such as compensation/escapism, relaxation, and identification. Misenhelter and Kaiser ( 2008) adopted Merriam's ( 1964) anthropological approach and attempted to identify the functions of music in the context of music education. They surveyed teachers and students and found six basic functions that were quite similar to the ones proposed by Merriam ( 1964). Wells and Hakanen ( 1997) adopted Zillmann's ( 1988a, b) mood management theory and identified four types of users regarding the emotional functions of music: mainstream, music lover, indifferent, and heavy rockers.

Empirical studies on functions of music emerging from literature research. A number of studies have made use of predefined musical functions borrowed from the existing research literature. The significance of these functions and/or their potential underlying structure has then been empirically investigated using different samples. As mentioned, not all of those studies tried to assemble an exhaustive collection of musical functions in order to produce a comprehensive picture of the functions of music; but many studies were focused on specific aspects such as the emotional, cognitive, or social functions of music.

Schäfer and Sedlmeier ( 2009) collected 17 functions of music from the literature and found functions related to the management of mood and arousal as well as self-related functions to be the ones that people highly ascribe to their favorite music. Tarrant et al. ( 2000) used a collection of 10 functions of music from the literature and factor analyzed them resulting in three distinct dimensions of music use: self-related, emotional, and social.

By way of summary, extant empirical studies have used either an open approach-trying to capture the variety of musical functions in the course of surveys or questionnaire studies-or predefined collections of functions as they resulted from specific theoretical approaches or from literature research. These different approaches have led to quite heterogeneous collections of possible musical functions-from only few functions posited by a specific hypothesis, to long lists arising from open surveys. Moreover, although the many attempts to distill the functions of music to fewer dimensions have produced some points of agreement, the overall picture remains unclear.

The structure among the functions of music

With each successive study of musical functions, the aggregate list of potential uses has grown longer. Questionnaire studies, in particular, have led to the proliferation of possible ways in which music may be relevant in people's lives. Even if one sidesteps the question of possible evolutionary origins, the multitude of hundreds of proposed functions raises the question of whether these might not be distilled to a smaller set of basic dimensions.

As noted earlier, previous research appears to converge on four dimensions: social functions (such as the expression of one's identity or personality), emotional functions (such as the induction of positive feelings), cogni tive or self-related functions (such as escapism), and arousal-related functions (such as calming down or passing time). These four dimensions might well account for the basic ways in which people use music in their daily lives.

Notice that cluster analysis and PCA/factor analysis presume that the research begins with a range of variables that ultimately capture all of the factors or dimensions pertaining to the phenomenon under consideration. The omission of even a single variable can theoretically lead to incomplete results if that variable proves to share little variance in common with the other variables. For example, in studying the factors that contribute to a person's height, the failure to include a variable related to developmental nutrition will led to deceptive results; one might wrongly conclude that only genetic factors are important. The validity of these analyses depends, in part, on including a sufficient range of variables so that all of the pertinent factors or dimensions are likely to emerge.

Accordingly, we propose to address the question of musical functions anew, starting with the most comprehensive list yet of potential music-related functions. In addition, we will aim to recruit a sample of participants covering all age groups, a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, and pursue our analysis without biasing the materials to any specific theory.

Fundamental functions of music-a comprehensive empirical study

The large number of functions of music that research has identified during the last decades has raised the question of a potential underlying structure: Are there functions that are more fundamental and are there others that can be subsumed under the fundamental ones? And if so, how many fundamental functions are there? As we have outlined above, many scientists have been in search of basic distinct dimensions among the functions of music. They have used statistical methods that help uncover such dimensions among a large number of variables: factor analyses or cluster analyses.

However, as we have also seen, the approaches and methods have been as different as the various functions suggested. For instance, some scholars have focused exclusively on the social functions of music while others have been interested in only the emotional ones; some used only adolescent participants while others consulted only older people. Thus, these researchers arrived at different categorizations according to their particular approach. To date, there is still no conclusive categorization of the functions of music into distinct dimensions, which makes psychological studies that rely on the use of music and its effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior still difficult (see also Stefanija, 2007). Although there exist some theoretically driven claims about what fundamental dimensions there might be (Tarrant et al., 2000; Laiho, 2004; Schubert, 2009; Lonsdale and North, 2011), there has been no large-scale empirical study that analyzed the number and nature of distinct dimensions using the broad range of all potential musical functions-known so far-all at once.

We sought to remedy this deficiency by assembling an exhaustive list of the functions of music that have been identified in past research and putting them together in one questionnaire study. Based on the research reviewed in the first part of this study, we identified more than 500 items concerned with musical use or function. Specifically, we assembled an aggregate list of all the questions and statements encountered in the reviewed research that were either theoretically derived or used in empirical studies. Of course, many of the items are similar, analogous, or true duplicates. After eliminating or combining redundant items, we settled on a list of 129 distinct items. All of the items were phrased as statements in the form "I listen to music because ... " The complete list of items is given in Table , together with their German versions as used in our study.

Method

Participants were asked to rate how strongly they agreed with each item-statement on a scale from 0 ( not at all) to 6 ( fully agree). When responding to items, participants were instructed to think of any style of music and of any situation in which they would listen to music. In order to obtain a sample that was heterogeneous with regard to age and socioeconomic background, we distributed flyers promoting the Internet link to our study in a local electronics superstore. Recruitment of participants was further pursued via some mailing lists of German universities, students from comprehensive schools, and members of a local choir. As an incentive, respondents got the chance to win a tablet computer. A total of 834 people completed the survey. Respondents ranged from 8 to 85 years of age ( M = 26, SD = 10.4, 57% female).

Notice that in carrying out such a survey, we are assuming that participants have relatively accurate introspective access to their own motivations in pursuing particular musical behaviors, and that they are able to accurately recall the appropriate experiences. Of course, there exists considerable empirical research casting doubt on the accuracy of motivational introspection in self-report tasks (e.g., Wilson, 2002; Hirstein, 2005; Fine, 2006). These caveats notwithstanding, in light of the limited options for gathering pertinent empirical data, we nevertheless chose to pursue a survey-based approach.

Results

Principal component analysis revealed three distinct dimensions behind the 129 items (accounting for about 40% of the variance), based on the scree plot. This solution was consistent over age groups and genders. The first dimension (eigenvalue: 15.2%) includes statements about self-related thoughts (e.g., music helps me think about myself), emotions and sentiments (e.g., music conveys feelings), absorption (e.g., music distracts my mind from the outside world), escapism (e.g., music makes me forget about reality), coping (e.g., music makes me believe I'm better able to cope with my worries), solace (e.g., music gives comfort to me when I'm sad), and meaning (e.g., music adds meaning to my life). It appears that this dimension expresses a very private relationship with music listening. Music helps people think about who they are, who they would like to be, and how to cut their own path. We suggest labeling this dimension self-awareness. The second dimension (eigenvalue: 13.7%) includes statements about social bonding and affiliation (e.g., music helps me show that I belong to a given social group; music makes me feel connected to my friends; music tells me how other people think). People can use music to feel close to their friends, to express their identity and values to others, and to gather information about their social environment. We suggest labeling this dimension social relatedness. The third dimension (eigenvalue: 10.2%) includes statements about the use of music as background entertainment and diversion (e.g., music is a great pastime; music can take my mind off things) and as a means to get into a positive mood and regulate one's physiological arousal (e.g., music can make me cheerful; music helps me relax; music makes me more alert). We suggest labeling this dimension arousal and mood regulation. All factor loadings are reported in Table ​TableA3 A3 .

In order to analyze the relative significance of the three derived dimensions for the listeners, we averaged the ratings for all items contained in each dimension (see Figure ​Figure1). 1 ). Arousal and mood regulation proved to be the most important dimension of music listening closely followed by self-awareness. These two dimensions appear to represent the two most potent reasons offered by people to explain why they listen to music, whereas social relatedness seems to be a relatively less important reason (ranging below the scale mean). This pattern was consistent across genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, and age groups. All differences between the three dimensions are significant (all p s < 0.001). The reliability indices (Cronbach's α) for the three dimensions are α = 0.97 for the first, α = 0.96 for the second, and α = 0.92 for the third dimension.

General discussion

Since the earliest writing on the psychology of music, researchers have been concerned with the many ways in which people use music in their lives. In the first part of this paper, we reviewed literature spanning psychological, musicological, biological, and anthropological perspectives on musical function. The picture that emerged from our review was somewhat confusing. Surveying the literature from the past 50 years, we identified more than 500 purported functions for music. From this list, we assembled a somewhat catholic list of 129 non-redundant musical functions. We then tested the verisimilitude of these posited functions by collecting survey responses from a comparatively large sample. PCA revealed just three distinct dimensions: People listen to music to achieve self-awareness, social relatedness, and arousal and mood regulation. We propose calling these the Big Three of music listening.

In part one of our study we noted that several empirical studies suggest grouping musical functions according to four dimensions: cognitive, emotional, social/cultural, and physiological/arousal-related functions. This raises the question of how our three-dimensional result might be reconciled with the earlier work. We propose that there is a rather straightforward interpretation that allows the four-dimensional perspective to be understood within our three-dimensional result. Cognitive functions are captured by the first dimension (self-awareness); social/cultural functions are captured by the second dimensions (social relatedness); physiological/arousal-related functions are captured by the third dimension (arousal and mood regulation); and emotional functions are captured by the first and third dimensions (self-awareness + arousal and mood regulation). Notably-as can be seen with the items in Table -there is a dissociation of emotion-related and mood-related functions. Emotions clearly appear in the first dimension (e.g., music conveys feelings; music can lighten my mood; music helps me better understand my thoughts and emotions), indicating that they might play an important role in achieving self-awareness, probably in terms of identity formation and self-perception, respectively. However, the regulation of moods clearly appears in the third dimension (e.g., music makes me cheerful; music can enhance my mood; I'm less bored when I listen to music), suggesting that moods are not central issues pertaining to identity. Along with the maintenance of a pleasant level of physiological arousal, the maintenance of pleasant moods is an effect of music that might rather be utilized as a "background" strategy, that is, not requiring a deep or aware involvement in the music. The regulation of emotions, on the other side, could be a much more conscious strategy requiring deliberate attention and devotion to the music. Music psychology so far has not made a clear distinction between music-related moods and emotions; and the several conceptions of music-related affect remain contentious (see Hunter and Schellenberg, 2010). Our results appear to call for a clearer distinction between moods and emotions in music psychology research.

As noted earlier, a presumed evolutionary origin for music need not be reflected in modern responses to music. Nevertheless, it is plausible that continuities exist between modern responses and possible archaic functions. Hence, the functions apparent in our study may echo possible evolutionary functions. The three functional dimensions found in our study are compatible with nearly all of the ideas about the potential evolutionary origin of music mentioned in the introduction. The idea that music had evolved as a means for establishing and regulating social cohesion and communication is consistent with the second dimension. The idea of music satisfying the basic human concerns of anxiety avoidance and quest for meaning is consistent with the first dimension. And the notion that the basic function of music could have been to produce dissociation and pleasure in the listener is consistent with the third dimension.

In light of claims that music evolved primarily as a means for promoting social cohesion and communication-a position favored by many scholars-the results appear noteworthy. Seemingly, people today hardly listen to music for social reasons, but instead use it principally to relieve boredom, maintain a pleasant mood, and create a comfortable private space. Such a private mode of music listening might simply reflect a Western emphasis on individuality: self-acknowledgement and well-being appear to be more highly valued than social relationships and relatedness (see also Roberts and Foehr, 2008; Heye and Lamont, 2010).

The results of the present study may be of interest to psychologists who make use of music as a tool or stimulus in their research. The way people usually listen to music outside the laboratory will surely influence how they respond to musical stimuli in psychological experiments. For those researchers who make use of music in psychological studies, some attention should be paid to how music is used in everyday life. The three dimensions uncovered in this study can provide a parsimonious means to identify the value a person sets on each of three different types of music use. It is also conceivable that individual patterns of music use are related to personality traits, a conjecture which may warrant future research.

With regard to music cognition, the present results are especially relevant to studies about aesthetic preferences, style or genre preferences, and musical choice. Recent research suggests that musical functions play an important role in the formation and development of music preferences (e.g., Schäfer and Sedlmeier, 2009; Rentfrow et al., 2011). It will be one of the future tasks of music cognition research to investigate the dependence of music preference and music choice on the functional use of music in people's lives.

By way of summary, in a self-report study, we found that people appear to listen to music for three major reasons, two of which are substantially more important than the third: music offers a valued companion, helps provide a comfortable level of activation and a positive mood, whereas its social importance may have been overvalued.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Appendix

Table A1

Table A2

Table A3

I listen to music ... [Ich höre Musik ...]

Statistics

Factor loadings

M

SD

1

2

3

References

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The psychological functions of music listening

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Why do people listen to music? Over the past several decades, scholars have proposed numerous functions that listening to music might fulfill. However, different theoretical approaches, different methods, and different samples have left a heterogeneous ...