The Melody of Marketing
Content
Cherny 1
Igor Cherny Marketing 450 Professor Matthews Business Honors Ad Hoc Research Assignment The Melody of Marketing: Neuropsychology of Music and the Adolescent Consumer Market ABSTRACT
Adolescence is considered to be the critical period when individuals explore and develop their musical tastes. It is the music of this period that people tend to be nostalgic about in adulthood. Part of the reason has to do with the social and emotional turbulence associated with the teenage years, which leads adolescents to rely on music as a vehicle for creating social bonds, expressing identity, and regulating mood. The other oth er reason is rooted in neuroscience. The adolescent brain is extremely active in forming new neural connections, accounting for the increased influence of external experiences during this period. Moreover, the hippocampus, which is integral to memory storage and retrieval, is particularly receptive to experiences we encounter during periods that are emotionally emotionall y charged (as in adolescence), and is more likely to instill those in our long-term memory. This paper will delve into the social and psychological roles music plays for adolescents, and based on this understanding, offer ways for marketers to harness the power of music to reach the adolescent consumer market. INTRODUCTION
Music is an intrinsically human element, even predating lan guage as a form of communication and a way of creating social bonds. The effect of music on emotion and social interaction cannot be understated. Indeed, some of our most intimate moments rely on music to enhance our experiences. Weddings, funerals, prayer, sporting events, romantic occasions, and virtually all forms of dance are accompanied by music that seeks to deepen the emotional and social experience of those hearing it.
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The group for whom music is perhaps most significant is adolescents. Adolescents look to music to fulfill their individual and social needs. In 2001, 94 percent reported being be ing interested in music (a higher percentage than sports even) even ) (Bjurstrom & Wennhall, 1991, as cited in North, Hargreaves, & O‘Neill, 2000). Adolescents interact with music at a greater level than perhaps
any other age group, actively engaging in listening, sharing, creating, performing, and consuming music. Between 7th and 12th grade, American adolescents average 10,500 hours of elected listening to pop music (David, 1985, as cited in North et al. 2000).1 Studies reveal that adolescents spend from two and a half to four hours listening to music each day da y (Lyle & Hoffman, 1972, as cited in North & Hargreaves H argreaves 1999). Beyond merely listening to music, 70 percent of the adolescents reported currently playing or having played an instrument in the past (North et al., 2000). Moreover, people under the age of 20 buy 22 percent of all CDs (Leonhard, 2005) and 70 percent of popular music recordings (Brake, 1985, as cited in Arnett 1985) making adolescents ―the single largest group of prospective music consumers‖ (Leonhard 98). Beyond any level of doubt, music plays an exceedingly important role in adolescents‘ lives. When trying to sell to adolescent consumers, therefore, marketers have in music an extraordinary tool with which to influence adolescents‘ buying decisions. What is it about the way the human brain processes music that enables music to have so powerful an effect on our emotions, social interactions, and consumption? Why are adolescents predisposed to respond so strongly to music? By exploring the answers to these questions, this paper seeks to inform marketers of the ways in which music can be effectively harnessed to reach the adolescent consumer market.
1
10,000 hours of practice is required to be a world-class expert in anything an ything (Levitin 197).
Cherny 3 NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC
2
Like other phenomena in psychology, the way humans process and respond to music can be better understood by looking at the influences of nature and nurture — that is, how the physiology of the brain and our upbringing coalesce to impact the way we engage with music. Our ability to perceive music has evolved over millions of years of evolution and interaction with the environment. One of the most exquisite characteristics of music is that processing it involves nearly every region of the brain. Specific regions process the structural elements in music (i.e. pitch, rhythm, melody, loudness, harmony, tempo, and meter), while other regions coordinate our response as it pertains to emotion, cognition, and movement. Just the emotional response to music involves at least three regions of the brain (Levitin 271). Acquiring a comprehensive understanding of this process is too ambitious of an endeavor for this paper. It is worthwhile, however, to delineate, in basic terms, what causes some of the emotional reactions to music. Why emotional reactions? Consumer research studies have shown that the emotional responses evoked by music are among the primary factors influencing consumer behavior and attitude in response to music (Alpert & Alpert, 2000). In this way, understanding how music produces affective responses in people is important for marketers‘ ability to use music when selling to consumers (specifically adolescents, as is the focus of this pape r). I will begin by explaining the neuropsychology behind our responses to music. First off, not all sound is music, and not all music evokes an emotional response from the listener. What we perceive as sound is merely the vibration of air molecules at various frequencies (Levitin 22). These frequencies, in turn, represent what is termed pitch. Each note
2
Dr. Levitin‘s book, This is Your Brain on Music, provided much of the substance for this section and is credited for inspiring this paper.
Cherny 4
corresponds to a particular pitch. The relations in notes (i.e. pitch) are what ultimately define music. Pitch is the first thing the brain processes when we hear a sound. It is one of the most decisive elements affecting our emotional response to music (Levitin 26 ). Our ability to distinguish between different pitches enables us to appreciate music. This ability stems from human physiology, and specifically the basilar membrane in the inner ear. The basilar membrane contains hair cells that function in a way like the notes on a piano keyboard: the hair cells in the inner ear — like the notes on a piano — correspond to different frequencies, firing only when those frequencies are encountered. This factor accounts for why certain sounds can sound pleasant to some people and not to others (241). This incredible feature of the brain further determines the ability of a particular instrument to influence our emotions. Instrumentation is important in determining the range of emotions that can be conveyed. While the piano has the largest range of pitches, other instruments are limited to a certain subset of pitches they can produce, which influences the range of emotions their music can evoke. This is illustrated by the effect of low versus high pitches. A single high note can convey excitement, while a single low note can evoke sadness (Levitin 26; Bruner, 1990). By extension, an instrument that is limited to producing high notes (a piccolo, for instance) is predisposed to evoking happy, animated emotions, while an instrument such as a tuba tends to communicate more grave and solemn emotions.3 Of course, instruments playing simultaneously have the ability to produce more nuanced range of emotions. For many songs, it is not just the absolute pitch (high or low), but the relations in pitch that are most memorable. The relation in pitch is referred to as melody. The dorsal temporal lobes just behind the ears are attuned to the distances between pitches, while overall melody is processed 3
It is not yet understood why certain pitches have particular emotional effects, only that they do.
Cherny 5
by the cerebral cortex, the higher-level region inside the brain (Levitin 263). Familiar music has been shown to activate both these regions and the hippocampus — a structure in the center of the brain crucial for memory encoding and retrieval. Melodies are particularly significant in our ability to recognize music because even when nearly all other elements are manipulated or changed — key, timbre, pitches, volume, tempo, rhythm — we are still able to recognize a piece of music by virtue of its relation in pitches. For some songs, it only takes two or three notes for us to identify what piece it is. The variety of ways McDonald‘s presents its jingle is an ex ample of how melody can preserve the identity of a piece of music in our heads even when all else changes. There are also downsides to our ability to identify songs by melody, as when a song gets irritably stuck in our heads (what scientists call ear worms). The best explanation thus far for this phenomenon is that ―neural circuits representing a song get stuck in ‗playback mode‘‖ (Levitin 155). This is more likely to happen to people for whom music is more important than less, and with simple songs than with complex ones (155; Beaman & Williams, 2010). While melody can at times distract our thoughts, rhythm will control our bodies. Rhythm refers to relations in note lengths; it‘s what we tap our foot to. Processing rhythm is one of the many functions of the cerebellum — the most primitive part of the human brain (Levitin 263). Our reaction to rhythm in music, therefore, is a reflection of our ancient roots, when the cerebellum was the primary region of the brain that processed music. This evolutionary element helps to account for the development in our musical tastes. The music of our distant ancestors was heavily rhythmic (Levitin 263). As our brains evolved, so did our tastes in music. With the development of the cerebral cortex, melody began playing an increasingly important role in the music many people liked. Nevertheless, our receptiveness to
Cherny 9
experiences are more deeply ingrained into our memory banks. The hippocampus has been shown to be particularly active during emotionally charged times — that is, when the emotional center in our brains — the amygdala — is active (Levitin 167). The teenage period of music listening is most significant from a n eurological sense because this is when individuals begin to take a real interest in exploring their musical preferences before their solidification just prior to adulthood. More accurately, while there isn‘t exactly a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music, people have more or less settled on their tastes by the age of 18 or 20. This has to do with myelination and the pace at which our brains form new neural connections. ―Myelin is a fatty substance that coats the axons, speeding up synaptic transmission‖ (Levitin 233). In general, the younger we are, the more rapidly our brains form new neural connections. The rapidity with which we form new neural connections enables us to learn easier (our schemas expand at a faster rate). Following adolescence, myelination of the whole brain is complete (generally by age twenty) and the speed of neural connection formation slows down. As a result, we increasingly come to prefer the things that are most familiar, while becoming less open to new experiences. The new music that we listen to becomes incorporated into the schemas of the music we were listening to during adolescence (233). Thus, adolescence is the critical period when we solidify our tastes in music (231; North & Hargreaves, 1995, as cited in North et al. 2000). In these ways, the brain directly processes and responds to specific structural elements in music, including pitch, timbre, melody, rhythm, and loudness. Manipulating these elements can provoke different affective responses. Moreover, through adolescence, brain development with age is associated with an increase in the rate at which we learn and adjust to external stimuli. The schemas our brain forms to contextualize our experiences and perceptions are expanding during
Cherny 10
this time, enabling external stimuli to be encoded into memory more easily during adolescence. Once adulthood hits (around age 20), the rate of neural connection formation slows down, resulting in, more or less, the solidification of our musical preferences to the extent that the new music we hear becomes associated with the music we heard during the critical period of adolescence. Having delineated some of the neurological conditions that affect the way adolescents engage with music, the next section will discuss some of the social and emotional functions that music plays for adolescents. ROLE OF MUSIC FOR ADOLESCENTS
Earlier last year, a horrible tragedy took place at the fraternity where I live. My fraternity brothers and I were in a state of shock over what happened and had difficulty comprehending the incident. As if out of habit, I gravitated towards the piano in our living room, and began playing a piece that was very personal for me, and that enabled me to convey the range of emotions I was feeling. By way of powerful, exuberant chords, suspenseful themes, and soft, calm melodies, this piece by Chopin had somehow managed to embody the array of emotions I was feeling — emotions otherwise difficult to articulate. As an avid piano player, I have come to appreciate the value of music as an effective tool for self-expression. I have been playing for around eleven years, and have grown increasingly reliant on playing music (especially classical) as a means of relieving stress, coping with sadness or anxiety, or conveying excitement. Similarly, adolescents have been turning to music to satisfy their personal and social needs. Adolescence presents a time of developmental challenges as we transition from childhood to adulthood. During adolescence, we thirst for new experiences as we set out to find our own identity. Music becomes a central part of this endeavor as we discover that it is extraordinarily
Cherny 11
effective as a vehicle for expressing our emotions and values. There is a song we listen to when we‘re sad, a song for when we‘re excited, and maybe even a song that we fall asleep to. There
are songs that embody our love to party, our attitude towards school, and our experience in relationships. Moreover, we seek out peers who share our values and emotions. The music we listen to thus becomes ―a mark of personal and group identity and distinction‖ (Levitin 232). There is a sea of literature dealing with the issue of the importance of music to adolescents. What follows is a brief overview of what some of the researchers have concluded. In general, music appears to serve a dual purpose for adolescents: individual and social. Broadly speaking, music functions at the individual level by assisting in mood regulation, which could include helping adolescents cope, relieve tension, distract from worries, pass time, and relieve boredom. Music‘s social function plays a crucial role in the way adolescents connect with peers and express their identity. Despite these functions, adolescents often do not have specific goals in mind when they engage with music. Although adolescents rely on music to fulfill their various individual and social needs, music for them is not a goal in itself. That is, they indulge their penchant for music more at the intuitive level (as something they just feel like doing), rather than at the conscious and deliberate one. Adolescents‘ need for mood regulation — considered the primary reason for music
consumption (Christoneson & Roberts, 1998) — arises out of the emotional unrest engendered by the developmental challenges adolescents face (Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). Through mood regulation, adolescents endeavor to modify or maintain the occurrence, duration, and intensity of negative and positive moods (Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). Moods, as separate from emotions, are longer in duration and lack a specific cause (Alpert & Alpert, 1990; Gross, 1998, as cited in Saarikallio & Erkkilä 2007).
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Crowther, R., & Durkin, K. (1982). Sex- and age-related differences in the musical behavior, ____ interests, and attitudes towards music of 232 secondary school students. Educational ____ Studies, 8, 131-139. Darley, W. K., & Johnson, D. M. (2003). Effects of female adolescent locus of control on ____ shopping behavior, fashion orientation and information search. The International Review of ____ Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 3(2), 149-165. Gardner, M. P. (1985). Mood states and consumer behavior: A critical review. Journal of ____ Consumer Research, 13, 281-300. Gross, J. J. (1998). Sharpening the Focus: Emotion Regulation, Arousal, and Social Competence. ____ Psychological Inquiry, 9(4), 287 – 90. Hettena, C. M. & Ballif, B. L. (1981). Effects of Mood on Learning. Journal of Educational ____ Psychology, 73(4), 505-508. Kellaris, J. K., Cox, A. D., & Cox, D. (1993a). The Effect of Background Music on Ad ____ Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Kellaris, J. J., & Rice, R. (1993b). The Influence of Tempo, Loudness, and Gender of Listener on ____ Responses to Music. Psychology & Marketing , 10(1), 15-29. Levitin, D. J. (2006). This is Your Brain on Music. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Leonhard, G., & Kusak, D. (2005). The Future of Music. Boston, MA: Berklee Press. Miranda D., Claes, M. (2009). Music listening, coping, peer affiliation and depression in ____ adolescence. Psychology of Music, 37(2): 215-233. Moschis, G. P., & Moore, R. L. (1983). A longitudinal study of the development of purchasing ____ patterns. In P.E. Murphy et al. (eds) 1983 A MA Educators’ Proceedings, Chicago: ____ American Marketing Association, pp. 114-117. North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Adolescent Identity. Music Education ____ Research, 1(1), 75-92. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D.J. and O‘Neill, S. A. (2000). The Importance of Music to ____ Adolescents. British Journal of Education Psychology, 70, 255 – 72. O‘Neill, S. A., & Boulton, M. J. (1996). Boys‘ and girls‘ preferences for musical instruments: A ____ function of gender? Psychology of Music, 24, 171-183.
Raviv, A., Bar-Tal, D., Raviv, A., & Ben-Horin. (1996). Adolescent idolization of pop singers: ____ Causes, expressions, and reliance. Journal Of youth and Adolescence, 25, 631-650.
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Saarkillio, A., & Erkkilä, J. (2007). The role of music in adolescents‘ mood regulation. ____ Psychology of Music, 35, 88-109. Snow, R. P. (1987). Youth, rock ‗n‘ roll, and electronic media. Youth Society, 18, 326-343.
Yalch, R. F., & Spangenberg, E. (1990). Effects of store music on shopping behavior. Journal of ____ Consumer Marketing, 7, 55-63. Zillmann, D., & Bhatia, A. (1989). Effects of associating with musical genres on heterosexual ____ attraction. Communication Research, 16, 263-288.
Igor Cherny Marketing 450 Professor Matthews Business Honors Ad Hoc Research Assignment The Melody of Marketing: Neuropsychology of Music and the Adolescent Consumer Market ABSTRACT
Adolescence is considered to be the critical period when individuals explore and develop their musical tastes. It is the music of this period that people tend to be nostalgic about in adulthood. Part of the reason has to do with the social and emotional turbulence associated with the teenage years, which leads adolescents to rely on music as a vehicle for creating social bonds, expressing identity, and regulating mood. The other oth er reason is rooted in neuroscience. The adolescent brain is extremely active in forming new neural connections, accounting for the increased influence of external experiences during this period. Moreover, the hippocampus, which is integral to memory storage and retrieval, is particularly receptive to experiences we encounter during periods that are emotionally emotionall y charged (as in adolescence), and is more likely to instill those in our long-term memory. This paper will delve into the social and psychological roles music plays for adolescents, and based on this understanding, offer ways for marketers to harness the power of music to reach the adolescent consumer market. INTRODUCTION
Music is an intrinsically human element, even predating lan guage as a form of communication and a way of creating social bonds. The effect of music on emotion and social interaction cannot be understated. Indeed, some of our most intimate moments rely on music to enhance our experiences. Weddings, funerals, prayer, sporting events, romantic occasions, and virtually all forms of dance are accompanied by music that seeks to deepen the emotional and social experience of those hearing it.
Cherny 2
The group for whom music is perhaps most significant is adolescents. Adolescents look to music to fulfill their individual and social needs. In 2001, 94 percent reported being be ing interested in music (a higher percentage than sports even) even ) (Bjurstrom & Wennhall, 1991, as cited in North, Hargreaves, & O‘Neill, 2000). Adolescents interact with music at a greater level than perhaps
any other age group, actively engaging in listening, sharing, creating, performing, and consuming music. Between 7th and 12th grade, American adolescents average 10,500 hours of elected listening to pop music (David, 1985, as cited in North et al. 2000).1 Studies reveal that adolescents spend from two and a half to four hours listening to music each day da y (Lyle & Hoffman, 1972, as cited in North & Hargreaves H argreaves 1999). Beyond merely listening to music, 70 percent of the adolescents reported currently playing or having played an instrument in the past (North et al., 2000). Moreover, people under the age of 20 buy 22 percent of all CDs (Leonhard, 2005) and 70 percent of popular music recordings (Brake, 1985, as cited in Arnett 1985) making adolescents ―the single largest group of prospective music consumers‖ (Leonhard 98). Beyond any level of doubt, music plays an exceedingly important role in adolescents‘ lives. When trying to sell to adolescent consumers, therefore, marketers have in music an extraordinary tool with which to influence adolescents‘ buying decisions. What is it about the way the human brain processes music that enables music to have so powerful an effect on our emotions, social interactions, and consumption? Why are adolescents predisposed to respond so strongly to music? By exploring the answers to these questions, this paper seeks to inform marketers of the ways in which music can be effectively harnessed to reach the adolescent consumer market.
1
10,000 hours of practice is required to be a world-class expert in anything an ything (Levitin 197).
Cherny 3 NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC
2
Like other phenomena in psychology, the way humans process and respond to music can be better understood by looking at the influences of nature and nurture — that is, how the physiology of the brain and our upbringing coalesce to impact the way we engage with music. Our ability to perceive music has evolved over millions of years of evolution and interaction with the environment. One of the most exquisite characteristics of music is that processing it involves nearly every region of the brain. Specific regions process the structural elements in music (i.e. pitch, rhythm, melody, loudness, harmony, tempo, and meter), while other regions coordinate our response as it pertains to emotion, cognition, and movement. Just the emotional response to music involves at least three regions of the brain (Levitin 271). Acquiring a comprehensive understanding of this process is too ambitious of an endeavor for this paper. It is worthwhile, however, to delineate, in basic terms, what causes some of the emotional reactions to music. Why emotional reactions? Consumer research studies have shown that the emotional responses evoked by music are among the primary factors influencing consumer behavior and attitude in response to music (Alpert & Alpert, 2000). In this way, understanding how music produces affective responses in people is important for marketers‘ ability to use music when selling to consumers (specifically adolescents, as is the focus of this pape r). I will begin by explaining the neuropsychology behind our responses to music. First off, not all sound is music, and not all music evokes an emotional response from the listener. What we perceive as sound is merely the vibration of air molecules at various frequencies (Levitin 22). These frequencies, in turn, represent what is termed pitch. Each note
2
Dr. Levitin‘s book, This is Your Brain on Music, provided much of the substance for this section and is credited for inspiring this paper.
Cherny 4
corresponds to a particular pitch. The relations in notes (i.e. pitch) are what ultimately define music. Pitch is the first thing the brain processes when we hear a sound. It is one of the most decisive elements affecting our emotional response to music (Levitin 26 ). Our ability to distinguish between different pitches enables us to appreciate music. This ability stems from human physiology, and specifically the basilar membrane in the inner ear. The basilar membrane contains hair cells that function in a way like the notes on a piano keyboard: the hair cells in the inner ear — like the notes on a piano — correspond to different frequencies, firing only when those frequencies are encountered. This factor accounts for why certain sounds can sound pleasant to some people and not to others (241). This incredible feature of the brain further determines the ability of a particular instrument to influence our emotions. Instrumentation is important in determining the range of emotions that can be conveyed. While the piano has the largest range of pitches, other instruments are limited to a certain subset of pitches they can produce, which influences the range of emotions their music can evoke. This is illustrated by the effect of low versus high pitches. A single high note can convey excitement, while a single low note can evoke sadness (Levitin 26; Bruner, 1990). By extension, an instrument that is limited to producing high notes (a piccolo, for instance) is predisposed to evoking happy, animated emotions, while an instrument such as a tuba tends to communicate more grave and solemn emotions.3 Of course, instruments playing simultaneously have the ability to produce more nuanced range of emotions. For many songs, it is not just the absolute pitch (high or low), but the relations in pitch that are most memorable. The relation in pitch is referred to as melody. The dorsal temporal lobes just behind the ears are attuned to the distances between pitches, while overall melody is processed 3
It is not yet understood why certain pitches have particular emotional effects, only that they do.
Cherny 5
by the cerebral cortex, the higher-level region inside the brain (Levitin 263). Familiar music has been shown to activate both these regions and the hippocampus — a structure in the center of the brain crucial for memory encoding and retrieval. Melodies are particularly significant in our ability to recognize music because even when nearly all other elements are manipulated or changed — key, timbre, pitches, volume, tempo, rhythm — we are still able to recognize a piece of music by virtue of its relation in pitches. For some songs, it only takes two or three notes for us to identify what piece it is. The variety of ways McDonald‘s presents its jingle is an ex ample of how melody can preserve the identity of a piece of music in our heads even when all else changes. There are also downsides to our ability to identify songs by melody, as when a song gets irritably stuck in our heads (what scientists call ear worms). The best explanation thus far for this phenomenon is that ―neural circuits representing a song get stuck in ‗playback mode‘‖ (Levitin 155). This is more likely to happen to people for whom music is more important than less, and with simple songs than with complex ones (155; Beaman & Williams, 2010). While melody can at times distract our thoughts, rhythm will control our bodies. Rhythm refers to relations in note lengths; it‘s what we tap our foot to. Processing rhythm is one of the many functions of the cerebellum — the most primitive part of the human brain (Levitin 263). Our reaction to rhythm in music, therefore, is a reflection of our ancient roots, when the cerebellum was the primary region of the brain that processed music. This evolutionary element helps to account for the development in our musical tastes. The music of our distant ancestors was heavily rhythmic (Levitin 263). As our brains evolved, so did our tastes in music. With the development of the cerebral cortex, melody began playing an increasingly important role in the music many people liked. Nevertheless, our receptiveness to
Cherny 9
experiences are more deeply ingrained into our memory banks. The hippocampus has been shown to be particularly active during emotionally charged times — that is, when the emotional center in our brains — the amygdala — is active (Levitin 167). The teenage period of music listening is most significant from a n eurological sense because this is when individuals begin to take a real interest in exploring their musical preferences before their solidification just prior to adulthood. More accurately, while there isn‘t exactly a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music, people have more or less settled on their tastes by the age of 18 or 20. This has to do with myelination and the pace at which our brains form new neural connections. ―Myelin is a fatty substance that coats the axons, speeding up synaptic transmission‖ (Levitin 233). In general, the younger we are, the more rapidly our brains form new neural connections. The rapidity with which we form new neural connections enables us to learn easier (our schemas expand at a faster rate). Following adolescence, myelination of the whole brain is complete (generally by age twenty) and the speed of neural connection formation slows down. As a result, we increasingly come to prefer the things that are most familiar, while becoming less open to new experiences. The new music that we listen to becomes incorporated into the schemas of the music we were listening to during adolescence (233). Thus, adolescence is the critical period when we solidify our tastes in music (231; North & Hargreaves, 1995, as cited in North et al. 2000). In these ways, the brain directly processes and responds to specific structural elements in music, including pitch, timbre, melody, rhythm, and loudness. Manipulating these elements can provoke different affective responses. Moreover, through adolescence, brain development with age is associated with an increase in the rate at which we learn and adjust to external stimuli. The schemas our brain forms to contextualize our experiences and perceptions are expanding during
Cherny 10
this time, enabling external stimuli to be encoded into memory more easily during adolescence. Once adulthood hits (around age 20), the rate of neural connection formation slows down, resulting in, more or less, the solidification of our musical preferences to the extent that the new music we hear becomes associated with the music we heard during the critical period of adolescence. Having delineated some of the neurological conditions that affect the way adolescents engage with music, the next section will discuss some of the social and emotional functions that music plays for adolescents. ROLE OF MUSIC FOR ADOLESCENTS
Earlier last year, a horrible tragedy took place at the fraternity where I live. My fraternity brothers and I were in a state of shock over what happened and had difficulty comprehending the incident. As if out of habit, I gravitated towards the piano in our living room, and began playing a piece that was very personal for me, and that enabled me to convey the range of emotions I was feeling. By way of powerful, exuberant chords, suspenseful themes, and soft, calm melodies, this piece by Chopin had somehow managed to embody the array of emotions I was feeling — emotions otherwise difficult to articulate. As an avid piano player, I have come to appreciate the value of music as an effective tool for self-expression. I have been playing for around eleven years, and have grown increasingly reliant on playing music (especially classical) as a means of relieving stress, coping with sadness or anxiety, or conveying excitement. Similarly, adolescents have been turning to music to satisfy their personal and social needs. Adolescence presents a time of developmental challenges as we transition from childhood to adulthood. During adolescence, we thirst for new experiences as we set out to find our own identity. Music becomes a central part of this endeavor as we discover that it is extraordinarily
Cherny 11
effective as a vehicle for expressing our emotions and values. There is a song we listen to when we‘re sad, a song for when we‘re excited, and maybe even a song that we fall asleep to. There
are songs that embody our love to party, our attitude towards school, and our experience in relationships. Moreover, we seek out peers who share our values and emotions. The music we listen to thus becomes ―a mark of personal and group identity and distinction‖ (Levitin 232). There is a sea of literature dealing with the issue of the importance of music to adolescents. What follows is a brief overview of what some of the researchers have concluded. In general, music appears to serve a dual purpose for adolescents: individual and social. Broadly speaking, music functions at the individual level by assisting in mood regulation, which could include helping adolescents cope, relieve tension, distract from worries, pass time, and relieve boredom. Music‘s social function plays a crucial role in the way adolescents connect with peers and express their identity. Despite these functions, adolescents often do not have specific goals in mind when they engage with music. Although adolescents rely on music to fulfill their various individual and social needs, music for them is not a goal in itself. That is, they indulge their penchant for music more at the intuitive level (as something they just feel like doing), rather than at the conscious and deliberate one. Adolescents‘ need for mood regulation — considered the primary reason for music
consumption (Christoneson & Roberts, 1998) — arises out of the emotional unrest engendered by the developmental challenges adolescents face (Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). Through mood regulation, adolescents endeavor to modify or maintain the occurrence, duration, and intensity of negative and positive moods (Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007). Moods, as separate from emotions, are longer in duration and lack a specific cause (Alpert & Alpert, 1990; Gross, 1998, as cited in Saarikallio & Erkkilä 2007).
Cherny 23
Crowther, R., & Durkin, K. (1982). Sex- and age-related differences in the musical behavior, ____ interests, and attitudes towards music of 232 secondary school students. Educational ____ Studies, 8, 131-139. Darley, W. K., & Johnson, D. M. (2003). Effects of female adolescent locus of control on ____ shopping behavior, fashion orientation and information search. The International Review of ____ Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 3(2), 149-165. Gardner, M. P. (1985). Mood states and consumer behavior: A critical review. Journal of ____ Consumer Research, 13, 281-300. Gross, J. J. (1998). Sharpening the Focus: Emotion Regulation, Arousal, and Social Competence. ____ Psychological Inquiry, 9(4), 287 – 90. Hettena, C. M. & Ballif, B. L. (1981). Effects of Mood on Learning. Journal of Educational ____ Psychology, 73(4), 505-508. Kellaris, J. K., Cox, A. D., & Cox, D. (1993a). The Effect of Background Music on Ad ____ Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Kellaris, J. J., & Rice, R. (1993b). The Influence of Tempo, Loudness, and Gender of Listener on ____ Responses to Music. Psychology & Marketing , 10(1), 15-29. Levitin, D. J. (2006). This is Your Brain on Music. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Leonhard, G., & Kusak, D. (2005). The Future of Music. Boston, MA: Berklee Press. Miranda D., Claes, M. (2009). Music listening, coping, peer affiliation and depression in ____ adolescence. Psychology of Music, 37(2): 215-233. Moschis, G. P., & Moore, R. L. (1983). A longitudinal study of the development of purchasing ____ patterns. In P.E. Murphy et al. (eds) 1983 A MA Educators’ Proceedings, Chicago: ____ American Marketing Association, pp. 114-117. North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Adolescent Identity. Music Education ____ Research, 1(1), 75-92. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D.J. and O‘Neill, S. A. (2000). The Importance of Music to ____ Adolescents. British Journal of Education Psychology, 70, 255 – 72. O‘Neill, S. A., & Boulton, M. J. (1996). Boys‘ and girls‘ preferences for musical instruments: A ____ function of gender? Psychology of Music, 24, 171-183.
Raviv, A., Bar-Tal, D., Raviv, A., & Ben-Horin. (1996). Adolescent idolization of pop singers: ____ Causes, expressions, and reliance. Journal Of youth and Adolescence, 25, 631-650.
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Saarkillio, A., & Erkkilä, J. (2007). The role of music in adolescents‘ mood regulation. ____ Psychology of Music, 35, 88-109. Snow, R. P. (1987). Youth, rock ‗n‘ roll, and electronic media. Youth Society, 18, 326-343.
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