Listening to classical, pop, and metal music: an investigation of mood.

Abstract

We investigated the effects of different types of music on moods. Participants were (N = 54) undergraduate college students enrolled in psychology courses. We hypothesized that type of music condition would influence participants’ moods. Results showed several statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test reported moods in each of the three music conditions. Specifically, classical music increased participants ’ feelings of ease while heavy metal music increased feelings of tension and nervousness. Pop music had a similar effect to classical music as participants reported increases in feelings of ease and decreases in moods related to worry and tension.