Music Psychology

Several studies investigate the influence of music performances on mental variables such as mood, cognition, wellbeing and so on. Thereby, mainly effects of passive musical reception were studied. However, we expect more significant effects when the preoccupation with music is not only passive, but also active through singing, dancing or making music. In our investigations, we focus on health-psychological and emotion-regulatory aspects of music lessons. In terms of a positive psychology, we consider active musical action as a salutogenetic dimension that is used by individuals, depending on their personality traits, for regulating stress. In this area, we cooperate closely with Prof. Dr. G. Kreutz, Institute for Music, Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Stephan Bongard (bongard@psych.uni-frankfurt.de)