Interpersonal Influences on Children's Emotional Responses to New Age Music

This study investigated the effects of interpersonal context and age on children's emotional responses to new age music. One hundred and twenty participants aged 9-10 and 13-14 years listened to four excerpts either alone, or in groups of three. Immediately after listening, they rated the emotions aroused by the excerpts on eight five point-scales based on a circumplex model which conceives of four quadrants of emotional response: positive/negative affect, and high/low arousal. The results showed that participants gave significantly higher ratings on four of the eight scales when listening in groups rather than when listening alone, and that the younger children gave significantly higher ratings on positive emotional states (relaxed, excited, energetic) and liking, whereas the older children gave significantly higher ratings on negative emotions (irritated, bored). These findings suggest the influence of both social and developmental factors upon children 's emotional responses to music; namely group effects, and younger children 's higher tolerance for unfamiliar styles.