Emotionspsychologie und Musik

While the problem of definition still remains unsolved there is some agreement that an emotion consists of three distinctive responses. Research on these response modes - subjective feelings, expressive behavior, and physiological responses - is reported. The description and differentiation of these emotional phenomena is followed by the question of why we have or do not have certain emotions. Neurophysiological as well as cognitive explanations are discussed. From the standpoint of psychology, music can be seen as an emotional stimulus as well as a means to communicate ones feelings. Both perspectives may be fruitful for research and instruction. Finally the paradigm of classical conditioning, which may explain how music can become an emotional stimulus, is described, together with methods to measure the emotional impact of music. (DIPF/Orig.