Hear what you feel, feel what you hear: The effect of musical sequences on emotional processing

Music has a unique ability to access affective and motivational systems of the brain. However, there is a gap in research on the association between musical stimuli and their impact on emotional processing, a crucial component for the success of the therapeutic process. The present study thus sought to explore both the capacity of music to access the affective system, to induce emotions, and to change emotional states, as well as to facilitate emotional processing leading to the resolution of emotional distress. Pascual-Leone and Greenberg’s validated sequential model of emotional processing in psychotherapy, was used to test this dual capacity. Three musical sequences with distinct components were developed and presented in an online platform. One musical sequence followed the order of the sequential model (first experimental sequence), another musical sequence inverted that same order (second experimental sequence), and the last musical sequence was intended to serve as a baseline (control sequence). All musical sequences, not only led to alterations in participant’s emotional states, but also led to an increase of participant’s emotional resolution. Some of the results were surprising, since the control sequence also led to an increase of emotional resolution and the first experimental sequence didn’t present itself as the winning candidate by leading to a higher emotional resolution. Nevertheless, these surprising results demonstrated that emotional processing could occur under different experiences of music and allow future studies to keep exploring this relationship.