The effects of preferred music, non-preferred music, and silence on anxiety, relaxation, and muscle tension

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of preferred music, nonpreferred music, and silence on measures of state anxiety, relaxation, and muscle tension. Nine subjects were selected from a pool of ninety students after passing criteria for trait anxiety and musical experience. Each of the nine subjects was tested individually for a total of three testing sessions, using one condition (preferred music, nonpreferred music, or silence) per session. Pretests-posttests of state anxiety and relaxation were administered during each condition, and muscle tension was measured using an electromyogram. Results were calculated with a repeated measures analysis of variance and Pearson product-moment correlations. A main effect was discovered between subjects in the measure of state anxiety, as well as a difference between conditions on the measure of relaxation. It was found also that state anxiety and relaxation were correlated significantly under silence. State anxiety and EMG muscle tension were related inversely under preferred music, while other EMG correlations were associated with low correlation coefficients. Lastly, a trend appeared for preferred music to induce lesser anxiety and greater relaxation than nonpreferred music.

Keyword(s): preferred-music, nonpreferred-music, silence, relaxation, anxiety, muscle-tension.

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