31. January 2009 by John Schinnerer.

John L. Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Positive psychology is the science behind the pursuit of a happy, meaningful, thriving life.

Positive psychology has emerged at the beginning of a new millennium as a movement within psychology and other social sciences targeted at augmenting human strengths and optimizing human functioning. In other words, how we move from simply surviving to truly thriving. It is influencing how we live, how we work, and how we teach our children.  Research is taking off at top universities throughout the world - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Barbara Fredrickson), Claremont Graduate School (Jeanne Nakamura, Mike Csikszentmihalyi), University of Michigan (Chris Peterson, Kim Cameron, Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship), Case Western University (Richard Boyatzis, David Cooperrider), University of Illinois (Ed Diener), University of Pennsylvania (Marty Seligman), and UCLA (Shelley Taylor).

One area that has been scarcely looked at is the point of intersection between positive psychology and music. What music can we listen to that enables us to thrive, to be more resilient, to be relaxed, to learn best, to be most productive at work?

As music affects each individual slightly differently, there may be no hard and fast answers. Or perhaps there are some generalizations that can be made. In either case, it’s worth pursuing.

Posted in Emotional mind, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Emotional management, Organizational psychology, Music psychology, Resiliency, Positive mood music, Happiness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Realistic optimism, Creativity, Life coach, Guide to Self, Positive Psychology | Print | 1 Comment »

31. January 2009 by John Schinnerer.

John L. Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Positive psychologist

Amateur musicologist

Music heavily influences how we feel.

The mood of a song can influence emotion in a constructive or a destructive direction.Joyful, energetic songs elicit happiness.

Sad, slow tempo songs elicit sadness.

Emotion influences how we perceive people and things.

Destructive emotions, such as sadness, anger and fear, greatly narrow attention to a sharp point.

Constructive emotions, such as happiness, surprise and curiosity, broaden attention.

When attention is broadened, we take in new information more effectively.

Positive, uplifting music helps to create constructive emotions which aid the learning of new information.

Here are a few positive psychology songs to keep your spirits elevated throughout the day…

Feel free to add your own suggestions!

Sun Is Shining                                                 Bob Marley

Peace Love and Happiness                            Bob Marley

Don’t Worry, Be Happy                                  Bobby McFerrin

Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)                Brenton Brown

Darlin` Do Not Fear                                        Brett Dennen

Jump Jive An’ Wail                                         Brian Setzer Orchestra

Rock This Town                                              Brian Setzer Orchestra

Child Of Mine                                                 Carole King

Peace Train                                                     Cat Stevens

Love Can Move Mountains                           Celine Dion

I’m Every Woman                                           Chaka Kahn or Whitney Houston

Zoot Suit Riot                                                 Cherry Poppin’ Daddies

Dreamer                                                          Chris Brown

Remember, happiness is contagious! Smile!

About the Author

Dr. John Schinnerer is in private practice helping individuals learn happiness by mitigating destructive emotions and fostering constructive emotions. His practice is located in the Danville San Ramon Medical Center at 913 San Ramon Valley Blvd., #280, Danville, California 94526. He graduated summa cum laude from U.C. Berkeley with a Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Schinnerer has been an executive and psychologist for over 12 years. Dr. John Schinnerer is President and Founder of Guide To Self, a company that coaches clients to their potential using the latest in positive psychology, mindfulness and attentional control. Dr. John Schinnerer hosted over 200 episodes of Guide To Self Radio, a prime time radio show, in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Dr. Schinnerer’s areas of expertise range from positive psychology, to emotional awareness, to ethical development, to marketing and psychology. Dr. Schinnerer wrote the award-winning, “Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought,” which is available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and AuthorHouse.com.  

Posted in Men's emotions, Subconscious mind, Emotional management, The human brain, Resiliency, Music psychology, Energy psychology, Mindfulness, Emotional mind, Positive mood music, Life coach, Creativity, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Happiness, Customer Engagement, Staying calm, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

30. January 2009 by John Schinnerer.

John L. Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Music has an undeniable power to evoke emotion. Music is present at every important social gathering – weddings, funerals, birthdays, inaugurations and more. Every ‘normal’ human being responds to music’s mysterious ability to tap into the boundless ocean that is human emotion.

Why does music evoke emotion?

How does music affect emotion?

Is music a basic human need like shelter, food and meaningful work?

Such questions cut to the very core of human nature. Answers to these questions would help to clarify the unique role of music in our lives.

It has been shown in research that different types of music evoke different emotional reactions (in most people). For example, Lewis, Dember, Schefft and Radenhausen determined the effects of music versus videos on several assessments of mood - the Optimism/Pessimism Questionnaire, the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List, and the Wessman-Ricks Elation and Depression Scale (1). Experts rated a number of songs and videos as either positive or negative. The study found that songs had a major impact on mood, yet the videos did not. Not surprisingly, music that was  rated positively increased participants’ positive moods. It was exactly the oppositve for negative (i.e., sad) music. As you may have guessed, the mood of a piece of music tends to induce the same mood in the listener.

Chastain, Seibert, and Ferraro (2) backed up these findings and found that certain music narrowed particpants’ attention. It was found that participants attended to and recalled words that matched the mood of the music. In and of itself, this is not surprising.

More surprising are the results reported by Stratton and Zalanowski (3) where the mood of the music influenced how participants perceived paintings. The music influenced mood and mood influenced perception. In the study, paintings were paired together with music. Each piece of music was either depressing or positive in the emotion it evoked per the experts. Particpants rated the emotions evoked by the paintings as well as the songs.  Participants categorized the paintings by the type of music to which the listened, but not vice versa. In other words, paintings rated as sad by the experts were perceived as sad by participants when paired with sad music. Yet those same paintings were perceived as positive when paired with happy music; the same findings were reported when positive paintings were paired with happy or sad music, respectively.

Amazingly, the way in which we perceive a seemingly static object is not as objective as first thought. The emotions invoked by music influence not only our ears, but our eyes as well. Emotions likely influence every one of our senses (i.e., smell, touch, taste, mind). 

If emotions and music can influence our senses and how we perceive objects around us, what about other people?  Do music and emotion exert an influence on how we perceive other people?  They do.

The effects of music on emotion influence how we perceive the facial expressions of others. extends to interpersonal interactions. In a fascinating study, Bouhuys, Bloem and Groothuis looked at the extent to which music influences how participants read the facial expression of emotions of others (5).  Music had a considerable effect. After hearing sad music, participants rated neutral faces as showing more rejection and sadness and less openness and happiness, despite the absense of any such emotions in the faces.

Although it is not clear why music has such an influence on our emotions, mood and behaviors, it seems clear that music does alter how we perceive the world around us. Temporary emotions caused by music change what we pay attention to, what we perceive, and how we interact with others. It brings into question the notion that there is one objective reality that can ultimately be accurately perceived.  

References

(1) Lewis, L.M., Dember, W. N., Scheff, B. K. and Radenhausen, R. A. (1995) Can experimentally induced mood affect optimism and pessimism scores? Curr. Psychol.: Devel., Learn., Person., Social., 14, 29-41.

(2) Chastain, G., Seibert, P.S., and Ferraro, F. R. (1995) Mood and lexical access of positive, negative, and neutral words. J. General Psychol., 122, 137-157.

Posted in Men's emotions, Emotional management, Mindfulness, Energy psychology, Music psychology, Emotional mind, Positive mood music, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Emotional IQ, Happiness, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »

30. January 2009 by John Schinnerer.

John L. Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Music strongly influences the mind on a number of levels. Music engages both verbal and auditory skills and can even involve visual skills. Recent research (2008) by Dr. Michael S. Gazzaniga of the University of California at Santa Barbara found that an interest in music leads to a high state of motivation that produces the sustained attention necessary to improve performance and the training of attention that leads to improvement in other domains such as math and writing.   

Posted in Music psychology, Energy psychology, Guide to Self, Dr. John Schinnerer | Print | No Comments »

30. January 2009 by John Schinnerer.

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Music may be good for the heart, suggests a 2005 study published in Heart, which shows that it is tempo, rather than type of music, that relieves stress and slows the heart.

While it was a small study (n=24), the findings show that up tempo music with more intricate rhythms, sped up breathing and blood circulation, regardless of style. Fast-paced classical and techno music had the greatest impact. Interestingly, it was the silence between notes and songs that had the largest effect. Quick tempo music increased the degree of physiological arousal. Similarly, slower tempo music had an opposite effect, lowering arousal and slowing the heart rate.

However, during the pauses, during the silence, all physiological indicators relaxed (i.e., heart and breathing rates fell below those which were recorded at the beginning of the experiment prior to participants listening to any music). This effect occurred, regardless of the musical style or the participants’ musical tastes.

The Positive Psychology Music Project

I have compiled a list of over 200 songs which have been vetted for positivity. In other words, there is something about each of the songs that promotes happiness, hope, optimism, interest, joy, contentment, serenity, energy, excitement, gratitude and/or playfulness. I  listen to these songs daily in a conscious effort to experience greater frequency of positive emotions (to inch closer towards Barb Fredrickson’s positivity ration of 3:1!).

So here are a few songs that I like to use to keep my mood and emotions positive and upbeat…

Gnarls Barkley  - Crazy  (2006)

Gladiator soundtrack – Hans Zimmer - The Battle

Finley Quaye – Your love gets sweeter (Reggae)

Elvis Costello - (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

Dirty Vegas – Days Go By (Techno/dance)

Rascal Flatts – Life is a Highway (Modern country)

The Chords – Sh-Boom (50s)

Carrie Underwood – Jesus, Take the Wheel (country)

Bob Marley – Three Little Birds (reggae)

Beethoven - Adagio Molto E Cantabile – Symphony No. 9 Choral

Beethoven – Molto Vivace – Symphony No. 9 Choral

10,000 Maniacs or Cat Stevens – Peace Train

High School Musical - Get’cha Head in the Game (Disney - childrens)

Jack Johnson – With my own two hands (From Curious George movie soundtrack)

Jack Johnson – We’re going to be friends (Cover of White Stripes song)

Rihanna – Pon de replay (Dance)

KT Tunstall – Black Horse and the Cherry Tree

Los Lonely Boys – Heaven

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Soundtrack – The Return of the King (w/James

Mary J. Blige – Family Affair

Black Eyed Peas – Where is the love?

Johnny Nash – I can see clearly now

Paul Simon – Father and daughter

Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack – Black Pearl, Will and Elizabeth, and more (modern classical)

Rancid – Fall back down (punk)

Simon and Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy in

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression (Alt Country)

Peter Tosh – Johnny B. Goode (reggae)

Richard Wagner - Die Walkure - The Ride Of The Valkyries (Classical)

The Who – Love Reign O’er Me

Posted in Emotional mind, Emotional management, Music psychology, Positive mood music, Happiness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Positive Psychology | Print | No Comments »