Does Listening to Music Regulate Negative Affect in a Stressful Situation? Examining the Effects of Self-Selected and Researcher-Selected Music Using Both Silent and Active Controls

Background: Stress and anxiety are increasingly common among young people. The current research describes two studies comparing the effects of self-selected and researcher-selected music on induced negative affect (state anxiety and physiological arousal), and state mindfulness. Method: In Study 1, 70 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: researcher-selected music, self-selected music, or a silent control condition. In Study 2, with 75 undergraduates, effects of music were compared to an active control (listening to a radio show). Negative affect was induced using a speech preparation and arithmetic task, followed by music listening or control. Self-reported anxiety and blood pressure were measured at baseline, post-induction, and post-intervention. Study 2 included state mindfulness as a dependent measure. Results: Study 1 indicated that participants who listened to music (self-selected and researcher-selected) reported significantly greater anxiety reduction than participants in the silent control condition. Music did not reduce anxiety compared to an active control in Study 2. However, music listening significantly increased levels of state mindfulness, which predicted lower anxiety after self-selected music listening. Conclusions: Music may provide regulation in preparation for stressful events. Yet, the results of Study 2 indicate that other activities have similar benefits, and shows, for the first time, that music listening increases mindfulness following a stressor.