Tuomas Eerola

Durham University, Music, Faculty Member

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My research interests are divided into music cognition, music and emotions, music and movement, and music and culture. The first one relates to my past work in music perception, and the second topic, emotion and music, is something that I currently spent the most of my research time on. However, all topic areas do overlap.

Personal blog: http://musiikkipsykologia.wordpress.com/
Address: Palace Green, Dept. of Music, DH1 3RL, Durham, UK

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185 Papers
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33 Proceedings
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Papers by Tuomas Eerola

Is Preference for Musical Genres an Adequate Measure of Musical Taste?

Psychology of Music

Musical preferences are typically determined by asking participants to indicate their favourite m... more Musical preferences are typically determined by asking participants to indicate their favourite musical genres. These genre-based measures have some considerable pitfalls, since specific pieces of music in a genre might be liked more than the genre itself, and finding consensus to define a genre is often a challenging task. The aims of the present study were to (1) assess how effective genre-based measures are at identifying musical preferences, by comparing them to free responses; (2) demonstrate how the fit can be improved between the genre-based measures and sampled population; and (3) suggest and evaluate methods that use lists of liked and disliked artists to define musical preferences. Two surveys (n = 346 and n = 861) were administered to a university population. Both surveys contained modified versions of the STOMP (Short Test On Musical Preferences, Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003), together with open questions about music that was liked and disliked. We found that for 29% of the ...

Semantic structures of timbre emerging from social and acoustic descriptions of music

EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing, 2011

The perceptual attributes of timbre have inspired a considerable amount of multidisciplinary rese... more The perceptual attributes of timbre have inspired a considerable amount of multidisciplinary research, but because of the complexity of the phenomena, the approach has traditionally been confined to laboratory conditions, much to the detriment of its ecological validity. In this study, we present a purely bottom-up approach for mapping the concepts that emerge from sound qualities. A social media (http://www.last.fm) is used to obtain a wide sample of verbal descriptions of music (in the form of tags) that go beyond the commonly studied concept of genre, and from this the underlying semantic structure of this sample is extracted. The structure that is thereby obtained is then evaluated through a careful investigation of the acoustic features that characterize it. The results outline the degree to which such structures in music (connected to affects, instrumentation and performance characteristics) have particular timbral characteristics. Samples representing these semantic structures were then submitted to a similarity rating experiment to validate the findings. The outcome of this experiment strengthened the discovered links between the semantic structures and their perceived timbral qualities. The findings of both the computational and behavioural parts of the experiment imply that it is therefore possible to derive useful and meaningful structures from free verbal descriptions of music, that transcend musical genres, and that such descriptions can be linked to a set of acoustic features. This approach not only provides insights into the definition of timbre from an ecological perspective, but could also be implemented to develop applications in music information research that organize music collections according to both semantic and sound qualities.

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Setting the standards: Normative data on audio-based musical features for musical genres

Proceedings of the 7th Triennial Conference of European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, ESCOM, Aug 1, 2009

Music, Thought, and Feeling: Understanding the Psychology of Music. By William Forde Thompson . New York: Oxford University Press, 2008

Music Perception, 2009

... Description Origins of music -- Musical building blocks -- Music acquisition -- Perceiving mu... more ... Description Origins of music -- Musical building blocks -- Music acquisition -- Perceiving music structure -- Music and emotion -- Music and the brain -- Performingmusic -- Composing music -- Music and other abilities. Subject ...

The CODA Model: A Review and Skeptical Extension of the Constructionist Model of Emotional Episodes Induced by Music

Frontiers in Psychology

This paper discusses contemporary advancements in the affective sciences (described together as s... more This paper discusses contemporary advancements in the affective sciences (described together as skeptical theories) that can inform the music-emotion literature. Key concepts in these theories are outlined, highlighting their points of agreement and disagreement. This summary shows the importance of appraisal within the emotion process, provides a greater emphasis upon goal-directed accounts of (emotion) behavior, and a need to move away from discrete emotion “folk” concepts and toward the study of an emotional episode and its components. Consequently, three contemporary music emotion theories (BRECVEMA, Multifactorial Process Approach, and a Constructionist Account) are examined through a skeptical lens. This critique highlights the over-reliance upon categorization and a lack of acknowledgment of appraisal processes, specifically goal-directed appraisal, in examining how individual experiences of music emerge in different contexts. Based on this critique of current music-emotion m...

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Modelling historical audiences : what can be inferred?

The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, ... more The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

format_quoteMusical expectations are shaped by implicit learning, with computational methods effectively simulating this learning in present-day listeners.format_quote

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Being moved by listening to unfamiliar sad music induces reward‐related hormonal changes in empathic listeners

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2021

Many people enjoy sad music, and the appeal for tragedy is widespread among the consumers of film... more Many people enjoy sad music, and the appeal for tragedy is widespread among the consumers of film and literature. The underlying mechanisms of such aesthetic experiences are not well understood. We tested whether pleasure induced by sad, unfamiliar instrumental music is explained with a homeostatic or a reward theory, each of which is associated with opposite patterns of changes in the key hormones. Sixty‐two women listened to sad music (or nothing) while serum was collected for subsequent measurement of prolactin (PRL) and oxytocin (OT) and stress marker (cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone) concentrations. Two groups of participants were recruited on the basis of low and high trait empathy. In the high empathy group, PRL and OT levels were significantly lower with music compared with no music. And compared to the low empathy group, the high empathy individuals reported an increase of positive mood and higher ratings of being moved with music. None of the stress markers showed any changes across the conditions or the groups. These hormonal changes, inconsistent with the homeostatic theory proposed by Huron, exhibit a pattern expected of general reward. Our findings illuminate how unfamiliar and low arousal music may give rise to pleasurable experiences.

Music and the Functions of the Brain: Arousal, Emotions, and Pleasure

Frontiers Research Topics, 2018

Music impinges upon the body and the brain. As such, it has significant inductive power which rel... more Music impinges upon the body and the brain. As such, it has significant inductive power which relies both on innate dispositions and acquired mechanisms and competencies. The processes are partly autonomous and partly deliberate, and interrelations between several levels of processing are becoming clearer with accumulating new evidence. For instance, recent developments in neuroimaging techniques, have broadened the field by encompassing the study of cortical and subcortical processing of the music. The domain of musical emotions is a typical example with a major focus on the pleasure that can be derived from listening to music. Pleasure, however, is not the only emotion to be induced and the mechanisms behind its elicitation are far from understood. There are also mechanisms related to arousal and activation that are both less differentiated and at the same time more complex than the assumed mechanisms that trigger basic emotions. It is imperative, therefore, to investigate what pleasurable and moodmodifying effects music can have on human beings in real-time listening situations. This e-book is an attempt to answer these questions. Revolving around the specificity of music experience in terms of perception, emotional reactions, and aesthetic assessment, it presents new hypotheses, theoretical claims as well as new empirical data which contribute to a better understanding of the functions of the brain as related to musical experience.nrpages: 166status: publishe

Fifty shades of blue: Classification of music-evoked sadness

Musicae Scientiae, 2016

It has been repeatedly shown that sad music induces mainly pleasant or mixed emotions, and is par... more It has been repeatedly shown that sad music induces mainly pleasant or mixed emotions, and is particularly relevant for self-regulation goals. However, this is not entirely compatible with the view that sadness is one of the basic emotions experienced in the face of an unpleasant event or a loss. Also, a distinction between grief and sadness is often drawn, which seemingly does not have relevance in relation to musical experiences. The discrepancy between the positive accounts of emotions associated with sad music and those present in ordinary sadness may be related to the previously unacknowledged spectrum of affects associated with music-related sadness. The present study aims to expose the underlying affective experiences of music-related sadness. To examine this, a large qualitative data, consisting of open-ended answers from 363 participants, was subjected to thematic content analysis. The analysis revealed a range of emotions experienced which were classified into three themes...

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Kognitiivinen musiikkitiede

From Sound to Significance: Exploring the Mechanisms Underlying Emotional Reactions to Music

The American Journal of Psychology, 2015

A common approach to studying emotional reactions to music is to attempt to obtain direct links b... more A common approach to studying emotional reactions to music is to attempt to obtain direct links between musical surface features such as tempo and a listener’s responses. however, such an analysis ultimately fails to explain why emotions are aroused in the listener. in this article we explore an alternative approach, which aims to account for musical emotions in terms of a set of psychological mechanisms that are activated by different types of information in a musical event. this approach was tested in 4 experiments that manipulated 4 mechanisms (brain stem reflex, contagion, episodic memory, musical expectancy) by selecting existing musical pieces that featured information relevant for each mechanism. the excerpts were played to 60 listeners, who were asked to rate their felt emotions on 15 scales. skin conductance levels and facial expressions were measured, and listeners reported subjective impressions of relevance to specific mechanisms. results indicated that the target mechan...

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Music and emotion

Musicae Scientiae, 2011

This special issue draws on a selection of papers presented at the inaugural International Confer... more This special issue draws on a selection of papers presented at the inaugural International Conference on Music and Emotion in Durham in 2009, focusing on the scientific approach to understanding music and emotions. In this editorial we consider the current state of research into music and emotion, drawing comparisons with the earlier special issue of this journal published ten years ago and between the two edited collections which mark progress in this period. We consider issues of theory and methodology in relation to the wider field of psychology of music as illustrated by the papers in this volume and other recently published research, considering some of the barriers towards progress and some of the areas where new insights have been gained.

Extended music education enhances the quality of school life

Music Education Research, 2013

The claim of whether music education can create social benefits in the school environment was tes... more The claim of whether music education can create social benefits in the school environment was tested in ten Finnish schools with an extended music curricular class and control classes. The quality of school life (QSL) was assessed by a representative sample (N=735) of pupils at years 3 and 6 (9-and 12-year-olds). The results showed that extended music education enhances the QSL, particularly in areas related to general satisfaction about the school and a sense of achievement and opportunity for students. Differences related to the schools and gender did not account for the results. A follow-up study examined whether the increase in critical QSL variables were related to music. This analysis utilised data from other classes (N=98) with an extended curriculum (sports and visual arts). These classes did not confer similar benefits. Overall, the results imply that extended music education has a positive effect on the social aspects of schooling.

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Biased Emotional Preferences in Depression: Decreased Liking of Angry and Energetic Music by Depressed Patients

Music and Medicine, 2011

Abstract Depression is a highly prevalent mood disorder, which has been associated with low level... more Abstract Depression is a highly prevalent mood disorder, which has been associated with low levels of energetic arousal, delays in approach and avoidance processes, and problems expressing and regulating negative emotions such as anger. We designed a novel experiment to test the hypothesis that depressed patients&amp;amp;amp;#x27; preferences for emotional stimuli also demonstrate this tendency. To investigate how depressed patients differ in their preferences for music excerpts, both healthy (n= 30) and depressed (n= 79) participants ...

Emotional expression in music: contribution, linearity, and additivity of primary musical cues

Frontiers in Psychology, 2013

The aim of this study is to manipulate musical cues systematically to determine the aspects of mu... more The aim of this study is to manipulate musical cues systematically to determine the aspects of music that contribute to emotional expression, and whether these cues operate in additive or interactive fashion, and whether the cue levels can be characterized as linear or non-linear. An optimized factorial design was used with six primary musical cues (mode, tempo, dynamics, articulation, timbre, and register) across four different music examples. Listeners rated 200 musical examples according to four perceived emotional characters (happy, sad, peaceful, and scary). The results exhibited robust effects for all cues and the ranked importance of these was established by multiple regression. The most important cue was mode followed by tempo, register, dynamics, articulation, and timbre, although the ranking varied across the emotions. The second main result suggested that most cue levels contributed to the emotions in a linear fashion, explaining 77-89% of variance in ratings. Quadratic encoding of cues did lead to minor but significant increases of the models (0-8%). Finally, the interactions between the cues were non-existent suggesting that the cues operate mostly in an additive fashion, corroborating recent findings on emotional expression in music (Juslin and Lindström, 2010).

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The Role of Personality and Mood in the Perception and the Experience of Musical Emotions

Expressive performance cues in Gypsy swing guitar style: A case study and novel analytic approach

Background in ethnomusicology. In ethnomusicology the emotional expressiveness of musical perform... more Background in ethnomusicology. In ethnomusicology the emotional expressiveness of musical performances still remains a minimally discussed topic. The expansion of local styles such as gypsy swing to global scales prompts one to seek cross-cultural bodily gestures behind the expressive conventions of musical styles; furthermore, such expressive conventions may be guided by the physical features of musical instruments. Background in cognitive musicology. Considerable research in music cognition has been carried to ...

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Musiikkiteknologia kognitiivisen musiikintutkimuksen renkinä

Musiikki 35 (2005) 1-2, 2005

Emotion perception in music: importance and additive effects of seven musical factors

CORTEX, submitted

Musical Enjoyment and Reward: From Hedonic Pleasure to Eudaimonic Listening

Behavioral Sciences

This article is a hypothesis and theory paper. It elaborates on the possible relation between mus... more This article is a hypothesis and theory paper. It elaborates on the possible relation between music as a stimulus and its possible effects, with a focus on the question of why listeners are experiencing pleasure and reward. Though it is tempting to seek for a causal relationship, this has proven to be elusive given the many intermediary variables that intervene between the actual impingement on the senses and the reactions/responses by the listener. A distinction can be made, however, between three elements: (i) an objective description of the acoustic features of the music and their possible role as elicitors; (ii) a description of the possible modulating factors—both external/exogenous and internal/endogenous ones; and (iii) a continuous and real-time description of the responses by the listener, both in terms of their psychological reactions and their physiological correlates. Music listening, in this broadened view, can be considered as a multivariate phenomenon of biological, p...

format_quoteDifferent research strands link musical reward, pleasure, and adverse effects to specific neuroendocrine signatures.format_quote

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