Preschoolers' attribution of affect to music: a comparison between vocal and instrumental performance

Article

Franco, F., Chew, M. and Swaine, J. 2017. Preschoolers' attribution of affect to music: a comparison between vocal and instrumental performance. Psychology of Music. 45 (1), pp. 131-149. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735616652954
TypeArticle
TitlePreschoolers' attribution of affect to music: a comparison between vocal and instrumental performance
AuthorsFranco, F., Chew, M. and Swaine, J.
Abstract

Research has shown inconsistent results concerning the ability of young children to identify musical emotion. This study explores the influence of the type of musical performance (vocal vs. instrumental) on children’s affect identification. Using an independent-group design, novel child-directed music was presented in three conditions: instrumental, vocal-only, and song (instrumental plus vocals) to 3- to 6-year-olds previously screened for language development (n = 76). A forced-choice task was used in which children chose a face expressing the emotion matching each musical track. All performance conditions comprised ‘happy’ (major mode/fast tempo) and ‘sad’ (minor mode/slow tempo) tracks. Nonsense syllables rather than words were used in the vocals in order to avoid the influence of lyrics on children's decisions. The results showed that even the younger children were able to identify correctly the intended emotion in music, although ‘happy’ music was more readily recognized and recognition appeared facilitated in the instrumental condition. Performance condition interacted with gender.

PublisherSAGE Publications
JournalPsychology of Music
ISSN0305-7356
Publication dates
Online01 Aug 2016
Print01 Jan 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited26 Apr 2016
Accepted23 Apr 2016
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

The published version of the article is available on SAGE Journals (http://online.sagepub.com): http://doi.org/10.1177/0305735616652954

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735616652954
LanguageEnglish
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