Validation of a music mood induction procedure: Some preliminary findings

Abstract

Two selections of music, judged by raters to differentially affect their self-reported happiness, exhilaration, despondency, and sadness, were used as a mood induction procedure to investigate the effects of “happy” and “sad” music on behaviour and self-reported mood, and to assess the contribution of explicit demand characteristics to the procedure. The design was similar to those used by Velten (1968) and Polivy and Doyle (1980). Thirty-five subjects listened to “happy”, “sad”, or no music. Explicit instructions to subjects regarding the music were varied across groups. All subjects then completed two self-report measures and four behavioural tasks. It was found that the music mood induction procedure differentially affected self-reported mood and some measures of behavioural change, and explicit demand characteristics were found not to have contributed substantially to the mood effects found.