The Role of Personality in Emotional Responses to Music: Verbal, Electrocortical and Cardiovascular Measures

Abstract

We examined whether personality, defined in terms of behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivities (Gray, 1982, 1991) and the Alternative Five personality dimensions (Zuckerman et al., 1993), moderates the influence of a music listening session comprising 12 music pieces, on the emotional state of an individual as assessed by self-report and psychophysiological measures in 32 participants. Electroencephalographic (EEG) and cardiovascular (inter-beat intervals and pulse transit time) activity was recorded continuously during a 60-s eyes-open and a 60-s eyes-closed resting periods before and after the music listening session. Participants rated their mood instantly after the pre-music and post-music rest periods. Self-report and cardiovascular measures indicated increased (positive) activation from pre- to post-music rest period, especially among subjects characterized by neuroticism (i.e., high BIS sensitivity) and anxiety (i.e., high Neuroticism-Anxiety) proneness. The increased activation during music was partially supported by decreased overall EEG (all sites) theta activation and by increased overall EEG alpha activation among high BIS scorers. It was also found that left temporal and eyes-closed parietal activation increased during music listening among high BIS sensitivity and high Neuroticism-Anxiety scorers.