Does sad music just press our empathy

button?

Richard ParncuttCentre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, Austria

SysMus Graz

4th International Conference on

Music & EmotionGeneva, 12-16 October 2015

Does sad music just press our empathy button?What motivates people to engage with sad music? How can music displaying sadness evoke positive emotion (Gabrielsson, 2002)? If attraction to sad music is universal (Balkwill et al., 2004), we expect an evolutionary explanation - not a cognitive-cultural one (such as Aristotle's catharsis, or allowing negative emotions without negative consequences, Kivy, 1990). Listeners are attracted to music that evokes basic emotions (happiness, anger, fear, surprise, tenderness) due in part to evolutionary drives based on individual survival and reproduction; e.g. angry/fearful music presses our danger/attention button. Attraction to sad music may be driven by dispositional empathy (Vuoskoski & Eerola, Escom, 2015), which promotes group survival. Diverse evidence supports the partial innateness of empathetic responses. Altruistic responses to others’ distress (directed altruism) may be as old as mammals and birds (De Waal, 2008); separation distress has a universal neural foundation (Panksepp et al., 1997). Human empathy is automatic and emotional (Singer et al., 2004). Pain is associated with specific facial expressions (A. C. D. C. Williams, 2002), and spontaneous facial mimicry is largely automatic (Sonnby-Borgström, 2002). A role for empathy in music perception is consistent with the dominance of social emotions (“playful joy, sadness, maternal care, sexual lust, territorial/dominance imperatives”) over non-social, self-preservative emotions (“anger and fear”) in the origin of music (Panksepp, 2009). Specifically, sad music may represent a virtual sad person (Watt & Ash, 1998; Parncutt & Kessler, 2006), which activates an automatic proximal mechanism (Preston & De Waal, 2002, abstract). That can explain why sad music is linked to personality traits openness to experience and empathy (Vuoskoski et al., 2012; Vuoskoski & Eerola, 2012); prolactin (Huron, 2011); and even minor keys (Parncutt, 2014). If music originated in mother-infant bonding (Parncutt, 2009), empathy can explain associations between sad music and nostalgia, peacefulness, and wonder (Vuoskoski et al., 2012)..

Why do people listen to sad music?

AssumptionsSad music in most cultures Widespread motivation to listen to it Evolutionary explanation?

ParadoxHappiness is the “normal” emotion.Happiness allows us to cooperate productively.In our society, we are expected to be happy.Mood regulation tends to promote happiness.

A good theory – in general

Conceptual parsimonyA simple idea that explains a lot

What simple idea can explain our motivation to listen to music expressing all emotions incl. sadness?

Idea: Sad music presses our empathy button

an automatic signal-response mechanism

Empathy is:o an altruistic response to another’s distress o universal (promotes group survival).

Sad music represents a distressed person o the stimuli are similar

Sad music automatically evokes an empathetic response.

Minor keys and negative valenceParncutt (2014)

Possible explanations:o Dissonanceo Alterity o Uncertainty (of root/tonic)o Lower-than-expected pitch

= Signals that a person is sad

Evidencethat sad music presses our empathy button

o Behavior: Personality (Vuoskoski et al., 2012)o “openness to experience” o “empathy”

o Physiology: Hormones (Huron, 2011)o prolactin (eating, mating, ovulation, nursing)o oxytocin (intimacy, sex, childbirth, bonding)

o Introspectiono We like sad music for itself, not its functiono Sad music “touches us”

Is empathy innate?

Psychologyo Human empathy is automatic and emotional (Singer et

al., 2004).

o Pain is associated with specific facial expressions (A. C. D. C. Williams, 2002); and spontaneous facial mimicry is largely automatic (Sonnby-Borgström, 2002).

Physiologyo Directed altruism is as old as mammals and birds (De

Waal, 2008)

o Separation distress has a universal neural foundation (Panksepp et al., 1997).

Subjective experience

An Evolutionary-Ecological-Epiphenomenal Approach

Situation and stimulus

Behavior and physiology

Survival and reproduction

Experience is a mere byproduct of physical processes.

Behavior is about social and environmental interaction,which is constrained by evolution.

Evolutionary-Ecological Approach

Complex conscious cultural emotions are founded on

spontaneous innate responses.

First explain spontaneous responses,

their functions, their origins

Which basic emotions?

Strong universal emotions expressed e.g. in gossip & news media include

o pride, triumph (football)o lust (sex)

Not all basic emotions have universal facial expressions (Ekman)

Ecological-evolutionary theory of basic emotions Part 1: Survival

Situ-ation

Default Individ. threat Group conflict Nourishment

I’m strong-er

I’m weak-er

Victory, suc-cess

Loss, failure

Good food, drink

Bad food, poison

Beha-vior

Coope-rate

Fight Flee Celeb-rate

Reco-ver

Con-sume

Reject

Emo-tion

Happi-ness, joy, flow

Anger, sur-prise

Fear, sur-prise

Pride, tri-umph

Sad-ness, grief

Gust. plea-sure

Dis-gust

Obvious or “just-so story”?

This is incomplete… e.g. could add health and illness

Situation Adult perspective Child perspective

Mating Childcare Dependence Ignorance

Behavior Flirting, sex Satisfy needs

Learn social norms

Acquire skills

Emotion Romantic love, lust, tenderness

Parental love, tenderness

Filial love, awe, tenderness

Curiosity, playfulnessopenness

Ecological-evolutionary theory of basic emotions Part 2: Reproduction

Why listen to sad music?A general answer

Sad music is a basic emotional display.

All such displays motivate others to attend engage

because survival and reproduction are important for everyone.

Why listen to sad music?More specific answers

Why respond to displays of specific basic emotions?

o Happiness we want to be happyo Anger angry people can be dangerouso Fear perhaps we should also be afraido Sadness empathy is an innate response

Or more generally:+ve valence join the party

-ve valence understand the cause

Music as a virtual person

Both people and music can be:• Male or female• Good or evil• Happy or sad etc.(Watt & Ash, 1998)

We respond to music as if it were a person

Music “speaks to us”

Music as a virtual motherThe mother as perceived by the infant (Parncutt, 2009)

Infant perception of mother:awe, wonder, fascination, captivation, beauty

“Sublime” musical emotions:transcendence: magic, enchantment, reverence, divinity

How does strong emotion get into music?

Parncutt (2009)

3rd trimester: emotional connotations of sound-movement patterns

Infancy: motherese

Childhood: play music

Adulthood: ritual

The structure of musical emotion

Prediction: Emotions in music have three components = three virtual people

Two virtual people, interacting now• 1st-person perspective

my own felt emotion• 2nd-person perspective

the other’s displayed emotion

Virtual mother (in long-term implicit memory)

• Infant perspectivetranscendence

Transcendence in music expressing basic emotions

Classical western examples

Happiness J. S. Bach: Italian Concerto, last movementSadness Chopin: Sonata in Bb minor, funeral marchTenderness Mozart: 2nd movements of sonatasAnger Beethoven: 5th symphony, 1st movementFear Stravinsky: Rite of Spring

From this conference:T. Eerola, H.-R. Peltola & J. K. Vuoskoski Structure of emotions in memorable

experiences of sad music

Virtual mother:Sublime

2nd person:Comfort

1st person:Grief

Sad music presses our empathy button

…an automatic signal-response mechanism

Empathy is:o an altruistic response to another’s distress o universal (promotes group survival).

Sad music represents a distressed person o the stimuli are similar

Sad music automatically evokes an empathetic response.

Centre for Systematic MusicologyUni Graz, Austria. Current staff

Erica BisesiExpression and emotion

Sabrina SattmannPitch perception

Bernd Brabec de MoriEthnomusicology

Daniel ReisingerStudent assistant

Annemarie Seither-PreislerMusical skill transfer

Lukas AuerStudent assistant