Psychology of Music

This course will examine the psychological, physiological, and sociological foundations of music across the lifespan and cross-culturally. Music has the ability to make us move, to change our emotions, to cue memories, to cause us to form bonds with others, etc. How and why does music have such a powerful effect on us? Students will attempt to answer this question by looking at the brain—both the neurotypical brain and the brain dealing with disorders/diseases. They will consider areas of research including the influence of music on behavior, physiological and affective responses to music, perception and cognition of music, psychomotor components of music behavior, learning and development, preference and creativity, the development of music expertise, the generalization of music training, and the brain areas involved in music behavior and processing.