Perception Psychology Spotlight: Why do we love music?
Music is often dubbed “the universal language” for a reason: all cultures create it and music perception comes with a personal, natural experience of “feeling the music”. Music is indeed like verbal language in many respects. Music and verbal language are both rooted in rhythm and both include dynamic sound shifts. Whereas with music we call those dynamic sound shifts melody and harmony, in language we call those dynamic sound shifts prosody and words (or, rather, phonemes and morphemes). Both music and verbal language are sound waves that we learn to parse (perceive as discernible units) and create (speak, “make” or “play” music). Humans around the world (and across evolutionary time) have created different patterns of music and of language and we pass these patterns on from generation to generation. Our unique neuronal networks make the perception of — and manipulation of — sound waves possible. Our social tendencies make it possible to create local patterns of sound that become indelible markers of culture.
Neurology Basics: Dynamic Energy Flow and Prediction
Neural activation patterns in the brain are dynamic such that when a signal is received in the brain, a chain reaction of firing patterns follows. When sound waves register in the ear a signal is sent to the brain, “landing” in the auditory cortex. Activation of these cells initiates the flow of energy to surrounding areas. When it comes to music perception, energy flows in multiple directions. Firing patterns will head towards the motor cortex, towards emotion networks, and towards memory networks.
Brains become “tuned” to repeated activation patterns. When the same pattern is experienced over and over, the cell firing pattern becomes sensitized, meaning that it increases in the likelihood that the same pattern of cell firing will occur again in the future. This means that the brain comes to anticipate a pattern of activation and it will make energy more available to that pattern, and less available to other, less frequent patterns. This is, in part, how memories form. Our brains are aptly described as “prediction engines.”
Why do our brains “make predictions”? Because we are wired to easily learn how to react to what we perceive. To enable “reaction” both hearing and vision are closely linked to the part of the brain that regulations action (i.e., the motor cortex). We turn our heads to “see” what we “hear.” When we judge the value of what we perceive, we move in kind. The pathways of activation between hearing and moving are intertwined.
We are basically wired to love music. How does this work?
Rhythm is a regular pattern of sound waves. When we perceive a regular pattern, the firing of neurons in the brain will emulate that pattern, a process called entrainment. The cell firing pattern in the auditory cortex flows over to the motor cortex, creating a desire to move “in time” with that pattern. Finger tapping, toe tapping, swaying and dancing — these movements feel natural because of the ease of the flow of energy in our brain. Fun fact about entrainment and the perception-action feedback loop: When two people experience the same sound waves and resultant entrainment, they feel more connected to each other too: they are vibing!
But there’s more to our love of music than entrainment and vibing. Prediction and Patterns play a role, too. Once a pattern is detected, our brain starts to anticipate what’s next. When anticipation is correct, we feel pleasure for “getting it right.” But when the music takes an unexpected turn, we feel surprise, and we rise to the challenge of changing our predictions. Either way (correct or incorrect prediction), this process of prediction and experience is fun. Music perception research has identified a sweet-spot between correct and incorrect prediction, too, and this is why we tend to prefer the music that follows our local cultural patterns, or rather why unfamiliar musical patterns feel “discordant.”
Music and Memory: A powerful combo!
Memory processes are initiated by repeated activation patterns, making music “easy” to remember. When patterns – Rhythm, Melody, Harmony – are layered together memory is further enhanced. When these powerful and memorable patterns are synced with other inputs (emotion, vision, experience), those other inputs are also easily remembered. Music is a memory booster across the board.
All in all, there is much to love, when it comes to music!
21st Century [Perception] Psychology
Psychology is about understanding the human mind, emotion, and behavior. Perception Psychology in the 21st century is rooted in modern neuroscience and has much to offer as we endeavor to understand ourselves and our “human” experiences! When you learn about the basics of perception and historical work therein, you are learning about the roots of human experience and behavior. Pretty cool stuff!
For a deeper dive, check out these references
The Brain Facts Book: A free publication by the Society for Neuroscience
Basiński, K., Quiroga-Martinez, D. R., & Vuust, P. (2023). Temporal hierarchies in the predictive processing of melody− From pure tones to songs. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 145, 105007.
Fram, N. R. (2023). Music in the Middle: A Culture-Cognition-Mediator Model of Musical Functionality. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(5), 1178-1197.
Vuust, P., Heggli, O. A., Friston, K. J., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2022). Music in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 23(5), 287-305.
Psychsoundbites’ Reach
Psychsoundbites is a media collective. The aim of this site is to shine a spotlight on modern psychology topics, and the intended audience is anyone interested in learning about the breadth of the field. While some technical content is presented, these articles are written for a general audience looking for something “new” to think about. It’s all too common for Psychology text books and general websites to get bogged down in presenting historical content. The field has changed significantly in recent years though, so the intent here is feature what’s new.
What else is Psychsoundbites up to?
- Psychsoundbites on Substack: Following the newsletter style of this media platform, essays posted to this site are about applied and professional issues in psychology. The intended audience for the Substack account is more professional — graduate students and educators — but anyone with an interest in viewing the human experience through a modern psychological lens will benefit from reading these posts. In keeping with the Miller Imperative to give psychology away, all of my stubstack content is freely accessible. If you would like to support my work though, please see entry #4 below –> psychsoundbites on Redbubble.
- Psychsoundbites on Instagram: Psychsoundbites originated on Insta, following the roll-out of a new class assignment. Students were challenged to find a meme or video that got psychology wrong, and then to correct it. The Insta account was created to share these corrected memes (for more on this assignment, click here). Since its inception the content on this account has expanded to include graphic designs made by me (Prf. K.) as well. The intended audience for this site is anyone who loves a good psychology meme or colorful & informative posts to view and (hopefully) share on their own social media platforms.
- Psychsoundbites on Threads & Bluesky: In an attempt to expand content dissemination beyond the “Meta algorithms”, these accounts were created to further share the graphic design content I create. Visual “psychology” media tends to feature outdated content (see here for a discussion of this issue). My aim in using graphic design tools to “dress up” psychology content is to get more modern content out and into the virtual world. I love to talk about psychology too. If you do as well, let’s connect and chat on these microblogging sites.
- Psychsoundbites on Redbubble: Some of the graphic design content I’ve made looks really great in real life too! I have been making stickers for my students for years, and decided (at my students’ suggestion) to create a shop so that others could adorn their water bottles and laptops with psychology content, too. On this site you can find stickers, posters, and buttons. I can attest from personal experience that my posters look great on office doors!