Psychology

Authors William Forde Thompson, Nicolas J. Bullot, and Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis Abstract Research has investigated psychological processes in an attempt to explain how and why people appreciate music. Three programsof research have shed light on these processes. The first focuses on the appreciation of musical structure. The second investigates self-oriented responses to music, including music-evoked autobiographical memories, the reinforcement of a sense of self, and ben

Authors Amee D. Baird, Romane Abell, William Forde Thompson, Nicolas J. Bullot, Maggie Haertsch, and Kerry A. Chalmers Abstract There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current research has primarily focused on vocal or motor symptoms. Our aim was to examine the immediate emotional effects of group singing in people with PD, and whether the type of music sung (familiar vs. unfamiliar songs) moderat

Authors Nicolas J. Bullot and Rolf Reber Abstract The Distancing-Embracing model does not have the conceptual resources to explain artistic misunderstandings and the emotional consequences of historical learning in the arts. Specifically, it suggests implausible predictions about emotional distancing caused by art schemata (e.g., misunderstandings of artistic intentions and contexts). These problems show the need for further inquiries into how historical contextualization mod

Authors Nicolas J. Bullot, Rolf Reber Abstract Research seeking a scientific foundation for the theory of art appreciation has raised controversies at the intersection of the social and cognitive sciences. Though equally relevant to a scientific inquiry into art appreciation, psychological and historical approaches to art developed independently and lack a common core of theoretical principles. Historicists argue that psychological and brain sciences ignore the fact that artw