A recent study conducted by UQAM doctoral students measures emotional states for the first time using music, just like words. An advance that could help people who have difficulty expressing their emotions, including people with autism.
The main author of the study, Éric Hanigan, admits that he was even surprised to learn that no “measurement of emotions” used music to date.
“We know that there is a connection between music and emotions, and that these connections have no cultural barriers, several studies have shown this in the past, he tells us. The simple act of listening to music will induce emotions, sometimes more easily than with words. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ÉRIC HANIGAN
Éric Hanigan, lead author of the study
To carry out the study, Éric Hanigan’s team (which includes Arielle Bonneville-Roussy and Christophe Fortin) brought together 280 participants who validated their emotional state by listening to 32 audio extracts of about fifteen seconds. Four emotions have been translated musically: joy, sadness, fear and serenity.
laboratory music
Important fact to note: these excerpts of instrumental music (performed on the piano) did not come from known composers – so as not to influence the participants or induce different emotions from one person to another – but were created in a laboratory of neuroscience (Isabelle Peretz Laboratory) and are in the public domain.
PHOTO LOIC VENANCE, FRANCE PRESS AGENCY
The instrumental music excerpts presented to the participants were performed on the piano and did not come from known composers.
“We compared the results of the measurement of emotions through music with another questionnaire that uses words, explains Éric Hanigan. For example, an individual who chose excerpts of happy music to describe his state tended to select positive adjectives in the second questionnaire. It was our way of validating the correlation between music and words. »
According to Éric Hanigan, these results could be useful for people who have difficulty identifying their emotions.
By presenting them with musical excerpts, we are able to know how these people feel. It can be a way to help them express themselves better. One thinks among others of people who have an autism spectrum disorder.
Éric Hanigan, lead author of the study
Improve musical vocabulary
Obviously, the emotional vocabulary explored in this study – conveyed by music – is limited to four basic emotions. Is it possible to make this vocabulary more complex?
“I think it would be possible, answers Éric Hanigan. For that, we would have to create other excerpts that cover a broader spectrum of emotions. But first we had to validate that it worked with four basic emotions. And the answer is yes. So that opens up a new research space for us. »
The next step for Éric Hanigan is to create “clinical thresholds” with his questionnaire to assess the different depressive states. “If a person chooses a lot of musical excerpts that are sad, is he more likely to have symptoms of depression? It is on this question that I am working. »