Does Music Induce Emotion? A Theoretical and Methodological Analysis

Is music ubiquitous in part because it is causally linked to emotion? In this article, a comprehensive theoretical and methodological reevaluation is presented of a classical problem: The direct induction of emotion by music (M3 E). The author’s Prototypical Emotion-Episode Model (PEEM) is used in the conceptual critique. A close scrutiny of the major published studies, and the author’s new data regarding some substantive and methodological issues in several of these, reveal weak support for the M3 E model. The conclusion seems justified that music may induce low-grade basic emotions through mediators, such as dance and cognitive associations to real-world events. However, it is suggested—on the basis of the recently developed Aesthetic Trinity Theory (ATT; Konečni, 2005) and its further development in the present article—that being moved and aesthetic awe, often accompanied by thrills, may be the most genuine and profound music-related emotional states.