Music Psychology

  • Music Psychology,  Musical Expertise

    Conference report: The impact of musical expertise

    This week I have been to the British Psychological Society (BPS) Cognitive Section conference, thanks to a very helpful bursary from SCONET (UK Social Cognition Network and Training Scheme). The meeting was held at Keele University which is something of a Mecca for music psychology as John Sloboda worked there for many years. As part of the BPS conference, Alex Lamont had organised a symposium called ‘Cognition and Music’, which featured talks by herself, Philip Fine from the University of Buckingham and Cara Featherstone from the University of Leeds. I decided to travel to Keele the night before the meeting in order to be fresh and ready to go for…

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  • Music & Consumer Behaviour,  Music Psychology

    Personality and music preference

    This week I had a very nice email from a gentleman who is kind enough (much like you, dear reader) to glance over my blog now and then. This student was embarking on a music psychology project at his college and he wanted to ask me a simple question to help him develop his project ideas: Why do different people like different types of music?   Well, after reading the question I sat at my computer for a minute or two spouting off ideas like a slot machine fires out coins when you hit the jackpot. Where to begin?! So may things influence how people come to form musical preferences;…