Major Theories of Emotion Causation and Their Applicability to Music

Emotions play a crucial role in music listening and may also have far-reaching implications for listeners’ well-being and health. However, it remains a challenge to explain how musical emotions occur. This paper offers a critical review of major theories of emotion causation in psychology with a view to their possible application to music. First, I discuss five theoretical approaches that currently dominate the emotion domain (basic emotion theories, appraisal theories, associative theories, dimensional models, and constructionist theories). I argue that although each approach has merits, none of them offers a satisfactory account of how music induces emotions. Thus, I consider an alternative approach in terms of multiple mechanisms, represented by the currently most frequently adopted music-specific theory: BRECVEMAC. I conclude that although such a theory presents its own unique challenges, it is better able to explain how music becomes an intentional object of emotions. Future directions for research and application of musical emotions are discussed.