Functional uses of music influence musically induced emotional episodes: An exploratory study of goal-directed mechanisms

The study aims to test the contribution of goal-directed cognitive evaluation on emotional episodes induced by music. Specifically, it will explore the role of two goal-directed mechanisms: goal relevance and goal congruence. This study consists of two experiments. The first experiment gathers a collection of highly familiar musical functions (goal relevance) for UK participants ( N = 39) and musical stimuli that can be experienced as either well suited or poorly suited to a specific musical function (goal congruence). The second experiment, involving different participants ( N = 117), uses a vignette methodology to explore the effect of goal-directed evaluations on the induced subjective experience (valence, arousal and intensity) of an emotional episode. In addition, it collects highly goal-congruent (self-selected) music for different musical functions and measures its impact on subjective experience. The results are analysed using linear mixed models. The findings suggest that goal relevance, operationalised as the different functions music has, can influence emotional episodes induced by music in some contexts. In conclusion, this article provides initial support for further testing of goal-directed mechanisms in emotional episodes induced by music, bringing the study of musical emotions closer to the broader field of the affective sciences.