The Impact of Music
on Measures of Emotion While Viewing Films
Robert J. Ellis & Robert F. Simons
Department of
Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
Despite continued acknowledgment of
the importance of music in viewing films, empirical studies investigating the
interaction of music with film are conspicuously absent. Evidence from a few
isolated cognitive studies suggests that the relationship between music and
film is additive. Little is known,
however, about the physiology of emotional response to viewing music–film
stimuli. This study utilized both self-report as well as physiological measures
to investigate the nature of the film/music relationship.
Six-second videos (negative or positive valence, low or high arousal) were paired with excerpts from instrumental classical music (pre-tested for valence and arousal). Results indicate a straight-forward, additive relationship in terms of emotion self report, but that the modulating role of music on physiological reaction to film was more complex. This study corroborates previous evidence regarding the subjective experience of viewing images with music. Physiological evidence, however, suggests that the interactions between music and video are not always predictable.
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