Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: A

Arts & Humanities - Psychology

Volume 17 Issue 5 Version 1.0 Year 2017
Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal
Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA)
Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X

The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress Levels

By Joseph Alagha & Alice Ipradjian
Haigazian University
Abstract- A preliminary correlational research study was conducted to determine the relationship
between different genres of music and stress among university students. 94 Haigazian University
students raging between the ages of 18 to 25 participated in the study: 67 were females and 33
were males. Two types of questionnaires were administered to them: the music scale and the
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Unlike mainstream studies, the findings of this study conveyed
that there is hardly any significant difference between stress and the frequency of listening to
classical music. Moreover, the study indicated that there is no significant correlation between
stress and the frequency of listening to other types of music, such as Jazz, Blues and Rock.
However, the t-test sample revealed that there is a significant difference between the means of
male and female on the dependent variable, which is the stress. This research is based on a
random selection of Haigazian University (HU) students and ought to be extended to include
other universities operating in Lebanon.
Keywords: types of music, stress, classical music, males, females.
GJHSS-A Classification: FOR Code: 170199

TheEffectsofDifferentTypesofMusiconStressLevels

Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of:

© 2017. Joseph Alagha & Alice Ipradjian. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress
Levels
Joseph Alagha α & Alice Ipradjian σ

Abstract- A preliminary correlational research study was (Knobloch and Zillman, 2002). Music lifts the spirit and
conducted to determine the relationship between different makes the individual want to see, hear and experience
genres of music and stress among university students. 94 more; live more and be happier. Music arouses positive
Haigazian University students raging between the ages of 18
emotions, which range from simple to complex
to 25 participated in the study: 67 were females and 33 were
males. Two types of questionnaires were administered to responses to cognitive evaluations (Juslin et al, 2008:

2017
them: the music scale and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008). Several researchers suggested
Unlike mainstream studies, the findings of this study conveyed that music therapy can improve health outcomes among

Year
that there is hardly any significant difference between stress a variety of patient populations. One theory encouraged
and the frequency of listening to classical music. Moreover, the use of music therapy in three ways: stimulating,
the study indicated that there is no significant correlation awakening, and healing, which also induces mood 1
between stress and the frequency of listening to other types of efficiently (Zenter, Granjean & Schere, 2008).

Global Journal of Human Social Science ( A ) Volume XVII Issue V Version I

music, such as Jazz, Blues and Rock. However, the t-test Until now, the research has focused on the
sample revealed that there is a significant difference between
positive relationship or correlation between stress and
the means of male and female on the dependent variable,
which is the stress. This research is based on a random music. Hernadez (2005) found out that music therapy is
selection of Haigazian University (HU) students and ought to effective in treating depression in abused women.
be extended to include other universities operating in Hernadez discovered that listening to music and
Lebanon. progressive muscles relaxation reduces anxiety and
Keywords: types of music, stress, classical music, improves sleep pattern.
males, females. In one of the studies, researchers discovered
The Association between the Type and Frequency of that music exposure reduces the high cortisol level,
Music Consumption and Stress Levels. which is the main stress hormone (Khalfa et al. 2003). In
another study, it was shown that listening to music and
I. Introduction music lessons can lead to several advantages. Listening

B
to music leads to improved performance on a diversity
erthold Auerbach, a German poet and author,
of cognitive tests. However, it was found out that the
once wrote, “Music washes away from the soul
effects are short-term, and stop short from the effect of
the dust of everyday life.” Since early times,
music on the arousal level and mood, which, in turn,
music has played an essential part in human life and it
affect cognitive performance (Schellenberg, E. G.,
was appreciated by ancient and modern civilizations.
2005). In another study, Residents (N -32) of 3 skilled
Music plays a central role in all human cultures; it has
nursing homes participated in a study designed to

-
direct and indirect effects on physiological symptoms
document the nature of the stressors they experienced
(Kemper and Danhauer, 2005). On the other hand,
and the coping mechanisms they used. It was revealed
stress is a part of a person’s everyday life; it is a lifestyle
that medical issues were the most common stressors.
for many people, and it is an emotional state caused by
The most common coping responses were prayer,
circumstantial factors. Our research question is: what is
reading, watching television, listening to music, and
the relationship between the frequency of listening to
talking to friends and family (Hunter and Gillen, 2009).
different genres of music and stress?
In another research, it was reported that over
II. Literature Review 500 college students participated in a study that
examines the effects of violent and non-violent songs.
A survey of the literature conveys that young The results indicated that violent songs led to more
people resort to music because it can help them relax aggressive thoughts than non-violent songs (Anderson
and they will often have a collection of favorite tunes that et al., 2003). Moreover, in one of the studies –
they listen to when they are feeling stressed out individuals who were exposed to classical music or self-
selected relaxing music after experiencing to a stressor
Author α: Professor of Political Science and Intercultural Studies at
Haigazian University (HU), Beirut, Lebanon. – experienced a reduction in anxiety and an increase in
e-mail: jalagha2001@yahoo.com the feelings of relaxation, as compared to those who sat
Author σ: Graduated with a BA in Psychology from HU, and she is in silence or listened to heavy metal music. Fifty-six
currently pursuing her MA in the same discipline at the Lebanese college students, 15 males and 41 females, were
University.

© 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US)

 The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress Levels

exposed to different types of music genres after In this study, the consent form, which was
experiencing a stressful test. The results of this study written and attached to the other questionnaires, was
supported the hypothesis that listening to self-select or used to describe the nature of the evaluation survey and
classical music significantly reduces negative emotional assure the privacy and the confidentiality for the
states in comparison to listening to heavy metal music participants. The content of the form explains the
or sitting in silence (Elise Labbe & et al., 2007). purpose of the study and describes how much time they
Recent studies put the hypothesis that music will spend to complete the questionnaires. In addition, it
may be a major source of stress during video game was mentioned that the information gathered from this
playing. Given the well-known effects of sound on study would be strictly confidential, where the privacy of
physiological activity, especially those of noise and of the participants will be carefully protected, and that there
music, and on the secretion of the stress hormone will be no penalty if they do not want to participate.
cortisol in particular, the result was positive: music is a There was an IRB review and the research ethics
major source of stress during video game playing approval has been obtained from the faculty of Social
(Hebert et al., 2005). In 2006, Kent conducted 100-count and Behavioral Sciences at Haigazian University. During
2017

survey given to students at Liberty University, studying data collection, the privacy was ensured.
Year

the difference in GPA (Grade Point Average) between Table 1: The Demographic Table
students who listen to music while studying, and those
who do not. The outcome was that, students who Characteristic N%
2
listened to Hip-Hop and Rap while studying, scored Sex
significantly lower than students who listened to relaxing Male 31(33)
Global Journal of Human Social Science ( A ) Volume XVII Issue V Version I

and classical music, which proved to have a positive Female Nationality 63967)
effect on the pupils. Lebanese 86(91.5)
Nevertheless, there are few studies which focus Syrian 6(6.4.)
on the positive role of hard and heavy music. One of Palestinian 1(1.1)
them is the study of Freshteh Ahmadi that discusses the Other
Student's class 1(1.1)
role of hard and heavy music, which plays an important 5(5.3)
Freshman
role in a coping cancer. Hard and heavy music refers to 36(38.3)
Sophomore
genres such as heavy metal, hard rock, hard Rap, punk Junior 13(13.8)
rock and aggressive pop music. A qualitative study was Senior 40(42.6)
conducted among 17 cancer patients who have used it
as a means of coping with their illness. The results were Instruments
against conventional wisdom and indicted that hard and There were two questionnaires used in this
heavy music can be a method of coping with cancer study. First, Perceived Stress scale (PSS) The
(Ahmadi, 2009). demographic table was used to measure the perception
Based on the aforementioned theoretical of stress. This scale is composed of 10 items and the
considerations, our current study is geared to help us scores of PSS are obtained by reversing the stated
understand how the relationship between listening to items. Afterwards, the scores are summed up across all
different genres of music impacts the level of stress scale items. The second scale is the music scale which
-

among university students at HU. Specifically, we will is used to determine the type of music that the
examine the frequency of listening to classical music on participants listen to and to establish the frequency of
reducing stress levels, as well as the frequency of listening to different genres of music. There were four
listening to other types of music and its effect on stress types of music (Rock, Classical, Jazz, and Blues)
levels. mentioned in this questionnaire. The scores are
summed up for each type of music.
III. Method: Quantitative Research
b) Procedure
a) Participants The current study employed a survey and it
A total of 94 Haigazian University students, the used a snowball sampling process. During the survey
majority of whom were females (females 67%, males distribution, all the participants were actively involved.
33%) took part in this study. The mean age was M= The data collection occurred across the HU campus
20.25, SD= 1.76 and most were Nationality (M= 1.12, every day, for one week between 12:00 noon and 1:00
SD= 0.43) and Student’s class (M= 2.9, SD= 1.02). pm. In this study, the counterbalanced design was used
The sample size was calculated using G*Power where to elicit a false response.
the minimum sample size required to achieve a
moderate to large effect size of .5 significant at the 95th
IV. Results
confidence interval is 80. The participants’ socio- Prior to the analysis, the data was checked for
demographic information is presented in Table 1. the accuracy of entry and missing values. There were no

© 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US)

 The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress Levels

missing values found on the perceived stress scale and Normality of the data for all continuous variables
music scale. was checked through the standardized skew statistics (z
Univariate outliers were checked using z-scores skew). There were no significant skewness so “all
and all values exceeding the absolute value of +/-1.96 variables were normally distributed.” Descriptive data on
were considered outliers significant at the 95th the study measures are found in Table 2.
confidence interval. A total of 5 outliers were found on
music scale (5 outliers).

Table 2: Descriptive Table

M SD Minimum Maxmum
Age 20.2553 1.76548 18.00 25.00
M EAN_PSS 2.4033 .31255 1.70 3.11

2017
Rook 2.3723 1.26987 1.00 5.00

Year
CXasacal 2.8817 1.16028 1.00 5.00
Jazz 2.0003 1.05743 1.00 5.00
Blu es 1 .9834 1.14333 1.00 5.00 3

Global Journal of Human Social Science ( A ) Volume XVII Issue V Version I

Table 3: Pearson’s Correlations
Age Mean_PSS Rock Classical Jazz Blues
Mean_PSS .115 -
Freq. of listening to .101 -.074 -
Rock
Freq. of listening to -.082 .107 -.089 -
Classical
Freq. of listening to -.040 .000 .096 .167
Jazz
Freq. of listening to -.078 .051 .165 .313*** .645**
Blues
**. Correlator! ssonificantattheO.01 level{2-tailed).

There was no significant correlation coefficient between frequencies of listening to different types of
in the study. The opposite pattern was observed music scores are presented in Table 3.
between classical music and stress, where consumption An independent samples t-test was conducted
of classical music was negatively associated with stress to assess whether the means of male and female on
stress are significantly different. Findings indicated a

-
as well as the other types of music consumption. The
frequency of listening to classical music was not significant difference (t(df)= 0.5367 , p<.05 such that
correlated positively to stress (r =.107, p>.01). In the mean of females (M=2.449, SD= .306) was higher
addition, the other types of music did not correlate well than the mean of males (M= 2.309, SD= .309 ) (see
with certain genres such as Rock music (r = .074, table 4).
p>.01), Blues (r=.051, p>.01). Pearson’s Correlations

Table 4: T-test Results Comparing Males and Females on Stress Level

Independent
Levene’sTest Samples t-test
(T(df)=0.5367) (2-tailed)
Stress Level n M SD F Sig t Sig.

Male
31 23097 30914 -2.073 .041
.091 .764
Female 63 2.4494 .30617 -2.066 .043

© 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US)

 The Effects of Different Types of Music on Stress Levels

V. Final Word and Evaluation reactions to music: Listener, music, and situation.
Emotion. 9 (5), 668-683.
The purpose of this study was to determine the 4. Juslin P.N., & Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional
relationship between the frequency of listening to responses to music: The need to consider underlying
different genres of music and stress levels among mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 31 (5),
Haigazian University students. For that reason, students 559-575.
ranging between the ages of 18 to 25 filled in 5. Kemper, K. J., & Danhauer, S. C. (2005). Music as
demographic information such as their age and gender therapy. Southern Medical Journal, 98 (3), 282-288.
on two types of scales: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) 6. Kent, D. (2006). The effect of music on the human
and the music scale. Although the literature is pervasive body and mind. Senior Thesis
in discussions associating music and stress levels, and 7. Khalfa, S., Bella, S.D., Roy, M., Peretz, I., & Lupien,
it has consistently assumed that classical music S.J. (2003). Effects of relaxing music on salivary
reduces stress, our results showed that there is no cortisol level after psychological stress. Annals of the
significant correlation between the frequency of classical New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 374-376.
2017

music consumption and stress levels. In addition, there 8. Knoblauch, S. and Zillmann, D. Mood management
seems to be no positive relation between the frequency
Year

via the digital jukebox, 52(2), 351-366.

of listening to other types of music and stress levels. Doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02549x
Nevertheless, an important gender factor was noted, 9. Labbé, E., Schmidt, N., Babin, J., & Pharr, M. (2007).
4 where it was found out that the mean of females is Coping with stress: The Effectiveness of
higher than the males on the stress levels continuum. a. Different Types of Music. Applied Psychophysiology
Global Journal of Human Social Science ( A ) Volume XVII Issue V Version I

Some limitations and disadvantages of the & Biofeedback, 32 (3/4), 163-168. Doi:
study may have contributed to decreasing the validity of 10.1007/s10484-007-9043-9
our research’s overall generalizations. First, the number 10. Ruiz, H. (2005). Effect of music therapy on the
of female participants was almost double that of males anxiety levels and sleep patterns of abused
(63 for females, 31 for males). This might have biased women in shelters. Journal of Music Therapy, 42 (2),
both the sample and the results. For future studies, 140-58.
maybe a more equitable division between the genders is 11. Schellenberg, E. G. (2005). Music and cognitive
suggested, whereby the number of males and females abilities. Current Directions in Psychological Science
ought to be equal in order to achieve more reliability. (Wiley-Blackwell), 14 (6), 317-320. doi:10.1111/
Second, the time during which the study was conducted j.0963-7214.2005.00389.x
might have had an influence on the results, as it was the 12. Zentner M., Grandjean D. & Scherer K.R. (2008).
one-hour leisure time students had in between an Emotions evoked by the sound of music:
intensive studying day attending classes. The Characterization, classification, and measurement.
participants filled the questionnaire in a time interval Emotion 8 (4), 494-521.
every day for one week during their lunch breaks. This
again might have affected the participants’ performance
on the scales. Another limitation has to do with the small
size of the sample, rendering this study inconclusive.
-

That is why, a larger study is recommended in the

future. Another liability might be that the sample was not
that diverse; as it was taken from one university, i.e.
Haigazian University students only. Another factor not
considered in this short survey study is the
socioeconomic class, where music choices seem to
correlate often with this factor. In the future, a larger and
detailed study will be conducted.
References Références Referencias
1. Ahmadi, F. (2009). Hard and heavy music: Can it
make a difference in the young cancer patient’s life?
Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15845/voices.v9i2.345
2. Hebert, S., Beland, R.,Dionne, O.,Crete,M., and
Lupien,S. (2005). Physiological stress response to
video-game playing: the contribution of built-in
music. Life Sciences 76 2371 – 2380 76, 2371-2380.
3. Juslin P.N., Lilestrom D.V., Barrades G. & Silva A.
(2008). An experience sampling study of emotional

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