Cross-Modal Perception of Emotion from Dynamic Point-Light Displays of Musical Performance

Blyth, Holly (2015) Cross-Modal Perception of Emotion from Dynamic Point-Light Displays of Musical Performance. University of Glasgow. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Cross-modal interactions in the perception of emotion in musical performance were investigated in this study. Although it has been widely assumed that the expressive qualities of music are specifically auditory properties, it has also long been known that expressive body movements constitute a form of non-verbal communication. This study addresses the contribution of the visual modality, in the form of the musician’s expressive body movements, to the perception of emotion in musical performance. Thirty participants were presented with either a visual (VO) auditory (AO) or audiovisual (AV) point-light representation of a violin performance and rated their perceived emotional intensity of the piece using the GEMS-45 (Zentner et al., 2008) on a Likert scale of 1-5. The intensity of ratings for 3 target words (sad, tearful & sorrowful) were compared, as well as the results of a brief MEQ (used to define participants as either musicians or non-musicians) in relation to participants’ intensity ratings under each condition. Analysis of results revealed a significant contribution of being able to see a musician’s expressive body movements to the perceived emotional intensity of a musical performance, providing contradictory evidence to the consensus that the expressive qualities of music are solely auditory properties. Evidence from data analysis also suggests that novices perceive a lower level of emotional intensity when they can only hear the music. It is suggested here that this is a result of novices’ greater reliance on the visual modality to determine the emotional content of a musical excerpt.