Love songs and serenades: a theoretical review of music and romantic relationships

In this theoretical review, we examine how the roles of music in mate choice and social bonding are expressed in romantic relationships. Darwin’s Descent of Man originally proposed the idea that musicality might have evolved as a sexually selected trait. This proposition, coupled with the portrayal of popular musicians as sex symbols and the prevalence of love-themed lyrics in music, suggests a possible link between music and attraction. However, recent scientific exploration of the evolutionary functions of music has predominantly focused on theories of social bonding and group signaling, with limited research addressing the sexual selection hypothesis. We identify two distinct types of music-making for these different functions: music for attraction, which would be virtuosic in nature to display physical and cognitive fitness to potential mates; and music for connection, which would facilitate synchrony between partners and likely engage the same reward mechanisms seen in the general synchrony-bonding effect, enhancing perceived interpersonal intimacy as a facet of love. Linking these two musical functions to social psychological theories of relationship development and the components of love, we present a model that outlines the potential roles of music in romantic relationships, from initial attraction to ongoing relationship maintenance. In addition to synthesizing the existing literature, our model serves as a roadmap for empirical research aimed at rigorously investigating the possible functions of music for romantic relationships

The protein tyrosine kinase Tec regulates a CD44highCD62L- Th17 subset

The generation of Th17 cells has to be tightly controlled during an immune response. In this study, we report an increase in a CD44 2 effector/memory Th17 populations

Music listening at school

Listening to music has been shown to have positive impacts on mood and task performance, but there is little knowledge on such effects in school environments. This mixed-method study aimed to investigate the effects of self-selected music on students' mood, motivation, concentration, and learning success in a real-life school context. Forty-eight high-school students (age range: 15-17) completed the study, and both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. In the second week, participants listened to music before each lesson, while in the first week, no music was played. The results showed that listening to music had strong positive effects on mood, motivation, and concentration, and moderate effects on learning. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions revealed that the beneficial effects were mostly perceived to be due to creating positive and energizing emotions, increasing attention, and providing routine and rest between lessons. The findings suggest that listening to self-selected music could be an effective and low-cost strategy for enhancing students' emotional state, motivation, and concentration in a school context

La questione dellautonomia nellinsegnamento dellitaliano LS e L2 : Aspetti teorici, pratici ed empirici in relazione alle scuole del Tirolo e dellAlto Adige

Arbeit an der Bibliothek noch nicht eingelangt - Daten nicht geprüftInnsbruck, Univ., Diplomarb., 2019(VLID)442807

Trajectories of Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction Over Two Years in the Covid-19 Pandemic

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on various aspects of life, including romantic relationships, has already been demonstrated in several investigations. The aim of the present study was to extend these findings by including a period extending from the beginning to the near end of the pandemic (April 2020-March 2022) and applying a latent class approach to identify population subgroups with different relationship and sexual satisfaction trajectories. We identified three latent classes, a group with high satisfaction levels but a descending trajectory, a group with low satisfaction levels but an ascending trajectory, and a fluctuating group. Living apart, psychological symptoms, low life satisfaction, and avoidant attachment characterized the latter two groups. Separations were mainly predicted by sex and living apart

Auditory and Visual Mental Imagery in Musicians and Nonmusicians

The present research investigated auditory and visual mental imagery and how this ability differs in people with and without musical training. In a first part, the characteristics of a new auditory imagery self-report questionnaire (the Vividness of Auditory Imagery Questionnaire, VAIQ) were reported. The questionnaire was composed of 16 items assessing mental vividness of auditory everyday sounds and it was administered to 147 participants, demonstrating good psychometric properties. In a second part, self-reported vividness of auditory and visual images was assessed in people with and without music expertise. Thirty-six formally trained musicians, 33 self-taught musicians, and 33 nonmusicians completed the questionnaires. The newly built questionnaire VAIQ and the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ, Marks, 1973) were administered. Music aptitude and general cognitive abilities were also assessed in all participants as control measures. We observed that both groups of musicians self-reported greater vividness of mental imagery for auditory nonmusical sounds than nonmusicians, but not for visual images. The study confirmed that music expertise is linked to enhanced self-reported auditory mental imagery for everyday sounds, illustrating that such advantage is selective for auditory imagery; no difference concerning visual imagery between the groups of musicians and nonmusicians emerged

Love songs and serenades : a theoretical review of music and romantic relationships

In this theoretical review, we examine how the roles of music in mate choice and social bonding are expressed in romantic relationships. Darwin’s Descent of Man originally proposed the idea that musicality might have evolved as a sexually selected trait. This proposition, coupled with the portrayal of popular musicians as sex symbols and the prevalence of love-themed lyrics in music, suggests a possible link between music and attraction. However, recent scientific exploration of the evolutionary functions of music has predominantly focused on theories of social bonding and group signaling, with limited research addressing the sexual selection hypothesis. We identify two distinct types of music-making for these different functions: music for attraction, which would be virtuosic in nature to display physical and cognitive fitness to potential mates; and music for connection, which would facilitate synchrony between partners and likely engage the same reward mechanisms seen in the general synchrony-bonding effect, enhancing perceived interpersonal intimacy as a facet of love. Linking these two musical functions to social psychological theories of relationship development and the components of love, we present a model that outlines the potential roles of music in romantic relationships, from initial attraction to ongoing relationship maintenance. In addition to synthesizing the existing literature, our model serves as a roadmap for empirical research aimed at rigorously investigating the possible functions of music for romantic relationships.peerReviewe

Melody for the Mind: Enhancing Mood, Motivation, Concentration, and Learning through Music Listening in the Classroom

Listening to music has been shown to have positive impacts on mood and task performance, but there is little knowledge on such effects in school environments. This mixed-method study aimed to investigate the effects of self-selected music on students’ mood, motivation, concentration, and learning success in a real-life school context. Forty-eight secondary school students (age range: 15–19) completed the study, and both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The study consisted of two phases: one week of regular lessons without music and a subsequent week in which students listened to self-selected music before each lesson. The results showed that listening to music had strong positive effects on mood, motivation, and concentration, and moderate effects on learning. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions revealed that the beneficial effects were mostly perceived to be due to creating positive and energizing emotions, increasing attention, and providing routine and rest between lessons. The findings suggest that listening to self-selected music could be an effective and low-cost strategy for enhancing students’ emotional state, motivation, and concentration in a school context