The Influence of Musical Genres on Emotional State and Social Identity: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine how listening to music from different genres influences listeners’ emotional states and social identities, as well as to determine the role of demographic factors (age, gender) in these changes. The sample consisted of students from Yancheng Teachers University, China. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental groups – Folk (n = 114), Rock (n = 113), and Pop (n = 114) – and one control group (n = 116). Over four weeks, participants in the experimental groups were required to listen to 12 playlists, each comprising 5–7 songs. Before and after each listening session, participants assessed their positive and negative affective responses. Additionally, participants completed surveys using the Perceived Stress Scale and the Collective Self-Esteem Scale both prior to and following the experiment. To evaluate how positive and negative emotions, stress levels, and social identity changed as a function of group (Folk, Rock, Pop, and Control) over time (pre- and post-intervention), a Repeated Measures ANCOVA were employed. For positive affect, a significant effect of group was observed (p < 0.001, η² = 0.14), with the greatest increase occurring in the Pop group.