Listening to music by yourself might not seem like a social activity, but researchers have published a study that suggests how doing so can have valuable social benefits.
“It’s a great way to give yourself a social boost and increase your well-being,” says Elaine Paravati, the study’s corresponding author, who conducted the research while completing her doctorate at the University at Buffalo.
Across two experiments for the study published in the journal Original Empirical Investigation, Paravati and coauthors—Esha Naidu, a postdoctoral associate at Duke University, who was finishing her graduate work at UB at the time of the research; and Shira Gabriel, a UB professor of psychology—demonstrated how music functions as a social surrogate.
The study’s perspective, however, differs from a lot of previous research on the social aspects of music, which often focus on how music brings people together, as listeners and performers.
Paravati instead looked at music enjoyed in isolation.
Humans have a fundamental need to belong, which strongly motivates our behavior. Failing to connect with others can lead to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. There are traditional ways to fill this need, like spending time with family and friends, but there are non-traditional strategies as well, activities that might not be immediately recognized as social.
These are known as social surrogates, which can buffer against loneliness, isolation, and social threats, like rejection, just as well as time spent with others.
Parasocial relationships, such as the one-sided bond between fans and celebrities, immersion into the social world, and reminders of others, are all social surrogates.
“Listening to music alone operates as a social surrogate along all three of those pathways,” says Paravati.
“All of these paths can help us feel less lonely and more belonging. Music helps us feel connected to the artists; it can make us feel immersed in the world of music; and music can remind us of others.
“You might think you’re motivated to listen to your favorite song because you think it has a catchy beat, but it’s likely that you’re drawn in because that music is filling your social fuel tank and helping you feel a sense of belonging.”
For the study’s first experiment, the researchers asked participants about their use of known social surrogates, such as favorite television shows, as well as their use of music.
“We found that listening to one’s favorite music helped individuals feel less lonely,” says Paravati. “But someone’s favorite music was more effective at this than just listening to music in general.
“In other words, there is something special about putting on your favorite song and jamming out.”
For the second experiment, the researchers designed a test to measure the effectiveness of favorite music as a response to a social threat. Participants played a virtual ball-toss game often used for research on social exclusion.
“Again, those who listened to their favorite music felt more belonging that those in the control condition, suggesting that listening to their favorite music buffered against the negative effects of a social threat.”
Paravati says future research might explore the impact of music genre or the individual differences among the three surrogate pathways and which might be more important than the other two.
“This work is another puzzle piece that shows how little things we do in our everyday lives help us to be as healthy and happy as possible,” says Paravati.
Source: University at Buffalo
