PSYC 353 - Psychology of Music (4)

The psychology of music is the science of how humans perceive, process, and respond to music. This course will explore music’s psychological, physiological, evolutionary, and sociological foundations across different stages of life, cultures, and non-human species. Students will learn why music can influence our movements, alter our emotions, trigger memories, and help us form connections with others. The primary objective of this course is to equip students with theoretical, methodological, and content knowledge about the intriguing relationship between psychology and music. Various aspects of music psychology will be explored, including the impact of music on behavior, the physiological and emotional responses music elicits, how we perceive and think about music, the motor skills involved in musical activities, the processes of learning and development in music, the principles of music therapy, preferences and creativity related to music, the development of music expertise, the general effects of music training, and the brain regions associated with music behavior and processing. This course is structured as a seminar. Prerequisites: PSYC 100 and PSYC 201, or permission of instructor. Fall.