Music in the moment: The use of a musical intervention to impact state experiences

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether a lyrically based musical intervention, the theme song for change, or a positive writing exercise would impact participants’ emotional state-based components when thinking about the achievement of a short-term goal. Fifty participants (N = 46) were randomly assigned to either the theme song for change condition (n = 25) or the writing condition (n = 21). Before the intervention, participants in both conditions individually selected a short-term goal that they could achieve within two weeks. Participants completed a pretest, developed their short-term goal, received one of the two conditions, then completed the posttest. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA found significant increases in vitality for the theme song group. Both theme song and positive writing groups significantly increased the participants’ positive affect and decreased their worry. Further, only the participants in the theme song group had experienced significant impacts on decreasing negative affect and anxiety and increasing euthymia. Limitations and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.