Effects of Music upon GSR and Heart-Rate

The hypothesis being tested is that the responses to three pieces of music designated as exciting, neutral, and calming exist in that order on a scale of GSR, with the magnitude of the score inversely related to resistance, and on a Scale of heart-rate.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of music judged to differ with respect to capacity to excite and to calm upon galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart-rate. The hypothesis being tested is that the responses to three pieces of music designated as exciting, neutral, and calming exist in that order on a scale of GSR, with the magnitude of the score inversely related to resistance, and on a scale of heart-rate, with the magnitude of the score directly related to the number of beats per minute. The results of previous studies on the physiological effects of music generally lend support to this hypothesis, at least with respect to GSR.1 GSR and heart-rate were selected for study because they are assumed to be two physiological manifestations of emotional response.