热爱音乐？揭示背后的六大心理因素

原作者：
来源The All-Time Top Six Psychological Reasons We Love Music
译者卷舌音

What psychological roles does music play in our lives?

音乐在我们的生活中究竟扮演着怎样的心理角色？

Modern technology means it's never been easier to hear exactly the music we want, whenever we want it. But whatever technology we use, the reasons we listen to music are universal.

因为现代科技，无论何时何地能够聆听我们想听的音乐从未变得如此容易。然而无论使用什么技术，我们听音乐的原因却是共通的。

Music grabs our emotions instantly in a way few other art-forms can manage. It engages us on all sorts of different levels. A few bars of a song can take us back decades, to a different time and place.

音乐可以瞬间抓住我们的情绪，而这一点是其他艺术表现形式所难以做到的。它可以让我们卷入到不同层次的体验中。例如一首歌曲的某些片段可以带着我们穿越时光隧道，来到数百年前的一个完全不同的时代或地方。

So what are the universal psychological functions of music? Lonsdale and North (2010) asked 300 young people about their main reasons for listening to music to see which came out top. Here are the answers, in order of importance, counted down from six to the number one spot.

那么，所谓音乐具备的普遍心理功用是什么呢？Lonsdale和North 曾于2010年做过一项调查，他们向300名年轻人询问了为何听音乐的主要原因，试图从中找出其中的几大因素。下面给出的是调查研究后所获得的结果。按照各自的重要性排列，由最后一条开始依次是：

6. To learn about others and the world

6. 为了了解他人和这个世界

Languishing down at number six was the way in which music teaches us about the world. Music tells us stories about other people and places and it gives us access to new experiences. Music can teach us how other people think and even suggest how we might live.

第六条指出了音乐教给我们如何看待世界。音乐告诉了我们别人的故事、其他未知的地方，让我们有机会获取新的经验。音乐教会了我们去理解他人如何思考，甚至给出了我们该如何生活的建议。

Psychological research backs up the importance of the information music sends out to others about our personalities. In one study participants could broadly judge another's personality solely on the basis of their top 10 songs (see: personality in your mp3 player).

心理研究更是强调了音乐所传达出的信息同时也可以让他人感知我们的不同个性，这一点是相当重要的。在一项研究中，仅仅是靠最喜欢的10首歌曲，被试几乎可以判断这个人的性格如何（瞧，你的个性就隐藏在你的MP3里）。

Music is also sending us a message about the state of the world. Dodds and Danforth (2009) downloaded the lyrics to almost 250,000 songs composed between 1960 and 2007. They found the lyrics got steadily more depressing up until 1985 and then levelled off around 1990. This decline was seen across all musical genres.

另外，音乐也让我们了解到这个世界正在发生什么。2009年，Dodds和Danforth两人共下载了近250000首歌曲的歌词，这些歌曲均创作于1960至2007年间。他们发现，歌词部分始终弥漫着消沉的气息，并且这种情况一直在稳步加深，1985年达到了峰值。而后开始略有改观，大约在1990年的时候，此类歌词逐步减少。而在不同风格的音乐中这种下降都有所体现。

5. Personal identity

5. 个人身份认同

In at five is identity. The type of music we like expresses something about ourselves. Even the broadest genres like rock, classical and blues begin to give us a picture of a person. We also seem to discover ourselves through music: it can teach is who we are and where we belong. Through music we can build up and project an image of ourselves.

第五条是身份认同问题。我们喜欢不同的音乐其实正是在表达我们自己。即使是最广泛的音乐类型例如摇滚、古典以及爵士，都能由此想象出某个人的大体轮廓。而我们似乎也乐于从音乐中发现自我：我们是谁，我们又属于哪里。通过音乐，我们能够建立并且预见自身形象。

One general trend in popular music is towards greater narcissism. A study has examined the lyrics of the top 10 songs in the U.S. between 1980 and 2007 (DeWall et al., 2011). This found that lyrics related to antisocial behaviour and self-focus increased over the period. On the other hand, over the same time, lyrics related to positive emotions, social interaction and a focus on others have decreased.

总的来说。流行音乐正在走向不断壮大的自我关注中。DeWall等人对1980年至2007年美国排行前十的歌曲所做的研究表明，在此期间，涉及反社会行为及自我聚焦的歌词大幅增加。而另一方面，关于积极情感、社会交往和关注他人这类歌词却明显减少。

4. Interpersonal relationships

4. 人际关系

The fourth most important function of music is its social dimension. Music is a point of conversation. We listen to it while we're with other people and we talk to them about it. It's a way of making a connection.

音乐的第四条功用在于其社会维度。音乐是一个谈话的切入点。我们和他人一起倾听音乐并讨论分享所感所受。简言之，音乐是一种联系方式。

There's little doubt that music and love are inextricably linked and we use one to get the other. One study tested whether exposure to romantic music makes a woman more likely to agree to a date Gueguen et al. (2010). The answer is, emphatically, yes. The percentage of women who agreed to a date almost doubled from 28% to 52% after they had been played some romantic music.

毋庸置疑，音乐与爱情有着千丝万缕的联系，以一个便可得到另一个。Gueguen等人的一项研究测试了是否身处于浪漫的背景音乐下更有可能让一位女士同意对方的邀约。答案是肯定的。在浪漫的音乐氛围中，女方同意赴约的比例从28%上升到了52%，几乎翻了一倍。

The song that did the trick? "Je l’aime à mourir" (I love her to death) by Francis Cabrel (the research was conducted in France).

是不是有那么一首歌耍了个小把戏呢？”Francis Cabrel的Je l’aime à mourir“（注：在法国曾就此做过相关研究）。

2= Negative mood management

2= 负面情绪管理

Tying for the second spot is negative mood management. When we're in a bad mood, music can help us deal with it. When your mood is low, there is something cathartic about listening to sad music. Somehow it helps to know that you're not alone. We use music to relieve tension, express our feelings and escape the realities of everyday life.

排名并列第二的其中之一是负面情绪管理。音乐有助缓解不良情绪。当你心情低落时，聆听那些悲伤的曲调似乎能产生某种奇特的效果。渐渐地你觉得自己并不是孤单一人，我们用音乐来舒缓绷紧的神经、述说我们的情感，并且从日复一日的现实生活中跳脱出来。

Music certainly seems to help us cope with life's slings and arrows. There have been many studies on those about to undergo painful medical procedures. These find that music helps people get through this stressful and anxious time (e.g. Good et al., 2002).

看起来音乐的确帮助了我们更好地应对生活中的明枪暗箭。针对那些即将面对痛苦治疗的病人，这样的研究已有不少。而研究也发现，音乐有助于人们安然度过那些紧张而焦躁的时刻。

2= Diversion

2= 消遣

Also coming in at number two is diversion. Music relieves the boredom of the commute, or of a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's something to do when we don't know what else to do.

同样排名第二的是其娱乐消遣的用处。作为上下班或是一个懒洋洋的下午消除无聊的良药，音乐确实是当我们不知作何时唯一可做的不二法宝。

A word of warning though: don't use background music while you're trying to do something complicated. Research shows that it reduces performance on standard cognitive tests (Cassidy & MacDonald, 2007). Music is a distraction and this research found that the most distracting type is depressing music.

但依旧有一个忠告：不要试图在处理复杂问题时开启你的背景音乐。Cassidy和MacDonald 2007年的研究显示，背景音乐影响了被试在标准认知测试中的表现。音乐会让人分心，并且，其中最扰人心的是那些令人沮丧的音乐。

1. Positive mood management

1. 积极情绪管理

Right up at the top of the charts is positive mood management. This is rated people's most important reason for listening to music: making our good moods even better. It entertains us, relaxes us and sets the right emotional tone.

位列榜首的当属积极情绪管理。这也是人们之所以听音乐最重要的原因：正是为了获得更好的心情。音乐使我们愉悦、让我们感到轻松，调整我们至最佳状态和心境。

Music makes us more hopeful, even after things go wrong for us. In one study by Ziv et al. (2011) participants were falsely told they'd done badly on a task. Those who were played some positive music afterwards, were more hopeful about the future than those left in silence.

音乐点燃起了希望，即使是事与愿违。在Ziv等人的研究中，被试被错误地告知他们在一项任务中的表现不如人意。相对于那些处在无声环境中的被试，聆听过积极向上音乐的人显然更容易重新对未来燃起希望。

添加新评论

相关文章：

  中国动车事故：归责于“信号灯设计的瑕疵”

  二手烟再添一宗罪

  举办奥运更贵了

  非洲东北部严重饥荒：呼吁大规模紧急援助

  Zynga携《城市小镇》进军中国