PSYC 406 - Psychology of Music

Why do we listen to music that makes us sad? Can animals understand music? Why do some songs get “stuck in our heads”? Why don’t ALL songs get stuck in our heads? Much as our psychological capabilities have evolved in response to our environment, music has evolved in response to the design of our perceptual and cognitive systems. This course is designed to introduce undergraduate students to the psychological processes upon which music is built, using it as a vehicle for understanding human perception and cognition. By reading a mixture of original research articles and excerpts of textbooks written by some of today’s leading scholars, students will both gain an appreciation for the process of music cognition research and learn to evaluate/think critically about psychological research in general

Credits: 3