Musical experience as interpersonal process: revisited

Abstract

In the early sixties, the author formulated an interpersonal hypothesis of music, stating that music iconically signifies not only the emotions of the subjects, but also their interpersonal tendencies. He designed several experiments to test the hypothesis, and conducted them with co-workers in 1964 and 1968. Invariably, statistical tests of significance supported the hypothesis. On the basis of these and other experiments in various cultural settings, the author, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, conceives musical experience within a conceptual framework of mental life. A small social group is a basic behavioral unit for human beings. Even when alone, we live in a fantasy group, a “group schema”. Music is a way to participate in fantasy in group processes, as are dreams and play. It is shown how this fits into a broader context of evolutionary psychology, ethology and sociobiology. The potential of the hypothesis and its interpersonal classification for musicological research is outlined.