The effect of positive music and dispositional hope on state hope and affect

Abstract

Within the field of positive psychology, hope has been shown to be related to individuals’ ways of coping with success and failure. The present study examined the effect of music and dispositional hope on state hope, after experiencing failure. Sixty participants filled out a dispositional hope questionnaire, and completed a computer task for which they received false failure feedback. Thirty participants listened to positive music following the task, while 30 participants did not receive the music stimulus. Participants then filled out a state hope questionnaire and a positive and negative affect scale. Results showed a significant effect of music on state hope: participants listening to positive music scored higher on state hope than participants in the control group. No significant effect for dispositional hope was found. However, an interaction between dispositional hope and music was found, such that music was shown to affect only high dispositional hope participants, and had no effect on low dispositional hope participants. No significant effects on affect were found. Results are discussed in relation to individual differences in music’s effect. Future directions for research and implications for music therapy are suggested.