the main goal of this course is to illustrate the main scientific research and debates that animated the psychology of music from the middle of the XX century to nowadays. The course will delineate the main theories and experimental approaches related to the study of music from a cognitive perspective. This will lead to consider music implications in cognitive functioning as well as its main role our society. The course aims therefore at offering a general knowledge about the music cognition domain, while promoting students’ scientific and critical perspectives thorough active theoretical and methodological debates.
Course Prerequisites
Bases of experimental and cognitive psychology
Teaching Methods
The course includes hours of lectures and interactive teaching through debates and group work. Specifically:
Oral examinations based on criteria of thoroughness, relevance, and clarity of presentation.
Texts
Materials (e.g., slides, papers, book chapters) will be made available during the course.
Contents
This course is conceived as an introduction to the Psychology of Music. After a general introduction on the relationship between music and cognition, the course will illustrate the main theoretical approaches and experimental behavioral studies about the origins of music, music acquisition, music perception, music-related movement, and musical emotions. Furthermore, the strong relationship between music and other cognitive functions (such as language and memory) will be highlighted. The course content will be addressed taking into consideration the ethical-deontological principles which, based on the specific topic, will be described in detail by the instructor, both from a theoretical perspective and with a direct connection to practical activities (e.g., through the discussion of exemplary cases).
