We are thrilled to have Professor Lawrence Zbikowski launch this year’s workshop with his paper, “Music and the Simulation of Emotions.” The abstract appears below; download the pre-circulated paper here. Please join us for this inaugural event in Logan Terrace Room 801 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on Wednesday, October 7.

Abstract:

In this paper I build on recent work on the simulation of emotions to develop an account of how musical organization shapes emotional responses. According to the model developed by Paula Niedenthal and her colleagues, emotional responses to social signals such as smiles activate psychological and physical processes that are similar to those that underlie the signal. The result is an embodied simulation of an emotional response. Such simulations may result in overt emotional displays (responding to a smile with a smile) but they may also be associated with more complex behaviors (such as those involved with responding to a feigned smile, or one used to assert dominance). Key to the shaping of such complex behavior is conceptual knowledge. Through a close reading of the Andante from J.S. Bach’s Second Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin, I illustrate how conceptual knowledge activated by sequences of musical sound can inform emotional responses. I further suggest how this approach can address problems associated with the study of emotional responses to music, and how it could be developed in experimental contexts.