News Finding: "We argue that the more beautiful music is, the easier it is for the listener to concentrate on the music," the researchers write.
Paper Finding: We argue that the more beautiful music is, the easier it is for the listener to concentrate on the music.
News Context: In contrast, choosing music "with the intention of triggering memories" was actually counterproductive. "We argue that the more beautiful music is, the easier it is for the listener to concentrate on the music," the researchers write. While presumably fitting one's initial mood, the piece ultimately serves as an effective distraction.
Paper Context: As predicted (2c) people most often selected music with a high aesthetic value selection strategy when they aimed for distraction. We argue that the more beautiful music is, the easier it is for the listener to concentrate on the music. Moreover, these findings are in line with findings that stimulus that is perceived to have high aesthetic value will generate sensory pleasure and inhibit displeasure Menon & Levitin, 2005) .