This study investigated the inverted-U model of preference for music as a function of collative variables (especially familiarity and complexity) over the last 115 years. The results of 57 studies on music preference were categorized according to their patterns of preference. Fifty of the 57 studies (87.7%) were categorized as compatible with an overarching (segmented) inverted-U model, while the results of five studies (8.8%) were interpreted as mixed, showing both compatible and incompatible results. Two studies (3.5%) were categorized as completely incompatible with the model. In contrast to authors who describe the model as defunct, this review has observed that studies producing results compatible with the inverted-U are still prevalent. We propose that while there may be inconsistencies with Berlyne's psychobiological theory from a scientific, arousal-based standpoint, the inverted-U model is able to explain a considerable amount of data. Rather, it seems that research interests have moved elsewhere, but caution is urged in asserting denial or dismissal of the relationship in music preference research.Why do we like certain pieces or types of music, and does our liking change over time? In the 1960s Daniel Berlyne's psychobiological theory provided a general explanation of aesthetic preference that could directly address these questions. He proposed that preference varies systematically as a function of collative variables, such as familiarity/novelty and complexity. Having links to research conducted by Wundt nearly a century earlier, the theory came to dominate all aspects of psychological research on aesthetic preference, including music preference,

During the COVID-19 pandemic some Australians turned to artistic creative activities (ACAs) as a way of managing their own mental health and well-being. This study examined the role of ACAs in regulating emotion and supporting mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also attempted to identify at-risk populations. We proposed that (1) participants would use ACAs as avoidance-based emotion regulation strategies; and (2) music engagement would be used for emotion regulation. Australian participants (N = 653) recruited from the general public completed an online survey, which included scales targeting anxiety (GAD7 scale), depression (PHQ9 scale) and loneliness (two UCLA Loneliness Scales, referring to “Before” and “Since” COVID-19). Participants reported which ACAs they had undertaken and ceased during the pandemic using an established list and ranked their undertaken ACAs in terms of effectiveness at making them “feel better.” For their top-ranked ACA, participants then completed the Emotion Regulation Scale for Artistic Creative Activities (ERS-ACA), and if participants had undertaken any musical ACAs, also the Musical Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ). The results supported both hypotheses. ANOVAs indicated that participants ranked significantly higher on the “avoidance” ERS-ACA subscale than the other subscales, and that participants ranked significantly higher on the emotion regulation and musical preference MusEQ subscales than the other subscales. Additionally, while ACAs such as “Watching films or TV shows” and “Cookery or baking” were common, they ranked poorly as effective methods of emotion regulation, whereas “Listening to music” was the second-most frequently undertaken ACA and also the most effective. “Singing” and “Dancing” were among the most ceased ACAs but also ranked among the most effective for emotion regulation, suggesting that support for developing pandemic-safe approaches to these ACAs may provide well-being benefits in future crises. Additionally, correlation analyses showed that younger participants, those who took less exercise during the pandemic, and those with the highest musical engagement reported the poorest well-being. We conclude that ACAs provided an important resource for supporting mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and could potentially support mental health and well-being in future crises.

A significant contribution to the literature on aesthetics in the last decade has been Bullot and Reber's ecologically-driven psycho-historical framework for the science of art appreciation (PHF). The framework proposes that the presence of contextualizing information accompanying an artwork will impart a substantial impact on appreciation for it, which is accessible through understanding of the causal information surrounding the work. Artistic understanding is outlined in terms of three hierarchical “modes” of appreciation. This paper tested a simplified hypothesis drawn from the PHF, using results reported in the existing literature. As Bullot and Reber note that such a framework is relevant for any artistic medium containing causal information, results were drawn from literature concerned with either music or visual works. Our review identified 34 studies that reported results of appreciation (or equivalent) as a dependent variable, while manipulating contextual/historical information for the stimuli as an independent variable. Overall the results were consistent across the two artistic mediums: 9 experiments (26%) produced strong support for the PHF, 6 experiments (18%) produced inconclusive results, and 19 experiments (56%) produced no support for the PHF. We concluded that the majority of the reviewed literature does not support the simplified PHF hypothesis for either medium. However, we also discuss a number of limitations surrounding these studies which may have produced a substantial impact on the categorization results: small sample sizes in some studies, difficulty in translating philosophically-based theory into empirical practice, and interactions with variables such as exposure and “unusualness.”

This paper investigates the role of unusualness ratings in predicting music preference. In addition, the variables complexity and familiarity were rated for five music stimuli covering a range of styles. Ninety-four participants were exposed to each stimulus ten times over a three-week period. The three variables were tested as predictors of preference using linear and quadratic curve-fitting procedures. A linear increasing relationship was observed for familiarity, and inverted-U relationships were observed for unusualness and complexity. These results are consistent with Berlyne’s inverted-U model, or a segment of the inverted-U in the case of familiarity. Unusualness was a good indicator of music preference, and explained more variance than complexity or familiarity. Furthermore, the two stimuli that scored highest in unusualness produced consistently low ratings of preference independent of exposure, which appears to be a hallmark of “extreme” music stimuli.