Singing the Stress Away: Karaoke As a Coping Tool

Abstract

While highly entertaining, music can also serve as a coping mechanism. For instance, group singing can reduce anxiety and improve social relations. However, research on individual singing is scarce. Although individual singing in front of others has been used in the past to induce stress, it is unclear whether it can also decrease stress in other contexts (e.g., alone without social pressure). In the current study, participants’ perceived stress, mood, and blood pressure were taken before and after a stress-inducing arithmetic task. Next, they were placed in one of five conditions: singing or listening to liked or disliked songs alone, or sitting in silence, and stress, mood, and blood pressure were assessed a final time. Finally, participants completed demographics, musical sophistication, and personality questionnaires. Based on a previous study in our lab, we expect that stress will decrease after singing or listening to music, with singing showing the largest effects. Moreover, it is expected that those singing to preferred songs will show the greatest decrease in stress. These findings would suggest that singing could serve as a particularly easy and effective coping tool for stress. This would be beneficial to individuals who experience recurrent anxiety, or anyone looking for a quick way to reduce stress.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kathleen Corrigall