Investigating The Relationship Between Emotional Ratings of Music and Autism Spectrum Traits in Adults
Uwemedimo S. Isaiah
While music is universally recognized as a powerful medium for emotional communication and social bonding, individuals with autism spectrum traits often report atypical emotional experiences in social contexts, raising critical questions about whether these differences extend to aesthetic and emotional engagement with art. This study investigated the relationship between autism spectrum traits and emotional ratings of music in adults, with the goal of understanding how varying levels of these traits influence emotional responses to different musical pieces. A sample of 60 adults aged 18 to 45, including both males and females, participated in the study. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) was employed to measure the degree of autistic traits in participants.
Each participant listened to six musical pieces (three sad and three happy) selected for their ability to elicit specific emotional responses, and rated their emotional reactions on a 7-point Likert scale. The study utilized a quasi-experimental within-subjects design, and data were analyzed using Pearson
correlation analysis via SPSS, with significance set at p < .05. Results indicated no statistically significant correlations between AQ scores and emotional
ratings for any individual musical piece or composite averages. Specifically, correlations for sad music pieces ranged from r(58) = −.044 to .080 (p = .740 to .542), with the sad music composite showing virtually zero correlation (r(58) = −.001, p = .992). Similarly, happy music pieces yielded correlations ranging from r(58) = −.122 to .159 (p = .352 to .225), with the happy music composite also showing negligible association (r(58) = .008, p = .954). All effect sizes were negligible to small (r < .20), and no correlations approached statistical significance. These findings suggest that autism spectrum traits do not predict emotional responses to music, implying that individuals with these traits experience music emotionally in ways that are not substantially different from others. The study contributes to an understanding of emotional processing in autism and suggests that music-based interventions could be used effectively in therapeutic contexts. However, further research is recommended to explore the ways in which autistic traits may influence emotional engagement with different forms of emotional stimuli.
