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Dr Nick Troop = psychologist + musician

psychomusicology = the study of the psychology of music

On this site, you can explore the interaction between psychology and music and discover answers to questions like:

How does music affect us?
Why does music affect us the way it does?
How can we understand the powerful influence that music has on our lives?
What effect do song lyrics have or is it only the music that matters?

Some of this research comes from Dr Nick Troop and colleagues at the Psychology of Performing Arts Lab in the School of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Some of it comes from other research that has caught our eye (or ear).

If you want to find out about our current research or to take part CLICK HERE

Research from the POPA Lab

The T-Factor

In this study we found that the lengths of your fingers can predict who will get into the final of a talent show and who will not.

Expectations and emotions
Although people have emotional responses to music, it is not just the music that causes this effect. The expectation that people have about a song can also influence precisely what this reponses will be.

How to have a hit with a Bowie album
David Bowie is a huge star but his popularity has waxed and waned over the course of his 26 studio albums. There are lots of things that might have influenced this (fashion, the amount of promotion given to the album, the music itself). But it turns out that the words Bowie uses also seem to be related to how long his albums stay in the charts. This is a website where Doctor Nick explores this issue in more detail.

Other psychomusicology research

There's so much to choose but here are some things that caught my eye and piqued my interest.

No one here gets out alive
Pop music is a dangerous business. Bellis and colleagues show just how dangerous it is and why but exploring mortality in musicians

Killing me softly with his song
Some genres have been accused of increasing suicide rates. This is a summary of a flurry of papers from the 1990s on the effects of Country music on suicide

Albums by Nick Troop

(released under the name CatDesigners)

Chemical Jazz

Strange Little Creature

Tomorrow Never Knows

The first two albums are of original material. The third, Tomorrow Never Knows, is a cover of The Beatles' Revolver album.

Doctor Nick Troop

psychomusicology