The forgotten role of absorption in music reward
Gemma Cardona, Laura Ferreri, Urbano Lorenzo‐seva, Frank Russo, Antoni Rodríguez‐fornells
March 21, 2024 DOI: 10.32920/25413319 via OpenAlex
Summary
People who find music more rewarding also tend to experience deeper states of absorption—complete immersion that can involve losing track of time or self-consciousness. In two samples totaling 920 participants, scores on the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire and the Absorption in Music Scale were strongly correlated (r = 0.78). Four absorption-related items were added to create an extended version of the reward questionnaire. Statistical analyses confirmed the extended measure's reliability, suggesting that including an absorption facet improves the characterization of individual differences in music-related reward and pleasure.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 920 |
| Population | Adult participants from two samples (N = 370 and N = 550) |
| Keywords | Absorption acoustics Psychology Physics |
| Key finding | Music reward sensitivity and music absorption are highly interrelated (r = 0.78), and adding an absorption facet to the reward questionnaire improves its characterization of individual differences. |
Abstract
Interindividual differences in music-related reward have been characterized as involving five main facets: musical seeking, emotion evocation, mood regulation, social reward, and sensory-motor. An interesting concept related to how humans decode music as a rewarding experience is music transcendence or absorption (i.e., music-driven states of complete immersion, including momentary loss of self-consciousness or even time-space disorientation). Here, we investigated the relation between previously characterized facets of music reward and individual differences in music absorption. A first sample of participants (N = 370) completed both the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ) and the Absorption in Music Scale (AIMS). Results showed that both constructs were highly interrelated (r = 0.78, p < 0.001), indicating that higher music reward sensitivity is associated with a greater tendency to music-related absorption states. In addition, four items from the AIMS were identified as suitable to be added to an extended version of the BMRQ (eBMRQ). A second sample (N = 550) completed the eBMRQ for a validation study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the whole sample (N = 920) showed the reliable psychometric properties of the eBMRQ and suggested that taking into account an absorption facet could contribute to a better characterization of individual differences in the sensitivity to experience music-related reward and pleasure.