Awe in Response to Music

For this study awe is defined as an intense and profound emotion that is commonly evoked by aesthetics and is usually accompanied by the feeling of chills and goose bumps. In response to music, who experiences awe and why? To answer these questions individuals reported their experience of awe as response to music. Additionally it was examined whether their perceived feelings correspond with physiological measurements. The sample of the study consisted of 36 German university students. Participants listened to excerpts from eight different songs and reported their experience in a questionnaire while electrodermal activity (EDA) was measured. Additionally the personality trait openness to experience was assessed, because research suggests that it serves as a precondition to experience awe. The results show that there is a strong connection between awe and the personality trait openness to experience, participant’s musical taste, familiarity and the tendency of songs that internalise positive moods. The personal experiences and recordings of EDA did not correspond.