The Effect of Iso-Principal Based Music Playlists on Anxiety

Chronic anxiety is a growing psychological challenge worldwide and at pre-clinical levels, can be disabling. Some research suggests music may reduce anxiety symptoms as effectively as anti-anxiety drugs without the adverse side effects. The iso principle suggests that the effectiveness of music interventions for mood management can be maximized by commencing a session with music that matches an individual's current emotional state and then gradually moving toward their desired emotional state. Our previous work demonstrated that a playlist generated by a music recommendation system that uses the iso-principal, along with music informatics, auditory beat stimulation, and reinforcement learning can reduce somatic and cognitive anxiety. However, it is unknown whether music playlists based on the iso-principal alone can reduce anxiety. In this study, the investigators wish to examine whether music playlists (~30 min long) based on the iso-principal (neutral to calm) will reduce anxiety after anxiety induction compared to a calm music playlist. The investigators hypothesize that the iso-principal playlist will have greater state anxiety reduction compared to the calm playlist.

Chronic anxiety is a growing psychological challenge worldwide and at pre-clinical levels, can be disabling. Some research suggests music may reduce anxiety symptoms as effectively as anti-anxiety drugs without the adverse side effects. The iso principle suggests that the effectiveness of music interventions for mood management can be maximized by commencing a session with music that matches an individual's current emotional state and then gradually moving toward their desired emotional state. Our previous work demonstrated that a playlist generated by a music recommendation system that uses the iso-principal, along with music informatics, auditory beat stimulation, and reinforcement learning can reduce somatic and cognitive anxiety. However, it is unknown whether music playlists based on the iso-principal alone can reduce anxiety. In this study, the investigators wish to examine whether music playlists (~30 min long) based on the iso-principal (neutral to calm) will reduce anxiety after anxiety induction compared to a calm music playlist. The investigators hypothesize that the iso-principal playlist will have greater state anxiety reduction compared to the reverse-iso and calm playlists. Participants (n = 100) will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups 1) Iso principal playlist, 2) Calm playlist. Prior to their treatment, all participants will undergo anxiety induction (recall an anxiety-provoking event, while listening to anxiety-inducing music). State anxiety (STICSA), positive and negative affect (PANAS), arousal, and valence (SAM) will be measured pre-post anxiety induction and after treatment. This work will be the first of its kind to examine whether a playlist based on the iso-principal is effective at reducing anxiety.

The STICSA has good reliability and validity as a measure of state and trait cognitive and somatic anxiety (Bados et al. 2010, Gros et al. 2007). The minimum score is 10 and the maximum is 40. Higher scores indicate higher anxiety (worse outcome). But in this study the post-intervention anxiety score is subtracted from the pre-intervention anxiety score, giving a measure of anxiety reduction. In the case of this anxiety reduction measure, higher anxiety reduction scores would indicate a better outcome.

The PANAS has good reliability and validity and has been widely used in many studies to assess mood (Gray, 2007; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). This scale generates two scores: 1) Positive affect (higher score indicates a better outcome), scores range from 10-50. 2) Negative affect (higher score indicates worse outcome), scores range from 10-50.

Inclusion Criteria: Participants who have no hearing impairments Participants who have no cardiac issues. Participants who have no history of seizures and epilepsy. Exclusion Criteria: Participants who have hearing impairments Participants who have cardiac issues. Participants who have a history of seizures and epilepsy.

Individual de-identified participant data for STICSA state anxiety, PANAS, and SAM measures will be shared on the Open Science Framework.

Data will become available on the Open Science Framework (osf.io) when the pre-print of the study is uploaded to PsyArXiv. After that point the data will be available for a period of 5 years.

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