Short-Term Effects of Group Singing Versus Listening on Mood and State Self-Esteem
This study examined short-term effects on mood and self-esteem of a novel group-singing model that relies exclusively on oral methods of teaching songs in 59 community-recruited adults. We compared effects of group singing to group listening using a counterbalanced, within-subjects experimental design that isolated the effects of changes attributable to singing versus listening. We hypothesized both singing and listening would improve mood and state self-esteem, and singing would yield a larger effect than listening. Mixed between-within ANOVA results were partially consistent with these hypotheses. Participants’ positive affect and mood improved after singing and declined after listening, regardless of the order in which they sang or listened. State self-esteem increased throughout the session regardless of condition. Thus, this group-singing format tended to boost participants’ mood and positive affect, at least temporarily. This easily-disseminable singing model could be a simple means of helping improve emotional well-being among community members.