How Apathetic Ears Alter Music Enjoyment
Apathy is defined as a lack of interest; its definition also encompasses a lack of concern or enthusiasm. Interestingly enough apathy can negate the body’s response to music, in particular, the reward response. When we listen to music we find enjoyable we receive a sort of mental reward that makes listening to the music rewarding. However, when apathy is in the picture the reward one gains from listening to music is lost. It’s almost like a mental wall.
Being apathetic towards music is different from musical anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy music. An apathetic person may be able to receive rewards from music if the feeling of apathy dwindles, however it is unlikely that a person with musical anhedonia will be able to enjoy music regardless of the state they are in. Musical enjoyment is not universal, saying “everyone loves music” is no truer than saying “everyone loves pumpkin spice.” In life, it seems everything exists on a spectrum and that includes the amount of enjoyment individuals get from music.
Knowing that our mood impacts our levels of enjoyment vastly alters the way should think about things. If you are trying something new and happen to not be in the best of moods you may not like the stimuli in question. Humans make associations between things fairly quickly. Humans are quick to associate the new stimuli with our mood. This works both ways, for example, if you are happy then you could associate the new stimuli with being happy.
The unfortunate thing about this is it is nearly impossible to get a purely objective opinion on anything, especially if you are personally connected to it. There are always factors that will influence your decisions, that may not necessarily have to do with the stimuli. Past experiences, for example, tend to be a major influence in our decision making.