Background

 

There has been several studies involving the measurement of physiological signals for use in music and dance. For instance, Teresa Marrin Nakra’s Conductor’s Jacket was a way to measure the conductor’s physiological signals to better understand how the conductor expresses affective information while performing (Marrin et al., 1998). More recently, she is using the conductor’s jacket to study the correlation between the emotional responses of the conductor and the audience (Nakra et al., not yet published)


In a more dance related study, Latulipe et al. measured skin conductance response of audience members as they watched pre-recorded dance and theatre performances. They found a strong correlation between skin conductance response readings and self-reported emotional arousal (Latulipe et al, 2011).


The most directly related study is by Murcia et al., where they measured a 2x2 condition matrix of 11 couples dancing tango with/without music and with/without partner to study changes in emotional state and hormonal markers (Murcia et al., 2009). The participants completed an emotional survey and gave saliva samples both before and after each condition. The saliva samples were used to determine cortisol and testosterone levels. Their findings showed that dancing both with music and partner was associated with the greatest positive affect change, the greatest cortisol decrease , and highest testosterone increase.


This study differs from the one by Murcia et al. because continuous physiological data is recorded. This allows for a more detailed view in the arousal states of the participants over time. Continuous data collection is especially useful in determining the effect of different songs on the arousal states of the participants.