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 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.