This thesis concerns the importance, uses and effects of music in everyday life. The first study investigated the importance of music for 1000 Pakistani students. Results indicated that the great majority enjoyed listening to music, which was preferred to most of the other indoor and outdoor activities considered, and listening to and playing music had different perceived benefits. The second study used a variant of the experience sampling method to investigate the uses and experiences of music in the course of everyday life among 200 Pakistanis. Results indicate that the importance of several functions of music depends particularly upon with whom the participant was with and the place where the music was heard. The third study investigated the relationship between listening to music, health and happiness among 301 British and 594 Pakistani students. Results indicated that there were significant positive relationships between time spent listening to music and each of health and happiness. The fourth study investigated the effect of religious music on mental health among 175 Pakistanis hospitalized with psychotic depression. The results indicated that, relative to other types of psychosocial support materials, religious music led to the greatest decrease in depression levels. A fifth study used qualitative methods to investigate the musical peak experiences of six white British and six Pakistani participants. Several similarities were noted in the musical peak experiences of these two groups, suggesting that musical peak experiences may be a universal phenomenon. The sixth study investigated the relationship between musical peak experiences and the general health and level of happiness among 105 British and 115 Pakistani students. Results indicate that peak experiences of music were related positively to health and happiness and that these effects were not mediated by ethnicity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:697352 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Rana, Shabbir Ahmad |
| Publisher | University of Leicester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/2381/31234 |
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