This project examined whether a sample of Western children responded affectively to particular structural features of music. Children aged 3 and 4 years listened to 8 versions of 2 melodies that varied in tempo (fast/slow), dynamics (loud/quiet) and modality (major/minor third). We measured two types of emotional response as a function of the musical presentation. 1) Children chose which prototypical face representing joy, sadness, anger, and fear matched the musical presentation (pointing response). 2) Coders rated the child's facial and postural expression of emotion during stimulus presentation (judged emotional state).

    Overall results indicate that when children displayed happy behavior and pointed to the happy face, it was in relation to fast stimuli. When children displayed sad behavior and pointed to the sad face, it was in relation to the slow and quiet stimuli. When children pointed to the mad face is was in relation to the loud stimuli. When analyzed by age, results indicate developmental differences between the 3 and 4-year-olds' responses. Logistic regression showed that tempo and dynamics influenced which face the 4-year-old children pointed to, whereas tempo and dynamics did not appear to influence the 3-year-olds' pointing responses. Mode did not appear to influence either age groups' pointing responses. Tempo influenced the 3 and 4-year-olds emotional state as judged by an outside observer. This research raises several questions about the origin of affective responses to music. Are affective meanings socially constructed, or is there a biological preparedness for such learning to occur? Such questions will be addressed in future research.