A descriptive study of empathic reactions generated during an educational intervention designed to promote empathy
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Published
2026-03-25
Pablo Davila-Barrio
Dr. Cristina Arriaga
Dr. Alberto Cabedo
Abstract
: Empathy plays a fundamental role in the interaction between human beings. Different authors identify empathy as an ability that can improve social skills, especially in educational processes. In addition, other authors also suggest that empathy influences people’s emotional states. This study reveals a descriptive study of empathetic responses in an educational musical intervention. The contents of the non-verbal conduct of five chamber music groups (a total of 13 students aged 15 to 18) were studied while performing some group musical exercises. The data was encoded in two categories. In the first, non-verbal behaviors aimed at the proper development and correct interpretation of a musical group action were grouped together; in the second, those which were excluded from the first group. Finally, the data from the second group were associated with an expressive component and related to the four dimensions of empathy in the Cognitive and Emotional Empathy Test. A total of 755 non-verbal behaviors were obtained, of which 179 were classified as empathetic reactions. It calls for further studies analysing the connections between empathy and musical development in group performance and reflects on benefits and challenges of developing empathetic abilities in the field of music education.
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Keywords
Empathy, group music performance, educational intervention, music education, observation
References
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Bishop, L., & Goebl, W. (2015). When they listen and when they watch: Pianists’ use of nonverbal audio and visual cues during duet performance. Musicae Scientiae, 19(1), 84- 110. doi: 10.1177/1029864915570355
Bishop, L., Goebl, W. (2018). Communication for coordination: gesture kinematics and conventionality affect synchronization success in piano duos. Psychological Research 82, 1177–1194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0893-3
Bishop, L., Cancino-Chaco ́n, C., and Goebl, W. (2019). Moving to communicate, moving to interact: Patterns of body motion in musical duo performance. Music Perception, 37, 1-25. This version is a final preprint of the paper prepared by the author
Bishop, Laura, and Peter E. Keller, 'Instrumental Ensembles', in Gary E. McPherson (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 2 (2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 18 Mar. 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190058869.013.21
Chang, A., Kragness, H. E., Livingstone, S. R., Bosnyak, D. J., & Trainor, L. J. (2019). Body sway reflects joint emotional expression in music ensemble performance. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–11. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36358-4
Clarke, E., DeNora, T., & Vuoskoski, J. (2015). Music, empathy and cultural understanding. Physics of Life Reviews, 15, 61–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2015.09.001.
Cosano Molleja, A., Zych, I., & Ortega Ruiz, R. (2017). Attention, communication and development of interpretation skills in chamber music pianists´education. Psychology, Society &Amp; Education, 9(2), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.25115/psye.v9i2.715
Davidson, J. W. (2012). Bodily movement and facial actions in expressive musical performance by solo and duo instrumentalists: Two distinctive case studies. Psychology of Music, 40(5), 595–633. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612449896
D’Ausilio, A., Novembre, G., Fadiga, L., & Keller, P.E. (2015). What can music tell us about social interaction? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19, 111–114.
Eisenberg, N. & Strayer, J. (1992). Emphaty and its development. University Press, New York.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, usage, and coding. semiotica, 1(1), 49-98.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1978). Manual for the Facial Action Code. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., & Ellsworth, P. (2013). Emotion in the human face: Guidelines for research and an integration of findings (Vol. 11). Elsevier.
Galiano Pérez, J. (2016). Aprendizaje de la comunicación no verbal en la música de cámara.
Glowinski, D., Dardard, F., Gnecco, G., Piana, S., & Camurri, A. (2014). Expressive non- verbal interaction in a string quartet: An analysis through head movements. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces. doi: 10.1007/s12193-014-0154-3
Godøy, R.I., & Leman, M. (2010). Musical gestures : sound, movement, and meaning.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
Hawkins, A. (2013). The effects of Music and synchrony on the development of empathy in young children [Thesis, East Tennessees State University].
Hove, M. J., & Risen, J. L. (2009). It’s all in the timing: interpersonal synchrony increases affiliation. Social Cognition, 27(6), 949–961. doi:10.1521/soco.2009.27.6.949.
Juslin, P. N. (2003). Five facets of musical expression: a psychologist’s perspective on music performance. Psychology of Music, 31, 273-302.
Keller, P.E. (2014). Ensemble performance: Interpersonal alignment of musical expression. In D. Fabian, R. Timmers, & E. Schubert (Eds.), Expressiveness in music performance: Empirical approaches across styles and cultures (pp. 260-282). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Knapp, M. (1982): La comunicación no verbal. El cuerpo y su entorno. Barcelona, Paidós, 373 pp.
Macrae, C. N., Duffy, O. K., Miles, L. K., & Lawrence, J. (2008). A case of hand waving: action synchrony and person perception. Cognition, 109(1), 152–156. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07. 007.
Meissner, H. (2021). Theoretical framework for facilitating young musicians’ learning of expressive performance. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 584171.
Novembre, G. and Keller, P. E. (2014). A conceptual review on action-perception coupling in the musicians’ brain: What is it good for? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00603
Oceja, L., López-Pérez, B., Ambrona, T. & Fernández, I. (2009). Measuring general dispositions to feeling empathy and distress. Psicothema, 21(2), 171. Retrieved from http://www.doredin.mec.es/ documentos/01720093004640.pdf.
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. The Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 25(1), 1–71. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x02000018.
Rabinowitch, T.-C., Cross, I., & Burnard, P. (2013). Long-term musical group interaction has a positive influence on empathy in children. Psychology of Music, 41(4), 484-498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612440609
Ragert, M., Schroeder, T., & Keller, P. E. (2013). Knowing too little or too much: The effects of familiarity with a co-performer’s part on interpersonal coordination in musical ensembles. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00368
Ratka, A. (2018). Empathy and the development of affective skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10), 1140–1144. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7192
Rumble, A. C., Van Lange, P. A., & Parks, C. D. (2010). The benefits of empathy: When empathy may sustain cooperation in social dilemmas. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(5), 856–866.https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.659
Sarrionandia, Ainize & Garaigordobil, Maite. (2016). Nerabeen gaitasun sozial eta emozionalak garatzeko programak: berrikusketa. Tantak. 28. 111-148. 10.1387/tantak.17483.
Schellenberg, E. G. (2019). Correlation = causation? Music training, psychology, and neurosci- ence. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(4), 475–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/ aca0000263
Schiavio, A., & Høffding, S. (2015). Playing together without communicating? A pre-reflective and enactive account of joint musical performance. Musicae Scientiae, 19(4), 366–388. doi:10.1177/1029864915593333.
Shifres, Favio. (2006). El concepto de entrainment en la ejecución musical y la formación de significado en contextos de sincronización. V Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina para las Ciencias Cognitivas de la Música y Primera Ateneo de Mercosur.
van der Wel, R. P. R. D., Sebanz, N., & Knoblich, G. (2013). Action perception from a common coding perspective. In K. L. Johnson & M. Shiffrar (Eds.), People watching: Social, perceptual, and neurophysiological studies of body perception (pp. 101–120). Oxford: Oxford University.
Vesper, C., van der Wel, R. P. R. D., Knoblich, G., & Sebanz, N. (2011). Making oneself predictable: Reduced temporal variabil- ity facilitates joint action coordination. Experimental Brain Research, 211, 517–530. doi:10.1007/s00221-011-2706-z.
Williamon, A., & Davidson, J. W. (2002). Exploring co-performer communication. Musicae Scientiae, 1, 53–72.
Wiltermuth, S. S., & Heath, C. (2009). Synchrony and cooperation. Psychological Science, 20(1), 1–5. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280. 2008.02253.x.
Windsor, W. L. (2016). Gestures in music-making: Action, information and perception. In New perspectives on music and gesture (pp. 45-66). Routledge.
Wo ̈llner, C., & Cañal-Bruland, R. (2010). Keeping an eye on the violinist: Motor experts show superior timing consistency in a visual perception task. Psychological Research, 74, 579–585. doi:10.1007/s00426-010-0280-9.
W ̈ollner, C., Parkinson, J., Deconinck, F. J. A., Hove, M. J., & Keller, P. (2012). The per- ception of prototypical motion: Synchronization is enhanced with quantitatively morphed gestures of musical conductors. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38(6), 1390-1403. doi: 10.1037/a0028130
Gonzalez Artetxe, Asier; Araña Oiarbide, Alain; Vélaz Lorente, Íñigo; Gil Monreal, Eneko; Los Arcos Larumbe, Asier (2023). «Emozioak harrapatzen: Lehen Hezkuntzako ikasleen harreman soziomotorren eta bizipen emozionala-ren azterketa harrapaketa jolasean generoaren arabera». Tantak, 35(1), 101-124. (https://doi.org/10.1387/tantak.24019).
Bishop, L., & Goebl, W. (2015). When they listen and when they watch: Pianists’ use of nonverbal audio and visual cues during duet performance. Musicae Scientiae, 19(1), 84- 110. doi: 10.1177/1029864915570355
Bishop, L., Goebl, W. (2018). Communication for coordination: gesture kinematics and conventionality affect synchronization success in piano duos. Psychological Research 82, 1177–1194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0893-3
Bishop, L., Cancino-Chaco ́n, C., and Goebl, W. (2019). Moving to communicate, moving to interact: Patterns of body motion in musical duo performance. Music Perception, 37, 1-25. This version is a final preprint of the paper prepared by the author
Bishop, Laura, and Peter E. Keller, 'Instrumental Ensembles', in Gary E. McPherson (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Volume 2 (2022; online edn, Oxford Academic, 18 Mar. 2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190058869.013.21
Chang, A., Kragness, H. E., Livingstone, S. R., Bosnyak, D. J., & Trainor, L. J. (2019). Body sway reflects joint emotional expression in music ensemble performance. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–11. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36358-4
Clarke, E., DeNora, T., & Vuoskoski, J. (2015). Music, empathy and cultural understanding. Physics of Life Reviews, 15, 61–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2015.09.001.
Cosano Molleja, A., Zych, I., & Ortega Ruiz, R. (2017). Attention, communication and development of interpretation skills in chamber music pianists´education. Psychology, Society &Amp; Education, 9(2), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.25115/psye.v9i2.715
Davidson, J. W. (2012). Bodily movement and facial actions in expressive musical performance by solo and duo instrumentalists: Two distinctive case studies. Psychology of Music, 40(5), 595–633. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612449896
D’Ausilio, A., Novembre, G., Fadiga, L., & Keller, P.E. (2015). What can music tell us about social interaction? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19, 111–114.
Eisenberg, N. & Strayer, J. (1992). Emphaty and its development. University Press, New York.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, usage, and coding. semiotica, 1(1), 49-98.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1978). Manual for the Facial Action Code. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., & Ellsworth, P. (2013). Emotion in the human face: Guidelines for research and an integration of findings (Vol. 11). Elsevier.
Galiano Pérez, J. (2016). Aprendizaje de la comunicación no verbal en la música de cámara.
Glowinski, D., Dardard, F., Gnecco, G., Piana, S., & Camurri, A. (2014). Expressive non- verbal interaction in a string quartet: An analysis through head movements. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces. doi: 10.1007/s12193-014-0154-3
Godøy, R.I., & Leman, M. (2010). Musical gestures : sound, movement, and meaning.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
Hawkins, A. (2013). The effects of Music and synchrony on the development of empathy in young children [Thesis, East Tennessees State University].
Hove, M. J., & Risen, J. L. (2009). It’s all in the timing: interpersonal synchrony increases affiliation. Social Cognition, 27(6), 949–961. doi:10.1521/soco.2009.27.6.949.
Juslin, P. N. (2003). Five facets of musical expression: a psychologist’s perspective on music performance. Psychology of Music, 31, 273-302.
Keller, P.E. (2014). Ensemble performance: Interpersonal alignment of musical expression. In D. Fabian, R. Timmers, & E. Schubert (Eds.), Expressiveness in music performance: Empirical approaches across styles and cultures (pp. 260-282). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Knapp, M. (1982): La comunicación no verbal. El cuerpo y su entorno. Barcelona, Paidós, 373 pp.
Macrae, C. N., Duffy, O. K., Miles, L. K., & Lawrence, J. (2008). A case of hand waving: action synchrony and person perception. Cognition, 109(1), 152–156. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07. 007.
Meissner, H. (2021). Theoretical framework for facilitating young musicians’ learning of expressive performance. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 584171.
Novembre, G. and Keller, P. E. (2014). A conceptual review on action-perception coupling in the musicians’ brain: What is it good for? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00603
Oceja, L., López-Pérez, B., Ambrona, T. & Fernández, I. (2009). Measuring general dispositions to feeling empathy and distress. Psicothema, 21(2), 171. Retrieved from http://www.doredin.mec.es/ documentos/01720093004640.pdf.
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. The Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 25(1), 1–71. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x02000018.
Rabinowitch, T.-C., Cross, I., & Burnard, P. (2013). Long-term musical group interaction has a positive influence on empathy in children. Psychology of Music, 41(4), 484-498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612440609
Ragert, M., Schroeder, T., & Keller, P. E. (2013). Knowing too little or too much: The effects of familiarity with a co-performer’s part on interpersonal coordination in musical ensembles. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00368
Ratka, A. (2018). Empathy and the development of affective skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10), 1140–1144. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7192
Rumble, A. C., Van Lange, P. A., & Parks, C. D. (2010). The benefits of empathy: When empathy may sustain cooperation in social dilemmas. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(5), 856–866.https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.659
Sarrionandia, Ainize & Garaigordobil, Maite. (2016). Nerabeen gaitasun sozial eta emozionalak garatzeko programak: berrikusketa. Tantak. 28. 111-148. 10.1387/tantak.17483.
Schellenberg, E. G. (2019). Correlation = causation? Music training, psychology, and neurosci- ence. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(4), 475–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/ aca0000263
Schiavio, A., & Høffding, S. (2015). Playing together without communicating? A pre-reflective and enactive account of joint musical performance. Musicae Scientiae, 19(4), 366–388. doi:10.1177/1029864915593333.
Shifres, Favio. (2006). El concepto de entrainment en la ejecución musical y la formación de significado en contextos de sincronización. V Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina para las Ciencias Cognitivas de la Música y Primera Ateneo de Mercosur.
van der Wel, R. P. R. D., Sebanz, N., & Knoblich, G. (2013). Action perception from a common coding perspective. In K. L. Johnson & M. Shiffrar (Eds.), People watching: Social, perceptual, and neurophysiological studies of body perception (pp. 101–120). Oxford: Oxford University.
Vesper, C., van der Wel, R. P. R. D., Knoblich, G., & Sebanz, N. (2011). Making oneself predictable: Reduced temporal variabil- ity facilitates joint action coordination. Experimental Brain Research, 211, 517–530. doi:10.1007/s00221-011-2706-z.
Williamon, A., & Davidson, J. W. (2002). Exploring co-performer communication. Musicae Scientiae, 1, 53–72.
Wiltermuth, S. S., & Heath, C. (2009). Synchrony and cooperation. Psychological Science, 20(1), 1–5. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280. 2008.02253.x.
Windsor, W. L. (2016). Gestures in music-making: Action, information and perception. In New perspectives on music and gesture (pp. 45-66). Routledge.
Wo ̈llner, C., & Cañal-Bruland, R. (2010). Keeping an eye on the violinist: Motor experts show superior timing consistency in a visual perception task. Psychological Research, 74, 579–585. doi:10.1007/s00426-010-0280-9.
W ̈ollner, C., Parkinson, J., Deconinck, F. J. A., Hove, M. J., & Keller, P. (2012). The per- ception of prototypical motion: Synchronization is enhanced with quantitatively morphed gestures of musical conductors. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38(6), 1390-1403. doi: 10.1037/a0028130
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