Bittersweet Symphony: Nostalgia and Melancholia in Music Reception

Listening to music can cause experiences of nostalgia and melancholia. Although both concepts are theoretically related, to date they have not been analyzed together regarding their emotional and cognitive profiles. In this study, we identify their theoretical underpinnings and determine how they can be measured empirically. We analyze how listening to music causes nostalgia and melancholia, and whether both experiences are related to different behavioral intentions. To this end, we conducted an online experiment with 359 participants who listened to music they considered either nostalgic, melancholic, or neutral. Afterward, participants answered 122 questionnaire items related to nostalgia and melancholia. Using Structural Equation Modeling, and more specifically Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes Modeling, we first developed two new scales: the Formative Nostalgia Scale and the Formative Melancholia Scale. Both scales consist of five items each. Results showed that listening to music indeed increased nostalgia and melancholia. Although considerably different, both concepts are related nonetheless. Listening to nostalgic music increases melancholia, whereas listening to melancholic music does not increase nostalgia. Also, both experiences are related to different behavioral intentions. Whereas experiencing nostalgia was associated with a stronger intention to share the music and to listen to it again, experiencing melancholia revealed the exact opposite relation.

聆听音乐往往能引发怀旧与忧郁之情。尽管两者在理论上存在关联，迄今为止，关于它们在情感与认知特征上的分析尚未同时进行。本研究旨在探究其理论根基，并确定如何从实证角度进行测量。本研究分析了音乐聆听如何引发怀旧与忧郁，以及这两种体验是否与不同的行为意图相关。为此，我们进行了一项在线实验，共有359名参与者参与，他们分别聆听了自己认为具有怀旧、忧郁或中性特征的音乐。实验结束后，参与者回答了与怀旧和忧郁相关的122个问卷项目。运用结构方程模型，特别是多指标与多原因模型，我们首先开发了两个新的量表：形成性怀旧量表与形成性忧郁量表。这两个量表均包含五个条目。研究结果显示，聆听音乐确实增加了怀旧与忧郁的情感体验。尽管两者存在显著差异，但它们之间仍存在关联。聆听怀旧音乐会增加忧郁感，而聆听忧郁音乐则不会增加怀旧感。此外，这两种体验与不同的行为意图相关。体验怀旧感与更强烈的分享音乐和再次聆听音乐的意愿相关联，而体验忧郁感则揭示了截然相反的关系。