The Effect of Music Intervention on Empathy in Adolescents and Young Adults

Music interventions, in which individuals receive either music therapy or music lessons, have been shown to influence the development of a number of cognitive and emotional traits. This review specifically examines the relationship between music interventions in adolescence and the development of empathy, which is the cognitive capacity to understand the emotions of others and the emotional capacity to feel on the behalf of others. Seven studies which tested the effect of music intervention on empathy were selected. Empirical results found music intervention to be an effective and positive moderator of empathy levels. Music interventions are found to positively impact all components of empathy, namely, cognitive, affective, and motivational. It was also suggested that active music intervention, such as music therapy, is more effective than passive interventions like music listening.