Internship Project
Musicology

Eyes wide open: Studying the effects of harmonic consonance and dissonance on pupil dilation

Institution
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Department of Musicology an Media Science
Subject Area
Music Psychology / Computational Musicology
Availability
 05 May – 25 July
19 May – 08 August

Internship Modality:
On-site internship in Berlin

Applications for 2025 are open from November 11 to December 20, 2024.
Project Supervisor(s)
Dr. Mats Küssner and Dr. George Athanasopoulos
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Language
English
Project Type
Academic Research
Project Content
The potential connection between harmonic consonance and dissonance in music and pupillometry, a measure of pupil dilation in response to various stimuli, offers a fascinating avenue for exploring the intersection of music and cognitive neuroscience.
As listeners engage with musical compositions, their pupils may respond dynamically to the changing harmonies and dissonances within the music. This connection can be indicative of the emotional and cognitive processing involved in music perception, as the brain's arousal and attention mechanisms react to the perceived tension and release in the music.
By analyzing pupil dilation in response to specific musical elements, it is possible to gain insights into the subjective and physiological reactions to music, shedding light on the intricate relationship between auditory aesthetics and the human autonomic nervous system.
Tasks for Interns
  • Collecting, processing and analysis of data using any of the following statistics packages (R, SPSS, JASP, MS Excel, or equivalent)
  • Preparation of results report.
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Master's students 
Ph.D. students 
Requirements
  • Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative statistics in social sciences is essential, including a demonstrable applied knowledge in SPSS, R, JASP or any similar statistics package.
  • Experience with conducting experiments with human participants in a lab setting will be considered a bonus, as well as any experience in using eye-tracking software (i.e. Pupil Core).
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For more information on the Humboldt Internship Program or the project, please contact the program coordinator.