Music training and emotion comprehension in childhood

Abstract

Children and adults with music training score higher on tests of intellectual ability than their peers without training, but it is unclear whether music lessons are associated with social or emotional functioning. We examined whether music training in childhood is predictive of understanding emotions. We administered the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and a brief IQ test to musically trained and untrained 7- and 8-year-olds. Musically trained children scored higher on IQ and on the TEC even after accounting for demographic variables. Group differences in TEC scores disappeared, however, when IQ scores were held constant. These findings suggest that nonmusical associations with music training are limited to measures of intellectual ability and their correlates.