Scoping Review on the Use of Music for Emotion Regulation.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Musicology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Growing interest in how music influences emotional states.
• Music emotion regulation (MER) is an emerging field exploring music's role in managing emotions.
• Existing research presents definitional ambiguities within MER.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of studies on the regulatory impact of music on emotion.
• To identify and analyze the conceptual landscape of music emotion regulation.
• To highlight current challenges and suggest future research directions in MER.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review methodology adhering to JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis guidelines.
• Comprehensive searches of electronic databases and manual literature searches.
• Analysis of 47 identified studies focusing on music's emotional regulatory functions.

Main Results:

• Significant definitional challenges exist across components of music emotion regulation.
• Most studies treat music as a monolithic variable, neglecting intra-musical regulatory mechanisms.
• The term 'emotion' in MER studies is broadly defined, encompassing feelings and moods.
• MER is often conflated with music emotion (ME) studies, lacking clear distinction.

Conclusions:

• Music emotion regulation (MER) requires clearer conceptualization and theoretical grounding.
• Future research must investigate the intrinsic mechanisms through which music exerts its regulatory effects on emotion.
• Distinguishing MER from general music emotion (ME) studies is crucial for advancing the field.