Summary To test the effect of variations in subjects' affective and emotional states on their subsequent appreciation of music, subjects were exposed to one of four film segments which had been selected and pretested to effect a factorial variation in (a) hedonic tone (positive, negative) and (b) excitatory potential (low, high) and then heard and rated three musical selections. A hedonic-contrast effect was observed for the song heard immediately after termination of affect-inducing stimulation. For the second song, heard 2′15″ after induction of affect, an excitation-transfer effect was observed, with residual portions of the excitation produced by the highly arousing films intensifying positive responses to the music. The ratings of the third song, heard after 4′45″, were not significantly affected by communication exposure. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for the manipulation of responses to music and to other affect-producing communications through variations in prior stimu...
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