Music Performance Anxiety

Research Design of MPA Project Lab Meeting – Feb 10, 2016

Sarah E. Lade, Serena W. Tse, and Laurel J. Trainor McMaster University February 3rd, 2016

Overview of Study

How does the presence or absence of an audience influence induced anxiety in musicians with and without MPA

Musical Performance Anxiety

Current Study - Design • Independent Measures: – Within-subjects factors: • Presence/absence of social stressor: Audience Present, Absent • Time period in performance: Pre, During, Post Performance

– Between-subjects factor: MPA, n-MPA

• Dependent Measures: – Cognitive (Standardized questionnaires, Attentional tasks) – Behavioural (Performance quality) – Physiological (EMG, ECG, Temp, Resp) – Neurological (EEG)

Methods Participants – High level (Gr 10 RCM +) pianists who perform at least 3x yearly – Recruited through posters and word of mouth

Pre-Study • 1 Week Prior: – Demographics Questionnaire – BFNE – PSWQ – SPIN – STAI-T – WDQ – Jenkins Sleep Scale

• 1 Day Prior: – Email LIVELab – Email Participant

Procedure - Overview • • • • • • • • • •

Arrival Physiological Equipment Fitting Pre-Performance Resting Measures Song 1 Mid-Performance Resting Measures Song 2 Post-Performance Resting Measures Attention Tasks Physiological Equipment Removal Departure

Step-by-Step

Attention Tasks Continuous Performance Test

Emotional Stroop Test

Wisconsin Card Sort Task

Complications • Recruiting from a special population • Coordination (in general, during performance) between experimenters • Timing of cortisol measurements with timing all other measurements • Frequent equipment failure

Next Steps

• Finalizing the protocol for the AP condition • Branching out further for participant recruitment