ABSTRACT
Film music presents a compelling case for psychological study as music plays an integral role in film and has been shown to have profound effects on many facets of the film viewing experience, without being in the "spotlight" of attention for very long. The participants' attention is often directed to the film and the focus on the music is typically concealed from the participants, so as not to bring more attention to the music track than when viewing a film in real-world contexts. In a landmark study in 1988, S. K. Marshall and A. J. Cohen added two different music tracks to a silent black-and-white animation of geometric shapes, and found that the music changed viewers' interpretations of some elements of the film. When the music credits roll, most viewers do not recall having heard most of the pieces—even if the music is familiar, such as in a compilation score. The music in the original scene is diegetic and mood-incongruent.
