School of Music
Dr Alinka Greasley
Lecturer
+44 (0)113 34 34560
BSc, PhD, PGCLTHE, MBPsS, FHEA
Alinka Greasley was appointed to the position of Lecturer in Music Psychology at Leeds in 2009 having studied at Aston University (BSc in Human Psychology), and completed her doctorate (PhD in Psychology of Music) at Keele University. Her main research interests lie within the field of social psychology and centre on all aspects of people's engagement with music in everyday life. This includes a focus on musical preferences (why people choose to listen to certain musical styles and pieces over others); functions of music (how and why people use their preferred music in everyday contexts); musical training (how this shapes daily listening behaviour); and music festival research (motivations for attending, risk-taking behaviour). She has recently published book chapters on everyday music listening behaviour (OUP, Ashgate) and has a developing international profile of peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations. Alinka is a Member of the British Psychological Society, the Society for Education, Music, and Psychology Research and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Invited Research Seminars
- Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 12th January 2011
- Department of Psychology, Roehampton University, London, 7th December 2010
- Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, 10th November 2010
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, London, 18th March 2010
- School of Music, University of Leeds, 19th November 2009
- Institute of Psychological Studies, University of Leeds 5th November 2009
- Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, 26th June 2009
- Department of Sociology, University of Exeter, 29th November 2006
Current Modules
- MUSI1020 Music in History and Culture
- MUSI1121 Music Research Skills
- MUSI1320 Practical Skills
- MUSI1520 Introduction to the Sciences of Music
- MUSI2923 Psychology of Listening and Performance
- MUSI3120/40 Minor/Major Dissertation
- MUSI3920/40 Minor/Major Music Psychology
- MUSI5060 Introduction to Musical Scholarship
- MUSI5162 Masters Dissertation
- MUSI5931 Case Studies in Applied Psychology of Music
- MUSI5932 Psychological Research Techniques
Accepted Journal Articles
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (in press) Exploring engagement with music in everyday life using Experience Sampling Methodology. Musicae Scientiae.
- Reddy, P., Greasley, A. E., Parson, V., Talcott, J. Harrington, K., & Elander, J. (2008). Becoming a Psychology Undergraduate: Integrating study skills and integrating students. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 7 (2), 38-41.
Under Review
- Greasley, A. E., Lamont, A. & Sloboda, J. A. (revision in progress) Exploring musical preferences: An in-depth qualitative study of adults’ liking for music in their personal collections. Qualitative Research in Psychology
Accepted Book Chapters
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (forthcoming) Keeping it fresh: How listeners regulate their own exposure to familiar music. In E. King & H Daynes. Music and Familiarity. Ashgate Publishing.
- Lamont, A. & Greasley, A. E. (2009). Musical Preferences. In S. Hallam, I. Cross & M. Thaut. (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, 160-168. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Sloboda, J. A., Lamont, A. & Greasley, A. E. (2009). Choosing to hear music: motivation, process and effect. In S. Hallam, I. Cross & M. Thaut. (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, 431-440. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Accepted Conference Proceedings
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2009). Exploring engagement with music using ESM. Proceedings of the 7th Triennial Conference of European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, Aug 12-16, 2009.
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2006). Music preference in adulthood: why do we like the music we do? In M. Baroni, A. R. Addessi, R. Caterina, & M. Costa (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Bologna, Italy: University of Bologna, pp. 960-966.
In Preparation
- Greasley, A. E., Gardiner, C. E. & Mitchell, L. A. A survey exploration of the links between musical training and everyday music listening behaviour. Music Perception
- Greasley, A. E. & Woodward, S. Similarities and differences in the consumption of clothes and music. Journal of Consumer Culture
Conference Presentations
- Greasley, A. E., Gardiner, C. E. & Mitchell, L. A. (2011). A survey exploration of the links between musical training and everyday music listening behaviour. Forthcoming paper to be presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, Glasgow.
- Lamont, A., Greasley, A. E. & Hale, R. (2010). Strong experiences of music: the importance of popular music festivals in adults’ lives. Paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Seattle, USA: University of Washington.
- Greasley, A. E. (2010). Levels of engagement with music in everyday life. Poster presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon.
- Lamont, A. & Greasley, A. E. (2010). Self-regulated exposure to familiar music in everyday life. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon.
- Greasley, A. E. (2010). Musical preferences across the lifespan: choosing styles, reflecting identities. Paper presented at the SEMPRE Music, Identity and Social Interaction Conference, RNCM.
- Lamont, A. & Greasley, A. E. (2009). Keeping it fresh: How listeners regulate their own exposure to familiar music. Paper presented at the SEMPRE Music and Familiarity Conference, University of Hull.
- Lamont, A., Sloboda, J. A., Greasley, A. E., Sargeant, S., Parker, C., Chambers, P., & Murgatroyd, M. (2009). Self-reported experiences of everyday music listening. Paper presented at the 7th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2009). Exploring engagement with music using Experience Sampling Methodology. Poster presented at the 7th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2008). Therapeutic uses of music in everyday life. Paper presented at Music, Health and Happiness conference, RNCM, Manchester, UK.
- Greasley, A. E., Parson, V., Manderson, K., Reddy, P. & Harrington, K. (2008). Supporting students in the transition to university. Workshop given at the international Psychology of Learning and Teaching conference, Bath, UK: University of Bath.
- Greasley, A. E. & Lamont, A. (2006). Music preference in adulthood: why do we like the music we do? Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Bologna, Italy: University of Bologna.
- Reddy, P., Parson, V., Greasley, A. E., Elander, J., Norton, L. & Harrington, K. (2006). Becoming a psychology undergraduate: integrating study skills and integrating students. Paper presented at the international Psychology of Learning and Teaching conference, York, UK: York St John University College.
- Greasley, A.E. & Lamont, A. (2006). Engagement with music in everyday life: Musical preference and listening behaviours. Research seminar given at a Symposium on Music, Empowerment, Conflict Resolution and Everyday Life, in the sociology department, University of Exeter, UK.
Memberships and Peer Review
- Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Member, British Psychological Society (BPS), General and Qualitative Psychology Divisions
- Member, Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE)
Abstract
Engagement with music in everyday life: an in-depth study of adults’ musical preferences and listening behaviours
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of music in adults’ daily lives by exploring why they choose to listen to certain musical styles and pieces over others, and how and why they use their preferred music in everyday contexts. Whilst there has been a growth in the number of studies over the past two decades in music psychology exploring factors such as emotional responses to music, links between personality types and preferences, and uses of music in everyday contexts, no studies had hitherto provided insights into how such factors interrelate to explain what music means to people and how they choose to use it in a range of everyday settings to fulfil particular goals. Adopting a phenomenological approach and employing mixed methods, a series of four empirical studies examined short- and long-term engagement with music with a sample of over 300 adults. These included an in-depth interview study to explore preference across the lifespan (long-term engagement), an Experience Sampling Methodology study to capture people’s music listening behaviour in real-life contexts (short-term engagement), and two smaller questionnaire studies providing data on preferences and patterns of engagement with music. Results highlight that music plays a central role in the majority of adults’ lives. However, levels of engagement with music fall along a spectrum, with clearly identifiable extremes of high and low engagement and some overlaps in the middle. These differences in engagement are accompanied by differences in explicit awareness of the uses and benefits of music listening in everyday life. In the short term (e.g. on a day-to-day basis), music is shown to play a central role in people’s psychological well-being. Over longer timespans musical preferences continue to play a central role in the formation and maintenance of identities across the lifespan. The findings have important implications for the way in which musical preferences and listening behaviours are studied in subsequent music-psychological research, and also have broad implications for the study of complex psychological phenomena in psychology more generally. The thesis demonstrates how music holds a privileged position in the lives of the majority of adults, and highlights the powerful effects music can have physically, socially, intellectually, and emotionally.
Classical music
- ABRSM Grade 8 Violin and Piano
- ABRSM Grade 5 Theory
- Leeds University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras (09-present)
- Keele Philharmonic Orchestra (04-09), Leader (05-08)
- North Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra (05-06)
- Birmingham University Philharmonic Orchestra (01-03)
- National Schools Symphony Orchestra (96-99)
- IAPS National Orchestra (93-96)
- DJ for 10 years (http://soundcloud.com/djlinkz)