Music, Thought, and Feeling

Music, Thought, and Feeling: Understanding the Psychology of Music, 2nd Edition, explores the intersection of music, psychology, and neuroscience to survey the field of music cognition. Written by William Forde Thompson, the textbook assumes minimal background in music or psychology.

Core topics examine how and when music became a widespread human behavior, explore how humans perceive music, and trace links between music and emotion. Coverage also provides a review across various subdisciplines of music cognition.

Intended for undergraduate students in psychology or music courses, the second edition adds a dedicated chapter on music and wellbeing and links to an open-access companion website featuring audio samples created specifically for the text.