Internship Project
Musicology

Music as Social Surrogate: Alleviating Feelings of Loneliness in Older Adults

Institution
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 
Department of Musicology and Media Studies 
Subject Area
Music psychology
Availability
 06 May – 26 July
 20 May – 09 August

Internship Modality
On-site Internship in Berlin

The application is closed, and all positions have been filled.
Applications for 2025 will open in October 2024.
Project Supervisor(s)
Dr. Mats Küssner, Dr. Steffen Herff (Western Sydney University) 
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Graduate students 
PhD students 

Language
English, German (will be considered a bonus)
Project Type
Academic Research 
Project Content
Loneliness detrimentally affects well-being and cognitive health, especially in older adults. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a marked increase in music usage for self-regulation, often with the explicit purpose of ‘keeping company’. Pilot data supports that this is not simply a figure of speech, but constitutes on empirical effect on thought, observable in the content of mental imagery during music listening.
In the present project, we combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies to test personalized use of music as a cost-effective on-demand tool to alleviate feelings of loneliness in old age. 
Tasks for Interns
  • Preparing study materials
  • Recruiting participants
  • Collecting, processing and analysing quantitative and/or qualitative data 
  • Preparing results report
Academic Level
Advanced undergraduate students (from second year) 
Graduate students 
PhD students 

Requirements
The intern should have experience with experimental (music) psychology research and qualitative or quantitative data analysis. Experience with collecting data from older adults will be considered a bonus. 
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For more information on the Humboldt Internship Program or the project, please contact the program coordinator.