Research
Research Areas: In my primary area of research, I combine approaches from social and personality psychology, neuroscience, computer science, genetics, and clinical science, to understand the biological, psychological, and social impact of music. My secondary non-musical areas of research is on the biological and social influences on autism, empathy, and emotion regulation. This line of research includes understanding the links between posttraumatic growth, prosocial behavior, and mentalization.
Methods: In all my research areas, I integrate theory and research across multiple disciplines, develop ecologically valid instruments, and employ mixed methodologies. I use Big Data from digital footprints, streaming services, massive online surveys, and now genetics. In an invited paper to Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences I provide a blueprint for how to merge Big Data from streaming services, mobile technologies, wearable devices, and song-level data, to make advancements in music, medicine, and health. In neuroscience collaborations, I use data from fMRI and HD-EEG. To date, I have developed and published five assessment instruments including the Musical Engagement Test (MET: Greenberg & Rentfrow, 2015) and the Mentalized Affectivity Scale (MAS: Greenberg et al., 2017).