Date of Submission

2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Department Chair

Stephanie Felgoise, PhD, ABPP

First Advisor

David Rubenstein, PsyD

Second Advisor

Robert DiTomasso, Ph.D., ABPP

Third Advisor

Bruce Zahn, EdD

Abstract

Optimizing athletic performance has increasingly extended beyond conditioning to include psychological, health-related, and environmental interventions aimed at enhancing peak mental and physical fitness. However, advanced training mechanisms targeting these factors may not be readily available to all programs, necessitating cost-effective, accessible, and ethically sound adjuncts. Thus, music emerges as a potential solution that remains underutilized in applied sport settings but may be leveraged to address pervasive challenges such as fear of failure, burnout, and over-professionalization. The present dissertation investigated the effects of music in a practice setting, with particular emphasis on its capacity to enhance subjective performance, motivation, and positive mood while lowering perceived exertion. Specifically addressing a deficiency in current literature, this work examined how different music genres—rap, electronic dance music (EDM), alternative, classical, and no music—differentially influence athletes’ psychological and performance-related experiences.

Results indicated that practicing with music, regardless of genre, was consistently associated with more favorable outcomes than practicing without music. Preferred music genres generally corresponded with higher motivation and perceived performance, though these relationships were not strictly linear. Rap and alternative music emerged as the most cumulatively beneficial genres across dependent variables, while EDM elicited high arousal and effort but also higher perceived exertion. These findings highlight the nuanced interplay between tempo, emotional resonance, preference, and contextual factors such as training phase and fatigue. Overall, this dissertation positions music as a practical and accessible supplement to existing performance enhancement strategies and highlights the importance of individualized, psychologically informed approaches to optimizing athletic training environments.

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