Professor Alexandra Lamont
- Title
- Professor in Music Psychology
- Location
- Dorothy Hodgkin Building : DH1.86
- Contact me
- Please make an appointment via email
- Phone
- +44(0)1782 733323
- a.m.lamont@keele.ac.uk
Biography
I came to Keele in 2001 primarily to teach on the MSc in Music Psychology and have been involved with postgraduate teaching and research ever since. I have studied and taught in the fields of music, education and psychology, and my interests are diverse. In psychology, my expertise lies in positive psychology, developmental psychology and in research methods, as well as my specialism in music psychology. I am also interested in musical development and music education, and in the sociology and psychology of music consumption.
My recent work has taken me into the international arena in both teaching and research. I led a transnational education programme between Keele and Ludong University in China, and was the School Internationalisation Director for Psychology and the Faculty Internationalisation Director for Natural Sciences between 2015 and 2020. I have a number of international research collaborations involving researchers from Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland and Australia. I bring this international perspective to the role of Director of the Keele Doctoral Academy, launched in 2020.
Research and scholarship
My research centres on issues of musical development and musical engagement across the lifecourse. I have carried out studies with infants in the laboratory, research with children at schools using a range of methods, and studies of adults both in laboratory settings and more often in real life contexts. My main research question is why and how people choose to engage with music. Why does a toddler respond well to a familiar piece of music? What can children learn about themselves through music? Why do we experience strong emotions in relation to music at festivals and live concerts? What kinds of social bonds are formed through active musical engagement? My research focuses on exploring these questions in everyday settings and placing musical experience in the wider context of people's lives.
I am currently leading a range of different projects:
- exploring how musical memories are shaped and influenced from generation to generation, with Manuel Anglada-Tort, Don Knox and Helen Williams;
- investigating how charitable donations of musical instruments impact on people's identities and wellbeing and how charity can support access to music in a range of challenging contexts, with Fiorella Montero-Diaz;
- examining the ways in which people talk about their favourite music through analysis of Desert Island Discs, with Don Knox and Raymond MacDonald.
I am particularly interested in visiting internships, MSc and PhD proposals in areas that relate to these.
I am on the Editorial Board of the following journals: Psychology of Music, Music and Science, Music Education Research International, Music Performance Research, Educational Studies and the International Journal of Early Childhood. I have also served on the board of the British Journal of Music Education Research. I'm a Trustee of the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (www.sempre.org.uk).
Teaching
Year 1
- PSY-10020 Natural, Unnatural, Supernatural: The Psychology of Unusual Phenomena
Year 3
- PSY-30096 Happiness and Wellbeing: Social Scientific Approaches (module leader)
- PSY-30061 Final Year Psychology Project
- PSY-30077 Health Psychology
- PSY-30134 Making A Difference With Psychology
Postgraduate
- PSY-40039 Advanced Research Skills & Design (module leader)
- PSY-40071 Advanced Study in Child Development
- PSY-40038 Research Apprenticeship in Psychology
- PSY-40045 Psychology Research Dissertation
- Module Leader PSY-30096 Happiness and Wellbeing
- Module Leader PSY-40039 Advanced Research Skills and Design
- Module Team Member PSY-30134 Making a difference with Psychology
- Module Team Member PSY-40071 Advanced Study in Child Development
- Module Team Member PSY-40079 Advanced Study in Health Inequalities
Selected Publications
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2021. Constructing and negotiating boundaries of morally acceptable alcohol use: A discursive psychology of justifying alcohol consumption. Addict Behav, 107057, vol. 123. link> doi> full text>
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2021. Watching television in a home environment: effects on children's attention, problem solving and comprehension. MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY. link> doi> full text>
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A New Framework for Understanding Memories and Preference for Music. Music & Science, 1-14, vol. 3. doi> link> full text>
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2020. Tensions in intergenerational practice guidance: intergroup contact versus community development. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life. doi> full text>
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2020. Moving towards music: Viewing early years musical engagement through the lenses of movement, interaction, motivation, agency, identity and context. International Journal of Music in Early Childhood, 25-38, vol. 15(1). doi> link> full text>
Full Publications Listshow
Books
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2017. The Psychology of Musical Development. Cambridge University Press. doi>
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2014. Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
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2002. Developmental Psychology and You. BPS Blackwell, Oxford.
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Coll H and Lamont A (Eds.). Sound Progress: Exploring Musical Development. The UK Association for Music Education - Music Mark.
Journal Articles
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2021. Constructing and negotiating boundaries of morally acceptable alcohol use: A discursive psychology of justifying alcohol consumption. Addict Behav, 107057, vol. 123. link> doi> full text>
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2021. Watching television in a home environment: effects on children's attention, problem solving and comprehension. MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY. link> doi> full text>
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A New Framework for Understanding Memories and Preference for Music. Music & Science, 1-14, vol. 3. doi> link> full text>
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2020. Tensions in intergenerational practice guidance: intergroup contact versus community development. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life. doi> full text>
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2020. Moving towards music: Viewing early years musical engagement through the lenses of movement, interaction, motivation, agency, identity and context. International Journal of Music in Early Childhood, 25-38, vol. 15(1). doi> link> full text>
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2020. Do the shuffle: Exploring reasons for music listening through shuffled play. PLoS One, e0228457, vol. 15(2). link> doi> full text>
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2019. An Agenda for Best Practice Research on Group Singing, Health, and Well-Being. Music & Science, 205920431986171, vol. 2. doi> link> full text>
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2020. Knit One, Play One: Comparing the Effects of Amateur Knitting and Amateur Music Participation on Happiness and Wellbeing. APPLIED RESEARCH IN QUALITY OF LIFE, 1303-1322, vol. 15(5). link> doi> full text>
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2021. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of exercisers' use of music during workouts. PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC, 193-215, vol. 49(2). link> doi> full text>
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2018. Singing in later life: The anatomy of a community choir. PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC, 424-439, vol. 46(3). link> doi> full text>
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2018. Talking about sunbed tanning in online discussion forums: Assertions and arguments. Psychol Health, 518-536, vol. 33(4). link> doi> full text>
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2017. Multidimensional measurement of exposure to music in childhood: Beyond the musician/ non-musician dichotomy. Psychology of Music, 459-472, vol. 46(4). doi> link> full text>
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2017. Talking about sunbed tanning: Social representations and identity-work. Soc Sci Med, 161-168, vol. 184. link> doi> full text>
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2017. Assessing Music Perception in Young Children: Evidence for and Psychometric Features of the M-Factor. Front Neurosci, 18, vol. 11. link> doi> full text>
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2017. Music Use in Exercise: A Questionnaire Study. MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY, 658-684, vol. 20(4). link> doi> full text>
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2019. Evaluation of a motivational pre-exercise music intervention. J Health Psychol, 309-320, vol. 24(3). link> doi> full text>
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What Else Can Music Preferences do? A Commentary on Clark and Giacomantonio. Empirical Musicology Review. full text>
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What Else Can Music Preferences do? A Commentary on Clark and Giacomantonio. Empirical Musicology Review. full text>
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2014. How do gym members engage with music during exercise?. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. doi> full text>
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2013. Exploring musical preferences: An in-depth qualitative study of adults’ liking for music in their personal collections. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 402-427, vol. 10(2).
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2011. The beat goes on: music education, identity and lifelong learning. Music Education Research, 369-388, vol. 13(4). doi>
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2011. University students' strong experiences of music: Pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Musicae Scientiae: the journal of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, 229-249, vol. 15(2). doi>
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2010. Short- and long-term musical preferences: What makes a favourite piece of music?. Psychology of Music, 222-241, vol. 38(2). doi>
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2010. Mobile listening situations in everyday life: The use of MP3 players while travelling. Musicae Scientiae, 95-120, vol. 14(1). doi>
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2008. Choosing music: Exploratory studies into the low uptake of music GCSE. Journal of Music Education, 267-282, vol. 25(3). doi>
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2008. Young children’s musical worlds: musical engagement in 3-5-year-olds. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 247-261, vol. 6(3). doi>
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2006. Exploring children's singing development: do experiences in early schooling help or hinder?. Music Education Research, 311-330, vol. 8(3). doi>
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2003. Toddlers' Musical Preferences: Musical Preference and Musical Memory in the Early Years. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 999, 518-519. doi>
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2003. Young people's music in and out of school. British Journal of Music Education, 229-241, vol. 20(3). doi>
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2002. Musical development and learning: The international perspective. PSYCHOLOGIST, 138, vol. 15. link>
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2001. Motivic Structure and the Perception of Similarity. Music Perception, 245-274, vol. 18(3). doi>
Chapters
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2016. Choosing to hear music: motivation, process and effect. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology (2nd edition). Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2016. Musical development from the early years onwards. In Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology (2nd Edition). Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2016. Musical preferences. In Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology (2nd Edition). Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2013. Keeping it fresh: How listeners regulate their own exposure to familiar music. In Music and Familiarity. King E and Prior H (Eds.). Ashgate.
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2011. Negotiating music in the real world: Development, motivation, process and effect. In Music and the Mind: Investigating the functions and processes of music. A book in honour of John Sloboda. Deliege I and Davidson JW (Eds.). Oxford University Press.
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2010. Unpopular Music: Beliefs and behaviours towards music in education. In Sociology and Music Education. Wright R (Ed.). Ashgate.
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2009. Choosing to hear music: motivation, process and effect. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2009. Music in the school years. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2009. Musical Preferences. In The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Hallam S, Cross I, Thaut M (Eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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2002. Music education and research. In Aspects of Teaching Secondary Music: Perspectives on Practice. Spruce G (Ed.). Routledge Falmer, London.
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2002. Music psychology and the secondary music teacher. In Teaching Music in Secondary Schools: A Reader. Spruce G (Ed.). Routledge Falmer, London.
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2002. Musical identities and the school environment. In Musical Identities. MacDonald RAR, Hargreaves DJ, Miell DE (Eds.). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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Developing, supporting and sustaining musical identities. In The Oxford Handbook of Musical Identities. MacDonald RAR, Hargreaves DJ, Miell DE (Eds.). Oxford University Press.
Roles
- Director of the Keele Doctoral Academy
- Chair of University Research Degrees Committee
- Special Interest Leader (Qualitative Research Forum)
