Cadbury Melody

 Please find attached a great piece of research recently commissioned by Cadbury, first and foremost, asking New Zealanders what their top 10 sounds of joy are.

The top three are:

• Sound of children’s laughter

• Music

• Native bird song

Dr Aaron Jarden, President of the NZ Association of Positive Psychology and lecturer in psychology at the Open Polytechnic, explains these findings are significant, as research linking human joy to specific sounds is relatively unexplored, with people associating something they’ve seen (versus heard) to inspiring a joyful emotion. Jarden, lead investigator in NZ for an International Well Being Survey, says regularly experiencing  joy is a vital component in the Well Being spectrum, along with using strengths, having positive relationships, and living in alignment with personal values.

“Experiencing simple moments of joy and taking the time to savour the good moments in life should not be underestimated. Laughter is both a cause and effect of joy,” he says. “Interestingly, people laugh  lot more on the weekends compared to weekdays. Laughter is also good for relationships, both building new ones and keeping old ones.”

The research was commissioned by Cadbury Dairy Milk who plan to launch a song of New Zealanders’ joy.  Dr Jarden, a Share the Joy consultant, says that while there has been very literature of how on sound is related to emotion, it’s important because it offers an evolutionary perspective.

“Sounds like laughter, music and native birdsong are found to be pleasant,” he says. “Laughter is a social experience so apt to sharing - people seldom laugh alone. Meanwhile the rhythm of music and the sounds of nature are relaxing.”

In contrast, sounds such as firecrackers and V8 engines are considered to signal danger, so are less pleasant, he says.

Ideas to explore may include:

• Top sounds specifically joyful for Kiwis – for radio this could mean a poll of listeners’ favourite sounds

• Psychological interpretation as to why sound is an important sense to humans

• Sounds to keep people joyful – especially important at this time considering current NZ events

• How to maintain joy and overall well being

Published 19th Jul 2011

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