Adrian North obtained his PhD on music psychology in 1996. He then took a lecturing position at the University of Leicester, before being appointed Professor of Psychology at Heriot Watt University in 2007. His research interests include musical preference, the effects of music on consumers, and the impact of pop music on adolescents. In his leisure time he enjoys watching football, playing guitar, and playing with his four cats. David Hargreaves is Professor of Education, Froebel Research Fellow, and Director of the Centre for International Research on Creativity and Learning in Education in the School of Education, Roehampton University, and Visiting Professor of Research in Music Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, by which he was awarded an honorary DPhil in 2004. He has appeared on BBC TV and radio as a jazz pianist and composer, and is organist at his local village church.

"Music is so ubiquitous that it can be easy to overlook the powerful influence it exerts in so many areas of our lives - from birth, through childhood, to old age. The Social and Applied Psychology of Music considers the value of music in everyday life, answering some of the perennial questions about music."--BOOK JACKET.