Can antistress music tapes reduce mental stress?

The effects of so‐called antistress music tapes on reduction of mental stress were examined using Cox and Mackay's SACL, Japanese edition (J‐SACL). Fifty‐two subjects were exposed to experimentally induced stressful situations and the J‐SACL was administered before and after this stress exposure. The results indicated that: (1) music tapes in general could reduce both the stress and arousal factors of the J‐SACL; (2) however, differential effects in stress reduction of antistress music tapes were not demonstrated; (3) stress‐reducing effects were more prominent in stress than in arousal factors.