School of Psychology

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Aras an Phiarsaigh
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

+353 1 896 1886

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Dr. Claire Howlin

Dr. Claire Howlin

Assistant Professor, Psychology

3531896 1886

Biography

Claire is a psychology researcher interested in identifying the long-term impact of music and visual arts engagement on lifelong health and wellbeing using controlled experimental designs and evidence synthesis from large international datasets. Central to Claire's research is understanding how music and arts engagement can facilitate personal agency, identity development, and self-efficacy, which are key determinants of mental health and psychological wellbeing. Before coming to Trinity Claire held a Junior Research Fellowship with the University of Cambridge focussed on music therapy for autistic children, and a Creative Health Fellowship from University College London. Previously, her research has been supported by the Irish Research Council, Nurofen, the Society for Music Psychology and Education Research, and University College Dublin. She enjoys collaborating directly with artists and creative people and the findings of her previous research have been featured in a range of international academic journals (BMC Psychiatry, PLOS One, Journal of Music Therapy) and mainstream press outlets (e.g. Forbes Magazine, BBC Radio). She is currently in the special interest group for arts and health in the Royal Society of Public health.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • The Audio-Visual Aesthetics of Music and Dance in, editor(s)Marcos Nadal and Oshin Vartanian , The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Aesthetics, Oxford , Oxford University Press, 2020, [Guido Orgs, Claire Howlin]Book Chapter, 2020, DOI
  • Howlin C., Rooney B., Patients choose music with high energy, danceability, and lyrics in analgesic music listening interventions, Psychology of Music, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Howlin C., Vicary S., Orgs G., Audiovisual Aesthetics of Sound and Movement in Contemporary Dance, Empirical Studies of the Arts, 38, (2), 2020, p191 - 211, p191-211Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Howlin C., Rooney B., The Cognitive Mechanisms in Music Listening Interventions for Pain: A Scoping Review, Journal of Music Therapy, 57, (2), 2020, p127 - 167Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Howlin, C. Lynch D., Guerin, S., Rooney, B. , It's not just the music: impact of the environment and individual differences on music medicine in pain settings., Proceedings of the 11th International Student Conference on Systematic Musicology (SYSMUS 18), 11th International Student Conference on Systematic Musicology (SYSMUS 18, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, June 2018, 2018, pp106 - 114Oral Presentation, 2018
  • Howlin C. Orgs, G., Vicary, S. , The impact of soundtrack congruency on the aesthetic experience of contemporary dance: exploring aesthetic interaction in terms of arousal and enjoyment ratings in three audio settings., In Proceedings of the 25th Anniversary Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, Ghent, Belgium, 31 July - 4 August , European Society for the Cognition of Music, 2017, pp91 - 95Oral Presentation, 2017
  • Howlin, C., Rooney, B. , Exploring danceability and music energy in mediating the analgesic benefits of music listening., 'Time changes in experiences of music and dance', International Symposium, Hamburg, Germany, 29th-30th November , 2019Poster, 2019
  • Howlin, C. Lynch D., Guerin, S., Rooney, B. , Visual Imagery and music listening interventions for pain: preliminary results, KOSMOS workshop on "Mind wandering and visual mental imagery in Music, Berlin, Germany, May, 2018Poster, 2018
  • Howlin, C., Rooney, B., Cognitive Agency in Music Interventions: Increased perceived control of music predicts increased pain tolerance, European Journal of Pain, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • McCann M., Kelly A.M., Eustace-Cook J., Howlin C. and Daly L., Community nurses attitudes, knowledge and educational needs in relation to urinary continence, continence assessment, and management: A systematic review, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 31, (7-8), 2022, p1041-1060Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL
  • Walsh, A., McCluskey, R., Cassidy, D., McGoldrick, G., Howlin, C., Muldoon, K., Butler, É., & Byrne, G., The Support Needs and Current Practices of Public Health Nurses in the Republic of Ireland Who Provide Support to Breastfeeding Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Survey. , Journal of Human Lactation, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI , TARA - Full Text
  • LK Fink, LA Warrenburg, C Howlin, WM Randall, NC Hansen, M Wald-Fuhrmann, Viral tunes:changes in musical behaviours and interest in corona music predict socio-emotional coping during COVID-19 lockdown, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, (8), 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Howlin C., Walsh R., D'Alton P., Rooney B., How do people with chronic pain choose their music for pain management? Examining the external validity of the cognitive vitality model, Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • O'Connor Power F., Beatty S., Dunne N., O'Connell L., O' Riordan N., Sloane H., Prizeman G., O'Sullivan K., Butler E., Howlin C., Byrne G., 'I'm not being serviced; I'm being cared for': A mixed methods study of patients' and nurses' perceptions of community oncology nursing delivered by a Community Intervention Team, European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 60, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Howlin C., Stapleton A., Rooney B., Tune out pain: Agency and active engagement predict decreases in pain intensity after music listening, PLoS ONE, 17, (8 August), 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • The Health Benefits of Art Experience in, editor(s)M Skov, M Nadal , The Routledge International Handbook of Neuroaesthetics, 2022, pp410 - 422, [Claire Howlin]Book Chapter, 2022
  • Claire Howlin and Niels Chr. Hansen, Music in times of COVID-19, [], 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Musik in Zeiten von COVID-19 in, editor(s)Günther Bernatzky, Gunter Kreutz , Musik und Medizin. Chance für Therapie, Prävention und Bildung, Germany, Springer, 2024, pp343 - 361, [Howlin, Claire; Niels C. Hansen]Book Chapter, 2024, DOI
  • Jaschke, A., Howlin, C., Pool, J., Greenberg, Y. D., Atkinson, R., Kovalova, A., Merriam,, E., Pallas, I., Williams, S., Moore, C., Hayden, K., Allison, C., Odell-Miller, Baron-Cohen, S., Study protocol of a randomized control trial on the effectiveness of improvisational music therapy for autistic children, BMC Psychiatry, 24, 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI
  • Trupp*, M. D., Howlin, C, Fekete, A., Kutsche, J., Fingerhut, J., Pelowski, M., The Impact of Viewing Art on Well-being"A Systematic Review of the Evidence Base and Suggested Mechanisms., Journal of Positive Psychology, 2024Journal Article, 2024
  • C. Howlin, E. O'Shea, M. Dunne, L. Mullaney, M. McGarry, A. Clayton-Lea,M. Finn, P. Carter, B. Garret, P. Thirion, A randomized controlled trial comparing customized versus standard headrests for head and neck radiotherapy immobilization in terms of set-up errors, patient comfort and staff satisfaction (ICORG 08-09), Radiography, 21, (1), 2015, p74 - 83Journal Article, 2015, DOI
  • Howlin, C*. Fink, L.*, Randall, W., Warrenburg, L., Wald-Fuhrmann, M. and Hansen, N. C, Music as a tool for socio-emotional coping during Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. , SEMPRE Conference 'The role of music psychology research in a complex world', Leeds, 9th - 11th September, 2020Oral Presentation
  • Orgs, O., Howlin, C. , Music Dance interactions. , Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics., University of Toronto, Canada, 30 August- 2 Septemb, 2018Oral Presentation
  • Fink, L., Warrenburg, L. A., Howlin, C., Randell, W. M., Hansen, N. C., Wald-Fuhrmann, M., Viral Tunes: Changes in musical behaviours and interest in coronamusic predict socio-emotional coping during COVID-19 lockdown, PsyArchiv, 2021Journal Article, DOI
  • Mc Cluskey, R., Walsh, A, Howlin, C., Cassidy, D., Muldoon, K., Byrne, G., Developing a questionnaire-based tool to assess the support needs and current practices of PHNs who provide support to breastfeeding mothers., Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference , Dublin, Ireland, March , 2021Poster
  • C Howlin, E Quinn, J Jones, Identifying the art of wellbeing: The experiences and impacts of Entelechy Arts' Staying Connected Programme, Dublin Ireland, Entelechy Arts, July, 2022, p1 - 40Report, URL

Research Expertise

Cancer, Clinical and health psychology, Psychology and cognitive sciences, Performing arts, Other health sciences,

Recognition

  • UCD College of Social Sciences and Law Scholarship, to complete a four year PhD programme 2016 - 2020
  • Junior Research Fellowship, Wolfson College University of Cambridge January 2023
  • Travel Award, from International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and Society for Education in Music Psychology Research to present an oral and poster presentation in Tokyo, Japan 2023
  • Graduate Research and Innovations Fund award from College of Social Sciences in University College Dublin to present at the 25th Anniversary Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, Ghent, Belgium. Aug 2017
  • Graduate Research and Innovations Fund award from the school of social sciences in University College Dublin to present my research at the European society for the cognition of music's 10th triennial conference, in Gräz, Austria. July 2018
  • Awarded SEMPRE Conference award to attend and present my research at the international student conference for systematic musicology at Berlin, Germany Sep 2019
  • Conference Award from the Society for Education and Music Psychology Research to present my research at the 10th triennial conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Science of Music, in Graz, Austria May 2018
  • Public Engagement Award, Participatory Research England, to support a sharing event with our community arts partners Entelechy Arts, at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, London 2022
  • Awarded SEMPRE Conference award to attend and present my research at the international student conference for systematic musicology, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Jun 2018
  • Psychological Society of Ireland, Special Interest Group for Media, Arts and Cyberpsychoogy 2019
  • Society for Education and Music Psychology Research 2021
  • Irish Institute for Radiographers and Radiation Therapists 2009
  • Royal Society of Public Health, Special Interest group in Arts and Health 2024
  • British Psychological Association 2014
  • Elected member of the American Psychology Association (APA), Division 10 Psychology of the Arts Aesthetics and Creativity 2023
  • International Association for Music and Medicine, Special interest group in Music and Chronic pain 2024