 Meyer claims that his theory is able to reconcile two apparently opposite solutions to the problem of musical value and understanding. These are the “formalist option”, according to which emotions are irrelevant to the appreciation of music, and the “absolute expressivist” one, which holds music valuable for the emotions it arouses in us. Meyer proposes that, if the expectation is a conscious one, the response will be intellectual, rather than emotional. But if it is an unconscious expectation, as is the case for most listeners, then its frustration will give rise to an emotional response. The formalist and the expressivist are thus two different modes of engagement with music, as opposed to being incompatible views of its meaning and value (Meyer 1956: 38–40).