Undergraduate Nonmusic Majors' World Music Preference and Multicultural Attitudes

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Victor Fung

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between world music preferences and multicultural attitudes of nonmusic-major undergraduate students. The World Music Preference Inventory (WMPI) and the Multicultural Attitude Inventory (MAI) were administered to 50 undergraduate nonmusic majors. Two scores were determined from the WMPI (composite preference and composite correct identification) for eight world music style categories: Africa, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Middle East, and Thailand. No significant correlations were found between the composite preference score and composite correct identification score. There was, however, a significant correlation between the composite preference score and the composite MAI score. Furthermore, significant correlations were found among the preference subscores of all style categories, indicating that subjects' preferences for the eight world musical style categories were similar. Analyses revealed that there was a significantly higher degree of preference for instrumental excerpts than for vocal excerpts.

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. Vella ◽  
Gregory Mills

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether uses of music partially mediate the link between personality and music preference. Undergraduate students ( N = 122) completed the following scales: The Brief Big Five Inventory, The Uses of Music Inventory, The Short Test of Music Preference, The Life Orientation Test Revised, The Beck Depression Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Openness to experience positively predicted preferences for reflective-complex (RC; e.g., jazz/blues) and intense-rebellious (IR; e.g., rock/metal) music and was inversely related to upbeat-conventional (UC; e.g., country/pop) music, whereas extraversion was positively related to preferences for energetic-rhythmic (ER; e.g., rap/soul) and UC genres. A link between trait optimism and ER music preference was fully mediated by the more prominent extraversion trait. The relationship between openness to experience and RC music preference was partially mediated by cognitive uses of music, with a marginally significant analysis indicating partial mediation of emotional uses of music for openness to experience and IR music preference. Trait neuroticism, perceived stress, and depression scores all correlated positively with emotional uses of music. The current findings support studying personality contextually alongside uses of music when investigating music preference and shed light on how negative affect may inform emotional uses of music.


1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Victor Fung

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among musical characteristics and musicians' and nonmusicians' preferences for world musics. World musics were drawn from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Musical characteristics included tempo, pitch redundancy, tonal centeredness, consonance, brightness in timbre, percussiveness, loudness, textural complexity, and richness in embellishment. Preference was also examined in relation to familiarity. Subjects were 449 undergraduate students (180 music majors and 269 nonmusic majors). Subjects completed a preference-rating scale that included a total of 36 instrumental excerpts from nine countries. Results showed that all nine musical characteristics were significant sources of variance in world music preferences. The following musical characteristics were preferred by both musicians and nonmusicians: fast tempo, loud, tonal-centered, having many different pitches, consonant, moderately embellished, smooth-sounding, and bright timbre. Musicians preferred excerpts with complex texture, whereas nonmusicians preferred moderately complex textures. A positive relationship between familiarity and preference was found across all musical styles. In general, musicians had significantly higher preference means than did nonmusicians:


Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison S. Christian ◽  
Kristen M. McCabe

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurs with high frequency among clinical and nonclinical youth populations. Although depression has been consistently linked with the behavior, not all depressed individuals engage in DSH. Aims: The current study examined maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-blame, distancing, and self-isolation) as mediators between depression and DSH among undergraduate students. Methods: 202 students from undergraduate psychology courses at a private university in Southern California (77.7% women) completed anonymous self-report measures. Results: A hierarchical regression model found no differences in DSH history across demographic variables. Among coping variables, self-isolation alone was significantly related to DSH. A full meditational model was supported: Depressive symptoms were significantly related to DSH, but adding self-isolation to the model rendered the relationship nonsignificant. Limitations: The cross-sectional study design prevents determination of whether a casual relation exists between self-isolation and DSH, and obscures the direction of that relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest targeting self-isolation as a means of DSH prevention and intervention among nonclinical, youth populations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Salina Abdullah ◽  
Ern Chen Loo

Research on social and environmental accounting (SEA) has mainly concentrated on disclosure of SEA by corporate bodies, where investigations on ones attitude towards SEA are rarely discussed. SEA is a medium that develops relationships between business and society, community and nature. In addition, SEA involves a concept of sustain ability; where natural resources need to be sustained for the needs of future generations (Alhabshi et al., 2003). SEA also tries to recognise the role of accounting in sustainable development and the use of environmental resources. There are arguments that the young generations today are not fully aware of preserving these natural resources as well as handling social and environmental issues wisely. This perhaps link closely to their belief and cultural background. Hence, this paper examines the influence of gender and belief factors on the undergraduate students’ attitude towards SEA. Four dimensions of belief (fixed ability, quick learning, simple knowledge and certain knowledge) proposed by Schommer (2005) were adapted to analyse how belief factors have influence on their attitude towards SEA. An independent sample t-test was used to examine the relationship between gender and students’ attitude towards SEA. Spearmen’s correlation was employed to show the relationship between belief and attitude towards SEA. The results revealed that gender differences did not show influences on their attitude towards SEA. It was found that there is a significant relationship between belief and students’ attitude towards SEA. Students who believe on the importance of SEA tend to report positive attitude towards SEA. Perhaps findings of this study may provide some information on the SEA education and further be incorporated in the syllabus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Shichang Liang ◽  
Yaping Chang ◽  
XueBing Dong ◽  
Jinshan Wang

We examined the influence of locus of control on the relationship between social exclusion and preference for distinctive choices. Participants were 212 undergraduate students at a university in Central China, who completed measures of social exclusion, locus of control, choice, and perceived uniqueness. Results showed that participants who believed that the environment controlled their fate (external locus of control) preferred more distinctive choices in a social exclusion context than in a social inclusion context, whereas participants who believed that they could control the environment (internal locus of control) preferred less distinctive choices. Further, perceived uniqueness mediated the effect of social exclusion and locus of control on choice. These results add to the literature on social exclusion and personal control.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xinsheng Jiang ◽  
Jinyu Wang

The causal relationship between envy and depression is currently far from clear. We conducted a cross-lagged regression analysis of data on envy and depression, obtained from a nonclinical sample of 260 undergraduate students at two time points spaced 14 months apart. From the perspective of social comparison theory, the results show that although after 14 months envy positively predicted depression, depression did not predict envy. The envy–depression relationship is, thus, a unidirectional causality. In addition, there was no overall gender effect on the relationship between envy and depression. Our finding of the effect of upward social comparison on the envy–depression relationship provides guidance for the treatment of depression in clinical practice.


Colleges and universities have begun using the language of vocation and calling to help undergraduates think about the future direction of their lives. This language has been employed in both secular and religious contexts, but it has deep roots in a specific theological tradition. Given the increasingly multi-faith context of undergraduate life, many have asked whether this originally Christian terminology can truly become a new vocabulary for higher education. This volume’s 13 contributing scholars identify with a wide variety of faith traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Some claim more than one tradition; others would claim none. Rather than seeking to “translate” Christian language into other perspectives, they reflect on various facets of vocation from the standpoint of their own traditions. Both individually and collectively, they seek to expand the range of vocational reflection and discernment well beyond its traditional Christian origins, addressing themes such as religious pluralism and difference, the importance of multiple voices, the role of affective learning, the relationship between process and result, and the development of an integrated life. The authors recognize that all undergraduate students—regardless of their academic field, religious background, or demographic identity—need to make space for reflection, to overcome obstacles to vocational discernment, and to consider the significance of their own narratives, beliefs, and practices. Accomplishing these goals will require college campuses to reimagine their curricular and co-curricular programming in order to support their students’ interfaith reflections on issues of meaning and purpose, as well as personal identity.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022199008
Author(s):  
Mustafa Firat ◽  
Kimberly A. Noels

Bicultural identity orientations have rarely been examined in relation to both perceived discrimination and psychological distress. Furthermore, these constructs have usually been studied in isolation, but their intersection is essential for understanding intercultural relations in multicultural societies. Using cross-sectional data from 1,143 Canadian undergraduate students from immigrant families, this study explored the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress, and how bicultural identity orientations might mediate this relationship. The structural equation modeling results indicated that perceived discrimination was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and hybrid, monocultural, alternating, and conflicted orientations, but lower levels of complementary orientation. Alternating and conflicted orientations were related to higher psychological distress, whereas the other orientations were not. Alternating and conflicted orientations mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress, whereas the other orientations did not. The findings are discussed in light of theories on identity integration, rejection–identification, and acculturation.


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