The effects of different genres of music on passersby

Music preferences reflect both experience and societal or cultural influences. The characteristics of the music genre include both structural style and societal connotations. This study investigated reactions to different types of music. The behavior of passersby was observed as music from two stereotypically “opposite” genres, hip-hop and classical, was played by the researcher while jogging past them. It was hypothesized that due to societal stereotypes and reputations of these genres’ participants would react negatively toward hip-hop and favorably toward classical. As the study was conducted, participants were observed during six different outings over a three-week period. The researcher jogged at the same time of day and over the same route with either hip-hop or classical music playing. Passersby were observed on their facial expressions, any changes in behavior, and their body language to determine their overall reaction to the music, as being “positive”, “negative”, or “neutral.” The results indicate that older passersby responded negatively to hip-hop and positively to classical music. Younger age groups often had opposite reactions. This study provides insight into different populations’ responses to opposite genres of music and how societal stereotypes may have affected these responses.

Music Makes the People Come Together: Social Functions of Music Listening for Young People Across Cultures

<p>Music is important in most people''s lives independent of their cultural origin. Music can foster bonds between people and communicate values and identity. This thesis examined the social psychological functions of music across cultures. It investigated two social functions in detail: music preferences as expressions of personal and cultural values, and the social bonding function of shared music preferences. Furthermore, this thesis explored how these social functions relate to personal and cultural functions of music. This broader perspective offered an integration of the social functions into a holistic topography of musical functions. Six cross-cultural studies were conducted with the overarching objective to advance research on social functions of music preferences in cross-cultural contexts. Studies 1 and 2 explored the associations between music preferences and personal and cultural values drawing on Attitude-Function Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory. Study 1 revealed that preferences for global music styles (such as Rock, Pop and Classical music) were consistently associated with personal value orientations across four cultures and across two value measurements. Study 2 explored the tendency of societies to appreciate global music styles in association with their cultural values. Findings of a multicultural study and a meta-analysis confirmed that cultural values were related to societal music appreciation. Studies 1 and 2 advance our understanding of people's musical choices based on personal and cultural values. Studies 3 and 4 tested a novel model illuminating social bonding through shared music preferences. The model proposes that the value-expressive function of music preferences plays a crucial role in musical social bonding. Two studies supported the model empirically. A dyadic study among roommates in Hong Kong (Study 3) demonstrated that roommates who shared music preferences had similar value orientations, which contributed to perceived similarity between roommates leading to interpersonal attraction. The social perception experiment (Study 4) among German Metal and Hip-hop fans showed that shared music preference with a musical ingroup member was a robust vehicle for social bonding. In both studies, musical social bonding was facilitated by value similarity. Studies 5 and 6 offered holistic psychological investigations situating and relating individual, social, and cultural functions of music as perceived and used by culturally diverse samples. While the multicultural qualitative Study 5 identified a variety of personal, social and cultural functions of music, the quantitative Study 6 aimed to measure a selected number of these functions. Both studies revealed that the social bonding function of music was closely related to the value-expressive function. The social bonding function represented the centre of a holistic topography of musical functions. Its importance was independent of cultural background and socio-demographic variables in the present samples indicating universal characteristics. The findings of this thesis contribute novel perspectives to contemporary music reception research as well as cross-cultural psychology. Using an explicit cultural-comparative approach beyond previous mono-cultural social psychological research on music it advances our understanding of music in a global context. It revealed that people use music similarly across cultures for expressing values, for social bonding and for multiple other functions. This thesis underscores that music is a powerful prosocial resource.</p>

Music Makes the People Come Together: Social Functions of Music Listening for Young People Across Cultures

<p>Music is important in most people''s lives independent of their cultural origin. Music can foster bonds between people and communicate values and identity. This thesis examined the social psychological functions of music across cultures. It investigated two social functions in detail: music preferences as expressions of personal and cultural values, and the social bonding function of shared music preferences. Furthermore, this thesis explored how these social functions relate to personal and cultural functions of music. This broader perspective offered an integration of the social functions into a holistic topography of musical functions. Six cross-cultural studies were conducted with the overarching objective to advance research on social functions of music preferences in cross-cultural contexts. Studies 1 and 2 explored the associations between music preferences and personal and cultural values drawing on Attitude-Function Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory. Study 1 revealed that preferences for global music styles (such as Rock, Pop and Classical music) were consistently associated with personal value orientations across four cultures and across two value measurements. Study 2 explored the tendency of societies to appreciate global music styles in association with their cultural values. Findings of a multicultural study and a meta-analysis confirmed that cultural values were related to societal music appreciation. Studies 1 and 2 advance our understanding of people's musical choices based on personal and cultural values. Studies 3 and 4 tested a novel model illuminating social bonding through shared music preferences. The model proposes that the value-expressive function of music preferences plays a crucial role in musical social bonding. Two studies supported the model empirically. A dyadic study among roommates in Hong Kong (Study 3) demonstrated that roommates who shared music preferences had similar value orientations, which contributed to perceived similarity between roommates leading to interpersonal attraction. The social perception experiment (Study 4) among German Metal and Hip-hop fans showed that shared music preference with a musical ingroup member was a robust vehicle for social bonding. In both studies, musical social bonding was facilitated by value similarity. Studies 5 and 6 offered holistic psychological investigations situating and relating individual, social, and cultural functions of music as perceived and used by culturally diverse samples. While the multicultural qualitative Study 5 identified a variety of personal, social and cultural functions of music, the quantitative Study 6 aimed to measure a selected number of these functions. Both studies revealed that the social bonding function of music was closely related to the value-expressive function. The social bonding function represented the centre of a holistic topography of musical functions. Its importance was independent of cultural background and socio-demographic variables in the present samples indicating universal characteristics. The findings of this thesis contribute novel perspectives to contemporary music reception research as well as cross-cultural psychology. Using an explicit cultural-comparative approach beyond previous mono-cultural social psychological research on music it advances our understanding of music in a global context. It revealed that people use music similarly across cultures for expressing values, for social bonding and for multiple other functions. This thesis underscores that music is a powerful prosocial resource.</p>

The relation between intercultural Sensitivity and world music preferences Among grammar school and vocational School students

The paper explores the influence of the type of secondary education chosen by the participants on the level of intercultural sensitivity and world music preferences, as well as the connection between intercultural sensitivity and world music preferences. The research employed a general data questionnaire, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale and an assessment scale to examine music fragment preferences in a sample of 124 participants. The results have significant implications for music and pedagogical theory and practice, in terms of increasing intercultural sensitivity and the tolerance of students towards members of other cultures and their music.

Appearance Reveals Music Preferences

Disclosing idiosyncratic preferences can help to broker new social interactions. For instance, strangers exchange music preferences to signal their identities, values, and preferences. Recognizing that people’s physical appearances guide their decisions about social engagement, we examined whether cues to people’s music preferences in their physical appearance and expressive poses help to guide social interaction. We found that perceivers could detect targets’ music preferences from photos of their bodies, heads, faces, eyes, and mouths (but not hair) and that the targets’ apparent traits (e.g., submissiveness, neatness) undergirded these judgments. Perceivers also desired to meet individuals who appeared to match their music preferences versus those who did not. Music preferences therefore seem to manifest in appearance, regulating interest in others and suggesting that one’s identity redundantly emerges across different types of cues. People may thus infer others’ music preferences to identify candidates for social bonding.

The sound of social class: Do music preferences signal status?

In three studies, we explore the subjective construal of associations between music preferences and social class. Two small-scale studies ( N = 100, N = 70) and one study involving a large representative sample of the Italian population ( N = 1,045) reveal that (a) people hold well-defined stereotypes on how music preferences are linked to social class, (b) that these stereotypes do not map onto actual class differences in music taste, (c) that they operate at both an implicit and explicit level, (d) that they are subject to ingroup bias among those who prefer “low-class” genres, and (e) that they are only weakly affected by streaming habits. Together, these findings shed new light on the psychological processes through which people draw inferences about social class on the basis of cultural expression.

Relationship Between Personality and Music Preferences Among University Students

This study analysed the relationship between Big Five personality traits and music preferences among university students. Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Short Test of Music Preferences (STOMP) was used to assess personality traits and music preferences. Questionnaires were distributed through social media platforms to college and university students aged 19 to 26. A total number of 145 respondents participated in this study. The results showed Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness were the most prevalent personality traits among respondents and Energetic-Rhythmic (ER) was the most preferred music. The correlation analysis showed that there is a significant correlation between Openness and energetic-rhythmic (ER) music. On the other hand, there was no significant correlation between other traits (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) with music preference dimensions such as Intense-Rebellious (IR) and Energetic-Rhythmic (ER). The inconsistencies in the literature and our findings suggested more studies are needed to understand the influence of personality on music preferences.

Students' music preferences towards classical music

Music preferences can be related to many groups of factors, as LeBlanc’s Interactive theory of music preference suggests. In this research four factors from the model were explored in relation to students’ preference towards classical music: students' age, their gender, their attendance of extracurricular music activities and familiarity of music pieces. Fifteen excerpts of classical music pieces from different musical-historical periods were presented to a sample of 516 students, 7 to 18 years old. Results reveal moderate negative correlation between age and preference towards classical music. Higher preference was found in female students and for familiar pieces. Students that attended extracurricular music activities preferred only some excerpts more. Findings provide strong support to LeBlanc’s model. Implications for teaching are proposed.

Elementary School Pupils' Music Preferences for Classical Music / Glazbene sklonosti prema klasičnoj glazbi učenika osnovne škole

The paper explores music preferences of elementary school pupils for classical music and the influence of familiarity with music on their music preferences. As a part of the research, a questionnaire, and a sound questionnaire as its integral part, was administered to 238 pupils attending the second, the fifth and the eighth grade of elementary school. The results confirm that younger pupils, compared to the older ones, show greater preferences for classical music. In addition, the influence of gender on preferences for classical music was also confirmed, while attendance of extracurricular music lessons was not proven to be a significant predictor of the pupils’ preferences for classical music. It was also noted that familiarity with music is a significant factor influencing pupils’ music preferences. The results confirm that pupils show the lowest music preferences for the 20th-century music, which has significant implications for music-pedagogical theory and practice.Key words: classical music; elementary school; music preferences---U ovom radu istražuju se glazbene sklonosti učenika osnovne škole prema klasičnoj glazbi i utjecaj poznavanja glazbe na njihove glazbene sklonosti. U sklopu istraživanja, upitnik i glazbeni upitnik su primijenjeni na 238 učenika drugog, petog i osmog razreda osnovne škole. Rezultati su potvrdili da mlađi učenici pokazuju veće sklonosti prema klasičnoj glazbi od starijih. Osim toga, utvrđen je i utjecaj spola na sklonosti prema klasičnoj glazbi, a pohađanje izvannastavnih glazbenih aktivnosti nije se pokazalo kao značajan prediktor učeničkih sklonosti prema klasičnoj glazbi. Rezultati upućuju na to da učenici pokazuju najmanje sklonosti prema glazbi 20. stoljeća, što ima značajne posljedice za glazbeno-pedagošku teoriju i praksu.Ključne riječi: glazbene sklonosti; klasična glazba; osnovna škola