Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Young people's topography of musical functions
T2 - personal, social and cultural experiences with music across genders and six societies
AU - Boer, Diana
AU - Fischer, Ronald
AU - Tekman, Hasan Gürkan
AU - Abubakar, Amina
AU - Njenga, Jane
AU - Zenger, Markus
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - How can we understand the uses of music in daily life? Music is a universal phenomenon but with significant interindividual and cultural variability. Listeners' gender and cultural background may influence how and why music is used in daily life. This paper reports the first investigation of a holistic framework and a new measure of music functions (RESPECT-music) across genders and six diverse cultural samples (students from Germany, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, and Turkey). Two dimensions underlie the mental representation of music functions. First, music can be used for contemplation or affective functions. Second, music can serve intrapersonal, social, and sociocultural functions. Results reveal that gender differences occur for affective functions, indicating that female listeners use music more for affective functions, i.e., emotional expression, dancing, and cultural identity. Country differences are moderate for social functions (values, social bonding, dancing) and strongest for sociocultural function (cultural identity, family bonding, political attitudes). Cultural values, such as individualism-collectivism and secularism-traditionalism, can help explain cross-cultural differences in the uses of music. Listeners from more collectivistic cultures use music more frequently for expressing values and cultural identity. Listeners from more secular and individualistic cultures like to dance more. Listeners from more traditional cultures use music more for expressing values and cultural identity, and they bond more frequently with their families over music. The two dimensions of musical functions seem systematically underpinned by listeners' gender and cultural background. We discuss the uses of music as behavioral expressions of affective and contemplative as well as personal, social, and sociocultural aspects in terms of affect proneness and cultural values.
AB - How can we understand the uses of music in daily life? Music is a universal phenomenon but with significant interindividual and cultural variability. Listeners' gender and cultural background may influence how and why music is used in daily life. This paper reports the first investigation of a holistic framework and a new measure of music functions (RESPECT-music) across genders and six diverse cultural samples (students from Germany, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, and Turkey). Two dimensions underlie the mental representation of music functions. First, music can be used for contemplation or affective functions. Second, music can serve intrapersonal, social, and sociocultural functions. Results reveal that gender differences occur for affective functions, indicating that female listeners use music more for affective functions, i.e., emotional expression, dancing, and cultural identity. Country differences are moderate for social functions (values, social bonding, dancing) and strongest for sociocultural function (cultural identity, family bonding, political attitudes). Cultural values, such as individualism-collectivism and secularism-traditionalism, can help explain cross-cultural differences in the uses of music. Listeners from more collectivistic cultures use music more frequently for expressing values and cultural identity. Listeners from more secular and individualistic cultures like to dance more. Listeners from more traditional cultures use music more for expressing values and cultural identity, and they bond more frequently with their families over music. The two dimensions of musical functions seem systematically underpinned by listeners' gender and cultural background. We discuss the uses of music as behavioral expressions of affective and contemplative as well as personal, social, and sociocultural aspects in terms of affect proneness and cultural values.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Auditory Perception
KW - Cross-Cultural Comparison
KW - Cultural Characteristics
KW - Dancing
KW - Emotions
KW - Family
KW - Female
KW - Germany
KW - Humans
KW - Individuality
KW - Kenya
KW - Male
KW - Meditation
KW - Mexico
KW - Music
KW - New Zealand
KW - Object Attachment
KW - Philippines
KW - Sex Factors
KW - Social Perception
KW - Social Support
KW - Social Values
KW - Turkey
U2 - 10.1080/00207594.2012.656128
DO - 10.1080/00207594.2012.656128
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 22506759
VL - 47
SP - 355
EP - 369
JO - International Journal of Psychology
JF - International Journal of Psychology
SN - 0020-7594
IS - 5
ER -