Young people's topography of musical functions: Personal- social and cultural experiences with music across genders and six societies

Abstract

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.