Revista Argentina de Clínica Psicológica 2020, Vol. XXIX, N°1, 880-886
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.120 880
R
ELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
M
USIC
P
REFERENCE AND
P
SYCHOLOGICAL
S
TATE OF
C
OLLEGE
S
TUDENTS
Yichen Huang
1, Jinhong Huang
2, Yanhong Huang
3*
Abstract
Music has been widely used to regulate emotion and mood. This paper aims to disclose the intrinsic relationship between music preference and psychological state of college students. First, the concept of music preference was introduced based on the theories on preference behaviours. Next, an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among the students of a college in Wuhan, China. The survey data were analysed in details to determine the influencing factors of music preference, and the correlations between music preference and psychological state of college students. The results show that the music preference of college students is affected in different degrees by living environment, personality, life experience and educational environment; most college students prefer Chinese pop music due to their cultural background; 41.5% of the respondents prefer practical teaching methods, while the exploratory teaching method is more suitable for music majors; the music preference of college students varies with emotional instability, complexity of psychological features and genders. The research findings lay a theoretical basis for regulating the psychological state of college students through music education.
Key words: Preference Behaviour, Music Preference, Teaching Mode, Psychological State. Received: 06-03-19 | Accepted: 15-10-19
INTRODUCTION
During the learning and living in the colleges and university, the students have to face various pressures, including academic pressure,
employment pressure, life stress and
interpersonal stress (Caldwell & Hibbert, 2010; Bogt, Mulder, Raaijmakers et al., 2011; Miller, Kelley, Midgett et al., 2016). As an inevitable part of individual growth, appropriate psychological
stress contributes to the growth and
development of individuals, but excessive stress can lead to psychological and physical damage (Ehardt, 2010; Zhou, Britigan, Rajaram et al., 2017). Stress usually manifests the psychological tension, anxiety, and large mood swings.
1College of Music, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117,
China. 2Party School of Minqing County Committee of C.P.C,
Fuzhou 350800, China. 3College of Music, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Therefore, college students need to take appropriate measures to reduce stress and alleviate different negative emotions such as tensions or anxiety (Repetti, Dalbor, Singh et al., 2015; Ding, Wang, Xu et al., 2004; Gabbard, Dean, & Haensly, 1991). As one of the ways to alleviate the psychological stress of the individual, music helps to adjust the mood and relieve the mental state of tension to a certain extent so that the individuals can be detached from stress, bad mood or pain.
The research results at home and abroad show that music preferences and music types have different degrees of influence on relieving stress and regulating mental state; listening to appropriate music can relax the body and purify the mood (Nisan, 2005; Janata, Tomic, & Haberman, 2012). When the
people listen to the music that they like, it’ll help
them to improve their mental state or maintain a happy mood; when they listen to the that they don't like, it can lead to a sad or depressed mood (Hargreaves & North, 1999; Rentfrow, 2012;
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Siedenburg, Fujinaga, & Mcadams, 2016). At present, the research on music and psychology is still not mature enough to define the intrinsic link between individual musical preference behaviour, psychological adjustment, and mental state (Bader, 2014; Christopher, 2017). In order to adjust people’s
bad moods and cultivate their positive attitudes towards life, it is of great theoretical and social value to explore the relationship between music preferences and psychological activities.
In view of this above, the paper attempts to analyse the influencing factors of music preference and individual psychological state, and systematically study the intrinsic link between music preference and psychological regulatory role based on the related theories of preference behaviours and psychology. For this, college students were selected as the research objects, and questionnaires and statistical analysis methods were adopted. This study provides a theoretical basis for the selection of music for psychological and emotional adjustment, and also for the in-depth development of the relationship between music and psychology.
MUSIC PREFERENCE BEHAVIOURS Concept of preference behaviours
Individual behaviour refers to a kind of purposeful activity expressed by emotions, cognition, consciousness, etc. under the influence of external factors. Preference behaviours generally refers to the activity or process of an individual's
subjective choice of certain things. It’s also
described as the individual’s tendency or preference
to select another thing from a subjective perspective between multiple things or two similar things. Some study shows that preference behaviours is a potential tendency or emotion in the individual's inner heart, which not only reflects the difference between individuals, but also exhibits the universal characteristics of the group nature. In addition, certain scholars believe that preference behaviour is more susceptible to individual perceptual factors.
Influenced by different external factors and the individual factors such as the psychology, physiology, attitude and concept etc., the preference behaviours of different individuals vary greatly, showing different tendencies of attitudes and behaviours Scholars in the field of psychology generally believe that individual behaviour is generally stimulated and promoted by behavioural motivation, external stimuli, and individual needs to meet their own subjective needs and tendencies.
Music preference behaviour
Based on the above theoretical analysis, music preference is an activity that is influenced by various factors such as individual interest, environmental influence, and psychological state. Scholars from various countries have carried out a series of researches on the relationships between music preferences and individual psychology and behaviour. Music preference can be considered as the preference choice of the individual for music in some cases, or as the choice of the individual under the coupling effect of various factors such as related information and individual psychological characteristics.
From a psychological point of view, different musical preference behaviours of the individuals can help to adjust their psychological state to a certain extent, and reduce the psychological stress, but having different de-stress effect on the individuals. For contemporary college students, the emotions of this group are more sensitive and fluctuating, their psychology and behaviour are expected by the society, and their spirit is also plagued and affected by many problems. As a reasonable way of psychological adjustment and pressure relief, listening to music is conducive to develop a positive attitude for the students. The rhythm and melody of music can release the pressure, pain or joy in their hearts, and express emotions; they can better express emotions, adapt to the environment and society through listening to music. In addition, due to the external environment and subjective factors, the music preference behaviour of different individuals also causes college students' preference for different music types, songs, singers and musical instruments etc.
COLLEGE STUDENTS' MUSIC PREFERENCE BEHAVIOUR AND INFLUENCING FACTORS
Research objects and experimental methods Taking different music teaching modes as examples, this paper performs the psychological analysis for students' preference behaviour. One college in Wuhan which was selected for the survey. It was founded in 1995 with a total construction area of 230,000 square meters, 2,870 students and 598 teachers. This college has complete facilities, including the laboratories, stadiums, student apartments, student restaurants, etc. Both the interview method and the questionnaire survey method were adopted. The questionnaire was designed in fully consideration of the psychological and physiological conditions of the students.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC PREFERENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS 882
The questionnaire was anonymous. Its main questions were multiple-choice questions, including: hobbies on music, preferred types of music, attitudes to music courses, understanding of music content, understanding of music works, and the relationship between different styles of music and personality. In order to ensure the objective authenticity and accuracy of the data, some groups were tested and interviewed. Figure 1 shows the main process of the survey.
A total of 560 questionnaires were distributed in this survey, and 523 were returned, with the recovery rate of 93.4%, of which 503 were valid questionnaires, and the recovery rate was 89.8%.
The respondents’ characteristics of the valid
questionnaires are shown in Table 1 and Figure 2.
Figure 1
.
Questionnaire survey process
Est ablishing investigat ion objectives
and formulating research plans
Questionnaire design
Interviews and questionnaires
Receiving questionnaires and
analyzing data
Figure 2
.
Personnel characteristic chart of
effective questionnaire
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Junior Sophomore
N
um
be
r
Freshman
male female
Table 1 shows that male students accounted for 58.3%, and female students accounted for 41.7%, indicating that there are more male students in this college, and its majors are dominated by science and engineering. Figure 2 shows that number of the respondents were basically the same in Grade 1, 2, and 3, involving the students of all grades, and the overall number of males was higher than males.
Influencing factors and psychological analysis of music preferences
Students' preference for music was surveyed
from five dimensions: “dislike very much, dislike, general, like, and like very much”. The survey results
are shown in Table 2. The overall analysis is shown in Figure 3. It can be seen from the figure that nearly 93.9% of the students maintain a positive attitude towards music; under different life and facility background of college students, there are certain differences in their psychology and personality. Therefore, the degree of preference for music also varies. On the whole, most students like music very much, accounting for 53.4%, and those who don't like music account for 6.1%, indicating that most people like listening to music.
Table 1.
Personnel characteristic table of effective questionnaire
Grade Gender Number Number of grades/Total Boys/Total Girls/Total
Freshman Male 92 33.20%
58.3% 41.7%
Female 75
Sophomore Male 103 31.61%
Female 56
Junior Male 98 35.19%
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Table 2.
Survey results of College Students'
musical preferences
Degree of preference Proportion
Partiality 53.4%
Like 34.2%
Commonly 6.3%
Unlike 3.2%
Very disliked 2.9%
Figure 3
.
Personnel characteristic chart of
effective questionnaire
Partiality Like Unlike Commonly Very disliked 2.9%
6.3% 3.2% 34.2%
53.4%
Table 3 lists the survey results of college students' preference for music in different regions. Figure 3 shows the pie chart for analysis, in which the number of students who liked Chinese mainland music accounted for up to 73.1%, followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan and Europe, which accounted for 12.3% and 10.1% respectively; the number of students who liked online music was the least, only 1.7%. It can be seen that Chinese pop music is most popular among students, because of the same cultural genes and environment so that they are more likely to release their emotions in Chinese pop music. Meanwhile, with the development of information technology, students are exposed to a wider range of music, and can listen to music from different regions to adjust their emotions and pressures.
The survey data of factors affecting students' preference for music are summarized in Table 4, Figure 5. It can be seen from Figure 5 that 67.5% of students who like music are interested in the content and melody of music, 15.6% like music style, and 16.9% students like music just because of the
singer’s appearance and sound, indicating the
celebrity worship is also one factor affecting the music preference of the students, but most students like music because of the content and melody of music, or the lyrics.
Students' music preference is affected under different music teaching modes such as experiential teaching method, practical teaching method, language teaching method and exploratory teaching method. The results of the questionnaire survey are shown in Table 5, and the related histogram is shown
in Figure 6, indicating that the practical teaching method is the favourite one for students, accounting for 41.5%, because it is mainly to guide students to participate in music practice activities, improve music skills, and enhance the level of music appreciation; the exploratory teaching is more suitable for students in music majors, and most students listen to music for relaxing rather than creating music.
Table 3.
Survey of music preferences of college
students in different regions
Region Proportion
Chinese Mainland 73.1% Hong Kong and Taiwan 12.3% Europe and America 10.1%
Japan and Korea 2.8%
Network 1.7%
Figure 4
.
The degree of music preference of
college students in different regions
Chinese
Hong Kong and Taiwan Japan and Korea Europe and America Network
1.7% 10.1% 2.8% 12.3%
73.1%
Table 4.
Survey results of factors affecting
students' music preferences
Type Proportion
Musical content and melody 67.5% Performers' appearance and sound 16.9%
style of music 15.6%
Figure 5
.
Factors affecting students' music
preferences
Musical content and melody Performers'appearance and sound Style of music
15.6% 16.9%
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC PREFERENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS 884
Table 5.
Effects of different music teaching
modes on students' preferences
Music teaching model Proportion
Experiential teaching method 23.4% Practical teaching method 41.5% Linguistic teaching method 27.3% Inquiry teaching method 7.8%
Figure 6
.
The influence of different music
teaching modes on students' preferences
Experiential Teaching Method Practical Teaching Method Linguistic Teaching Method Inquiry Teaching Method 7.8%
27.3%
41.5%
23.4%
Figure 7
.
Student's preferences for music
types
Active type Gentle type Explosive Type Types of melancholy 7.8%
27.3%
41.5%
23.4%
Table 6.
Results of students' preferences on
music types
Music types Proportion
Active type 28.9%
Gentle type 41.5%
Explosive type 23.2%
Types of melancholy 21.4%
Students' preference for music was analysed from four music types: lively type, soft type, hit type and melancholy type. The results are shown in Table 6 and Figure 7. It can be seen that students prefer a wider and more balanced type of music, and all types have their own listeners, with the highest proportion up to 28.9% and the lowest of 21.4%, indicating that students do not over-praise certain type of music, because all types of music can meet their comprehensive needs, and satisfy the different
emotions of students, e.g., the students who like to listen to the hit music are under high psychological pressure, which can be released through such music; some like soft music, because they are more inclined to express their own emotions.
Figure 8
.
Students' attitudes towards music
courses
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Indifferent 7.8%
27.3%
41.5%
23.4%
The survey results of students' attitudes towards music courses are shown in Table 7, Figure 8. They were surveyed from four dimensions. Among them, 49.2% are dissatisfied with the music class, and 34.2% are satisfied and more satisfied with the music course, indicating that students are not satisfied with the teaching of music courses on the whole, and have high expectations for music courses; for them, the purpose of music courses is to relax them, ease the pressure of learning other courses, make students happy, and then improve students' satisfaction about the music course; another 16.6% of students have an indifferent attitude towards the music lesson, indicating that some students do not pay enough attention to the music course.
Table 7.
Survey of students' attitudes towards
music courses
Attitude Proportion
Very satisfied 15.2%
Satisfied 19.0%
Dissatisfied 49.2%
Indifferent 16.6%
Through this survey, it’s found that college
students’ psychology of music preference has three
characteristics: trend-pursuing, depth and diversity: first, under different life background, learning pressure, and family environment etc., students more tend to pursue the trend of things, which can meet the needs of both emotional needs and their individuality; second, students are more willing to appreciate music, explore the emotions and words in music, and understand music with rational
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thinking and sensible emotion; third, college students' emotional instability, psychological complexity and gender differences make them have demand for music types and music content at different levels.
CONCLUSIONS
Taking different music teaching modes of college students as examples, this paper attempts to analyse the subjective and objective factors affecting college students' music preference behaviour and psychology, and studies the intrinsic relationship between music preference and psychology. The main conclusions are as follows:
(1) Different living environments, personalities, life experiences and educational environments have different degrees of influence on college students' music preferences; under the influence of cultural background, college students prefer Chinese pop music;
(2) The practical teaching method is guiding students to participate in music practice activities, which is the favourite method of students, and 45% students prefer this method; the exploratory teaching method is favoured by music majors;
(3) College students are more willing to appreciate music, explore emotions and words in music, rationally think and perceptually understand music; due to their emotional instability, psychological complexity and gender differences, they have varying degrees of demand for the type and content of music.
Acknowledgement
This study was supported by National Social Science Fund: Research on the assessment-accountability linkage mechanism of local government ecological civilization performance under the background of environmental inspecting of general project (No. 18BGL207); Hainan Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project: Research on the Reform of Ecological Supervision System in Hainan Province (No. HNSK(YB)18-07); Special Project of Hainan University learning and implementation the party's 19th National Spiritual: Study on the spirit of the 19th National Congress and the reform of Hainan's ecological environment supervision system (No. 19DZX1804).
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