A psychological study of biases in judgements of music across cultures

<p dir="ltr">Cultural biases shape how we perceive, interpret, and emotionally respond to unfamiliar music, yet the full scope of these biases remains largely unexplored. This thesis investigates how cultural biases by Western listeners pervade multiple levels of processing, from classification of unfamiliar music to emotion perception to understanding of musical meaning. It also examines whether active engagement with the music of other cultures can reduce biases and enhance cross-cultural understanding. The research is highly relevant to today’s globalised world where empathy is crucial for intercultural relations, especially in an era when diversity and inclusion are under threat. Chapter 1 outlines the central thesis and summarises the investigations. Chapter 2 reviews theoretical frameworks linking music, emotion, and culture, and highlights gaps in cross-cultural music perception research. Chapter 3 investigates biases in the way people classify familiar and unfamiliar foreign music. That research shows, for example, that Western listeners classify the cultural origins of Chinese music with high speed but low accuracy, indicating reliance on heuristic classification strategies. Chapter 4 explores biases in our emotion perception in response to foreign music. Among other findings, listeners were most accurate at identifying the emotion of happiness in classical Western music, whereas they were most accurate at identifying the emotion of agitation in Chinese music. This suggests that cross-cultural biases affect emotion perception in music. Chapter 5 examines biases in how people understand music meaning. That investigation demonstrates that unfamiliar foreign music conveying neutral emotion, especially from the Middle East, is interpreted as threatening, especially if its cultural origin is somewhat nebulous. Chapter 6 investigates whether cultural understanding might be enhanced if people take an active, embodied role in learning to play non-Western instruments, such as the Chinese <i>pipa </i>or Middle Eastern <i>oud</i>. Indeed, such rich, intercultural engagement with music did foster cultural empathy and reduce implicit biases, particularly in the domains of social connection and attitudes. Chapter 7 synthesises the findings and concludes that cultural biases pervade multiple levels of music processing—from classification to emotion perception to the understanding of musical meaning—but also shows that active intercultural engagement can counteract such biases. Ultimately, the research offers a practical solution to the presence of cultural biases, whereby music is used as a tool for reducing cultural bias and promoting empathy. By demonstrating how intercultural music engagement can reshape the way we respond to unfamiliar cultures, this thesis offers a pathway to cultural understanding in an increasingly interconnected world.</p>