The Music Experience Questionnaire: Development and Correlates

Abstract

The authors introduce the Music Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), a self-report measure of individual differences in reactions to music. In analyses of responses in a derivation sample of 211 undergraduates and a replication sample of 105 undergraduates, scores on the 6 scales of this measure showed acceptable alpha coefficients and test-retest correlations. The authors found 2 principal factors: subjective/physical reactions to music and active involvement. MEQ scores were, at most, weakly correlated with 2 measures of favorability of self-presentation, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (D. P. Crowne & D. Marlowe, 1960) and the Responding Desirability on Attitudes and Opinions Scale (K. Schuessler, D. H. Hittle, & J. Cardascia, 1978). Examination of correlations between MEQ scores and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977), as well as factor scores on the Adjective Check List (H. G. Gough & A. B. Heilbrun, 1983), suggested areas of similarity and difference in the correlates of music experience for women and men. The authors discuss directions for future research as well as potential uses of the MEQ.

Individual Differences in Music Reward Experiences

“…Future music-modern uses and interpretation using new technologies could also change or modify the type of pleasures that could be evoked by music. Further studies could explore the relation between music uses, preferences, and styles previously described (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007, Gabrielsson, 2011Sloboda, Lamont, & Greasley, 2009;Werner et al, 2006) and its relation to the five dimensions of music-reward identified in the present study. Indeed, music related pleasures are multidimensional (Huron, 2009) and could also be associated with the activation of specific as well as overlapping neurophysiological systems.…”

“…Notice, however, that the Sensory Motor component of BMRQ is not solely represented by dancing. Furthermore, the 53-item Brief Music Experience Questionnaire (Werner, Swope, & Heide, 2006) also assesses various aspects of music experiences. This instrument comprises six subscales ''innovative musical aptitude'' (ability to create musical themes), ''commitment to music'' (pursuing musical experiences in the person's life), ''social uplift'' (the experience of being stirred and uplifted in a group-oriented manner by music), ''affective reactions'' (affective and spiritual reactions to music), ''positive psychotropic effects'' (individual's state of mental reactions, e.g., calming, energizing, integrating reactions), and ''reactive musical behavior'' (behavioral responses to music, including humming, swaying, etc.).…”

Musebaq

“…Several are quite targeted in their focus, for instance with the Music in Mood Regulation questionnaire (MMR; Saarikallio, 2008) Chin & Rickard, 2012b), the Music Use Inventory (MUI; Lonsdale & North, 2011) and the brief version of the Music Experience Questionnaire (BMEQ; Werner, Swope, & Heide, 2006). Importantly, there is considerable overlap in the factors emerging from each of these instruments-for instance, with affective functions, innovative/engaged production, identity functions, and social functions emerging quite consistently.…”

Individual Differences Predict Patterns in Spontaneous Involuntary Musical Imagery

“…In addition to more traditional measures (amount of training), we assessed various aspects of everyday musical behaviors that have yet to be examined with relation to INMI. Musical engagement includes many factors such as commitment to music, the experience of positive psychotropic effects in response to listening, and reactive musical behavior such as singing (Werner, Swope, & Heide, 2006) as well as current music listening attitudes or the importance of music during childhood (Cuddy, Balkwill, Peretz, & Holden, 2005). These factors can have an independent influence on complex cognitive processes such as verbal learning (Chin & Rickard, 2010), so it is important to disentangle these effects and determine the extent to which they independently influence aspects of INMI.…”