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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life
Published on: February 2, 2017
Social representation of "music" in young adults: a cross-cultural study
Vinaya Manchaiah1,2,3, Fei Zhao4,5, Stephen Widén6
1a Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences , Lamar University , Beaumont , TX , USA.
Objective:
This study was aimed to explore perceptions of and reactions to music in young adults (18-25 years) using the theory of social representations (TSR).
Design:
The study used a cross-sectional survey design and included participants from India, Iran, Portugal, USA and UK. Data were analysed using various qualitative and quantitative methods.
Study Sample:
The study sample included 534 young adults.
Results:
The Chi-square analysis showed significant differences between the countries regarding the informants' perception of music. The most positive connotations about music were found in the responses obtained from Iranian participants (82.2%), followed by Portuguese participants (80.6%), while the most negative connotations about music were found in the responses obtained from Indian participants (18.2%), followed by Iranian participants (7.3%). The participants' responses fell into 19 main categories based on their meaning; however, not all categories were found in all five countries. The co-occurrence analysis results generally indicate that the category "positive emotions or actions" was the most frequent category occurring in all five countries.
Conclusions:
The results indicate that music is generally considered to bring positive emotions for people within these societies, although a small percentage of responses indicate some negative consequences of music.
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