Executive summary of “Musical intelligence: explication, measurement, and implication for consumer behavior”

Citation

(2014), "Executive summary of “Musical intelligence: explication, measurement, and implication for consumer behavior”", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-05-2014-0989

Executive summary of “Musical intelligence: explication, measurement, and implication for consumer behavior”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 31, Issue 4

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the material present.

Different psychological effects have been identified in previous research. Most attempts to determine key antecedents of these effects have concentrated on ways in which sound can stimulate. However, because it is the norm for the same piece of music to elicit different responses, such an approach has its limitations. For instance, some people could exhibit a strong emotional reaction to such as a ballad, whereas others might remain totally unmoved.

In the current work, Aurand et al. therefore propose that “musical intelligence” (MI) is potentially significant. At its core is an assumption that people are inherently blessed with some level of capacity to respond to musical stimuli. MI thus differs from conventional methods which focus on musical talent that identifies certain people as gifted. Measures of musical talent have addressed recognition of time, pitch, tone and rhythm, or approached the task from the aptitude angle. Some academics associate musical aptitude with “audiation”, which has been described as an ability to “hear music in the mind’s ear”.

MI is defined here as the ability to “feel, respond to, and understand musical stimuli”. These elements can either work in isolation or together. The authors argue that this makes MI a more complex construct. The authors propose that the concept incorporates three distinct dimensions:

• Affective MI: This relates to the level of spontaneity and identification with music’s emotional content. It has previously been stated that the relationship between music and emotions can relate to a private emotional experience, similarity to a well-known sound such as thunder, and anticipation of a certain musical structure. The latter is seen as indicating the level of MI in that only some people are emotionally affected by the way music “ebbs and flows”.

• Behavioral MI: This comprised two facets. The inclination to look for opportunities to engage with music is the first, while the second is described as the “involuntary reaction” to musical stimuli. Tapping of fingers or whistling serves as examples of the latter. It is pointed out that memory and motor skills are respectively needed for these activities.

• Cognitive MI: This facet is essentially audiation in that mentally playing the music enables awareness of its “higher-level abstractions”. The emphasis here consequently shifts to understanding rather than the more simple recognition or reproduction that occurs with the preceding dimensions of MI.

First in a three-part study was the creation and validation of an MI scale. Various statements were generated for each of the facets, and 264 student volunteers from a leading university in Midwestern USA were asked for their response. Business and music students were chosen so that reasonable variability in MI was obtained.

Testing the measurement framework showed that gender and study program had no significant impact on the findings. Aurand et al. then created a nomological network containing:

• Central mediating role of affect: Of responses to music, affective types occur most frequently. Previous work advocated that associative, emotional, sensory and intellectual responses emerge in that order. In terms of MI, affective response is followed by behavioral response and then cognitive response.

• Musical ability: It is claimed that the affective facet of MI can be increased because sensitivity to an affirmation or infringement of musical expectancies would be greater with those possessing musical ability. Such ability should also boost the other facets of MI.

• Motivation for music: This typically arises if someone has role models who introduce them to music at an early age. Motivation also encourages “repeated engagement” which may lead to proficiency in MI facets to some extent.

• Early opportunity: Those with a family background in music are more prone to engage with music and develop some musical talent.

Analysis of student responses confirmed relationships between these factors, although it was indicated that the influence of musical ability on behavioral and cognitive MI is mediated by its impact on affective MI. It was also discovered that music students scored considerably higher than business students on all MI facets.

Some responses to statements in the first part prompted the authors to divide behavioral MI into reactive and proactive sub-facets. New behavioral statements were thus introduced into the second task to ascertain whether the reactive behaviors indicated a “higher order behavioral MI construct”.

Business students who participated in the task displayed an average profile for musical training and significant variation in terms of MI. The 186 subjects were required to recognize fictitious brands they had encountered earlier when hearing an advertisement played during a radio program. The ads varied in terms of filler brands being present or not and the number of tones (high or low musical density) used in the musical fragments accompanying the advertisement at either its beginning or end. Target brands also appeared in different positions, and their names were similar sounding and of the same length and construction as filler brands. Participants were also asked to rate MI statements.

Recognition was arranged into “perfect, moderate and miss categories” containing 32, 35 and 119 responses, respectively. Scrutiny showed that brand name, filler brand and positioning in ad did not impact on responses. The only significant factor was musical density, indicating that variability in recognition could be attributed to MI differences.

In the final part, Aurand et al. set out to ascertain if the MI effect would be the same on auditory recall as on auditory recognition. For this task, 25 business students had to listen through headphones to various “sonic logos” before hearing the “target sogo” which was a simple five-tone construction. Dummy questions were then answered for distraction purposes before the respondents were asked to indicate how easy they thought the average person would be able to hum the target sonic logo. They then rated MI items and provided demographic information. Analysis further corroborated the significance of the MI construct because subjects rating higher in MI coped much easier with both encoding and recall assignments.

The emergence of new auditory interfaces has revitalized interest in auditory branding, thus increasing the potential value of the MI scale. Buying airing time demands massive investment, and so greater understanding of individual differences in response to musical stimuli is critical. Scholars have claimed that reaction to music is determined by interaction between musical and listener characteristics, and the authors believe that MI can help develop greater understanding of this relationship.

Firms should thus engage in relevant lab and field endeavors to gain important insight into the MI of their market segments. This will enable them to incorporate music at the “appropriate intelligence level” into communication activities. Using appropriate musical stimuli can strengthen customer connections with product, services and brand and thus positively impact on loyalty.

To read the full article enter 10.1108/JCM-01-2014-0843 into your search engine.

(A pre′cis of the article “Musical intelligence: explication, measurement, and implication for consumer behavior”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)