Undergraduate Nonmusic Majors' World Music Preference and Multicultural Attitudes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between world music preferences and multicultural attitudes of nonmusic-major undergraduate students. The World Music Preference Inventory (WMPI) and the Multicultural Attitude Inventory (MAI) were administered to 50 undergraduate nonmusic majors. Two scores were determined from the WMPI (composite preference and composite correct identification) for eight world music style categories: Africa, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Middle East, and Thailand. No significant correlations were found between the composite preference score and composite correct identification score. There was, however, a significant correlation between the composite preference score and the composite MAI score. Furthermore, significant correlations were found among the preference subscores of all style categories, indicating that subjects' preferences for the eight world musical style categories were similar. Analyses revealed that there was a significantly higher degree of preference for instrumental excerpts than for vocal excerpts.