Presenter Name:Eun Cho

School/Affiliation:University of California, Riverside

Co-Authors:Jeoung Yeoun, Han

Abstract:

Small music ensemble represents a unique form of human social activity, involving a highly complex set of social and emotional interaction. In the initial study, Cho (2018, 2019) explored the relationships between small ensemble experiences and two types of social-emotional skills, empathy and emotional self-regulation, among college music majors in the U.S. (N = 165). Results showed a close association between the frequencies of small ensemble engagement and empathy, but not emotional self-regulation. With an attempt to replicate and extend the previous study, the present study examined the relationship between small ensemble experience and empathy and emotional self-regulation skills among the Korean population. Undergraduate music performance majors in South Korea (N = 188) voluntarily completed an online survey that involved questions about small ensemble experiences. They also completed self-assessment questionnaires on dispositional empathy, emotion regulation skills, and personality. Preliminary results showed that overall Korean students scored lower in empathy and cognitive reappraisal while scoring higher in expressive suppression, which partially echoes the results from the initial study. In addition, results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that Korean students’ small ensemble experience significantly predicted their empathy and cognitive reappraisal skills, even after controlling for demographic factors. Detailed analysis of data will be presented at the conference along with implications for music psychology research.