Are there developmental trends in how individuals experience and engage with music? Data from 2 large cross-sectional studies involving more than a quarter of a million individuals were used to investigate age differences in musical attitudes and preferences from adolescence through middle age. Study 1 investigated age trends in musical engagement. Results indicated that (a) the degree of importance attributed to music declines with age but that adults still consider music important, (b) young people listen to music significantly more often than do middle-aged adults, and (c) young people listen to music in a wide variety of contexts, whereas adults listen to music primarily in private contexts. Study 2 examined age trends in musical preferences. Results indicated that (a) musical preferences can be conceptualized in terms of a 5-dimensional age-invariant model, (b) certain music-preference dimensions decrease with age (e.g., Intense, Contemporary), whereas preferences for other music dimensions increase with age (e.g., Unpretentious, Sophisticated), and (c) age trends in musical preferences are closely associated with personality. Normative age trends in musical preferences corresponded with developmental changes in psychosocial development, personality, and auditory perception. Overall, the findings suggest that musical preferences are subject to a variety of developmental influences throughout the life span.

This article investigates the relationship between passion and the attainment of an elite level of performance within a population of expert musicians. Furthermore, the mediational role of performance goals and deliberate practice between passion and performance is also explored. Results of the path analysis showed that harmonious passion predicted the use of mastery goals, which in turn predicted the use of deliberate practice and a higher level of performance. On the other hand, obsessive passion positively predicted approach and avoidance goals with both having a direct negative impact on performance attainment. Consistent with previous research on passion, results also showed that harmonious, but not obsessive passion, was a positive predictor of subjective well-being. These results suggest the existence of two different pathways linking passion and elite performance, the harmonious passion path being the most adaptive.

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The main objectives of the present research were to test a conceptual model linking motivational processes involved in coping with the stress of university assessment, and to examine gender differences in these processes. Self-determined motivation was hypothesized to predict coping strategies and the response to assessment-related stress, and coping was hypothesized to play a considerable role in short-and long-term outcomes of assessment. We examined this model using multiple group path analysis in Mplus. In Study 1 (N = 265), music students' use of engagement-coping strategies led to stronger musical career intentions, while disengagement-coping strategies led to weaker intentions. In Study 2 (N = 340), students' increased use of engagement coping, and decreased use of disengagement coping strategies led to higher grades, higher positive affect and lower negative affect. In both studies, engagement and disengagement-coping were predicted by autonomous and controlled motivation, respectively. Motivation also indirectly predicted academic outcomes through stress appraisal and coping. While women experienced higher levels of stress, men were more negatively affected by the use of disengagement-oriented coping. Gender differences were also found on the links between engagement-oriented coping and outcomes. These results fill an important gap in the literature regarding gender differences in the outcomes coping in education, as well as contributing to a better understanding of the processes linking motivation, coping and academic outcomes.