Several studies have explored emotional reactions to music from a psychological perspective. However, little is still known about whether such responses are invariant across cultures. The aim of the present study was thus to investigate the prevalence of (a) emotional reactions, (b) psychological mechanisms, and (c) motives during music listening in a cross-cultural sample. Six hundred sixty-eight participants from 6 countries completed a web survey featuring 22 items that measured musical emotions in general (semantic estimates), the most recent emotion episode involving music (episodic estimates), and individual trait variables (the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Big Five, Rumination & Reflection). Three of the countries investigated (Australia, Sweden, and U.S.A.) were categorized as Individualist (valuing personal independence and achievement), and the remaining 3 (Brazil, Kenya, and Portugal) were categorized as Collectivist (giving priority to in-group goals above individual needs or desires). Comparisons suggested that the patterns of prevalence were relatively similar for the 2 culture categories. Yet there were some notable differences. Thus, for example, nostalgia–longing, spirituality–transcendence, and happiness–elation, and the mechanism episodic memory, were more frequent in Collectivist cultures. In contrast, sadness–melancholy and the mechanism musical expectancy were more prevalent in Individualist cultures. Trait variables explained little variance in the estimates of prevalence. Implications for future research on music and emotion are discussed.

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Emotional expression is crucial for social interaction. Yet researchers disagree about whether nonverbal expressions truly reflect felt emotions and whether they convey discrete emotions to perceivers in everyday life. In the present study, 384 clips of vocal expression recorded in a field setting were rated by the speakers themselves and by naïve listeners with regard to their emotional contents. Results suggested that most expressions in everyday life are reflective of felt emotions in speakers. Seventy-three percent of the voice clips involved moderate to high emotion intensity. Speaker–listener agreement concerning expressed emotions was 5 times higher than would be expected from chance alone, and agreement was significantly higher for voice clips with high emotion intensity than for clips with low intensity. Acoustic analysis of the clips revealed emotion-specific patterns of voice cues. “Mixed emotions” occurred in 41% of the clips. Such expressions were typically interpreted by listeners as conveying one or the other of the two felt emotions. Mixed emotions were rarely recognized as such. The results are discussed regarding their implications for the domain of emotional expression in general, and vocal expression in particular.