Does Musical Preference of University Students Affect Respect for Differences? A Causal Perspective

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of musical genres preferred by university students on respect for differences. The study data was collected from 1082 students attending various faculties of one of the universities in western black sea region in Turkey. The Information Form compiled by the researcher and the Respect for Differences Scale (RfDS) developed by Öksüz and Güven were used in data collection. Participants of the research were asked to write their most favorite music genre on the information form and to mark most appropriate statement on the RfDS. According to the results of the data analysis, the musical genre preferred by the students affected the RfDS scores, the majority of the participants mostly preferred to listen to popular music styles and although arabesque was the least preferred musical genre, the listeners of arabesque music had a lower mean RfDS score in comparison to the students who preferred other musical genres. On the basis of the findings, it can be suggested that it would be appropriate to help individuals to develop the habit of making conscious musical choices from an early age via educational programs based on music and music literacy for all ages in the schools.