Development and psychometric validation of the music receptivity scale

Abstract

Introduction newlineOne of the most quoted definitions of Yoga is yujyate anena iti yogaù . Here, newline Yuj in Sanskrit means to Yoke or to unite. Here it refers to the union of the jévätmä newline(individual soul) with the paramätmä (the supreme soul). Music in it true sense is said newlineto be the union of shruti and laya. The perfect union of shruti and laya renders the newlinelisteners in a meditative trance provided they submit themselves to the music. Flow newlineexperiences (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) are quite common in music practice, newlineperformances and composition. The novel construct introduced in this study focuses newlineon an individual s experience listening to a given piece of music; the focus is on how newlinehe internalizes a given piece of music. Flow experiences may occur quite often newlinewhen an individual internalizes a given piece of music to a great extent. In this study, newlinewe proposed and developed a construct, Music Receptivity and further constructed a newlinepsychometric instrument called Music Receptivity Scale (MRS), field-tested it and newlinedata analysis revealed good psychometric properties. newlineLiterature review newlineAncient scriptures were reviewed which unraveled various aspects of music and how newlinemusic could be used as a tool for personal and spiritual upliftment. Further, scientific newlineliterature review revealed multiple studies that focused on musical engagement, newlinemusical aptitude etc. Multiple psychometric instruments are available which measures newlinethe trait aspects predominantly, of music listening and engagement. Hence, we clearly newlinesaw a lacunae for state measuring instruments in music listening. However, these newlinestudies gave us rich inputs while developing the Music Receptivity Scale (MRS). newlineAim newlineTo develop an instrument to measure music receptivity in the context of Indian music. newlineObjectives newline1. To construct an instrument to measure music receptivity by item generation newlineand validation. newlineiii newline2. To test and validate the instrument amongst different individuals in the context newlineof Indian music. newline3. To find out the validity of the developed instrument (i