A causal model for surveys of exploratory listening and music appreciation
- Author
- Hendrikus Jacobs (UGent) , Marc Leman (UGent) and Edith Van Dyck (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- This paper integrates concepts from neurobiology, marketing and musicology to propose a causal model of music appreciation and exploratory listening, using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and structural equation models (SEMs). The key concepts are music appreciation (measured on a scale from 1 to 10), evaluations, experiences and the qualities of musical features, which the listeners explore and describe from a first-person perspective. The qualities are understood in terms of a satisfaction or dissatisfaction rating of operational features. The development of the causal model is based on a reiterative methodology involving surveys. Applying the causal model to a large survey of 800 listeners reveals that listeners adopt a slightly different causal pathway for their appreciation of liked versus disliked music. When listeners dislike music, the source of their dissatisfaction is more consistently attributed to the perceived or missed musical qualities rather than to their personal experiences. The iterative methodology and causal modeling offer a foundation for further investigation and refinement in various listening contexts.
- Keywords
- explorative music listening, music appreciation, survey, causal model, DAG, SEM
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JV21WSDWMVBVFHS1511R8C06
- MLA
- Jacobs, Hendrikus, et al. “A Causal Model for Surveys of Exploratory Listening and Music Appreciation.” BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, vol. 15, no. 5, 2025, doi:10.3390/bs15050676.
- APA
- Jacobs, H., Leman, M., & Van Dyck, E. (2025). A causal model for surveys of exploratory listening and music appreciation. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, 15(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050676
- Chicago author-date
- Jacobs, Hendrikus, Marc Leman, and Edith Van Dyck. 2025. “A Causal Model for Surveys of Exploratory Listening and Music Appreciation.” BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 15 (5). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050676.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Jacobs, Hendrikus, Marc Leman, and Edith Van Dyck. 2025. “A Causal Model for Surveys of Exploratory Listening and Music Appreciation.” BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 15 (5). doi:10.3390/bs15050676.
- Vancouver
- 1.Jacobs H, Leman M, Van Dyck E. A causal model for surveys of exploratory listening and music appreciation. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. 2025;15(5).
- IEEE
- [1]H. Jacobs, M. Leman, and E. Van Dyck, “A causal model for surveys of exploratory listening and music appreciation,” BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, vol. 15, no. 5, 2025.
@article{01JV21WSDWMVBVFHS1511R8C06,
abstract = {{This paper integrates concepts from neurobiology, marketing and musicology to propose a causal model of music appreciation and exploratory listening, using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and structural equation models (SEMs). The key concepts are music appreciation (measured on a scale from 1 to 10), evaluations, experiences and the qualities of musical features, which the listeners explore and describe from a first-person perspective. The qualities are understood in terms of a satisfaction or dissatisfaction rating of operational features. The development of the causal model is based on a reiterative methodology involving surveys. Applying the causal model to a large survey of 800 listeners reveals that listeners adopt a slightly different causal pathway for their appreciation of liked versus disliked music. When listeners dislike music, the source of their dissatisfaction is more consistently attributed to the perceived or missed musical qualities rather than to their personal experiences. The iterative methodology and causal modeling offer a foundation for further investigation and refinement in various listening contexts.}},
articleno = {{676}},
author = {{Jacobs, Hendrikus and Leman, Marc and Van Dyck, Edith}},
issn = {{2076-328X}},
journal = {{BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES}},
keywords = {{explorative music listening,music appreciation,survey,causal model,DAG,SEM}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{23}},
title = {{A causal model for surveys of exploratory listening and music appreciation}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050676}},
volume = {{15}},
year = {{2025}},
}
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