![Explicit Attitudes towards Ethnocultural Groups Before and After the RIME Intervention. Left panel: the Chinese pipa group showed a non-significant increase in attitudes towards Chinese, Middle Eastern, or Australian people; Right panel: the Middle Eastern oud group showed a significant increase in attitudes towards Middle Eastern people, not Chinese or Australian people. * p < 0.05. n.s. = no significant difference. Error bars report standard error of the mean. As can be seen in the right panel of Figure 5, for participants in the Middle Eastern oud group, there was a significant increase in explicit positive attitudes towards Middle Eastern people, t (28) = 2.13, p = 0.042, d = 0.40, 95% CI [0.01, 0.77]. There was no significant change in attitudes towards Chinese people, t (28) = 1.43, p = 0.165, d = 0.27, 95% CI [−0.11, 0.63] or Australian people, t (28) = −0.07, p = 0.949, d = −0.01, 95% CI [−0.38, 0.35]. Thus, H3 was supported for the Middle Eastern oud group. In summary, these findings show that learning a musical instrument from another culture within the RIME intervention increased explicit positive attitudes towards people of that culture for participants in the Middle Eastern oud learning group. RIME did not have a significant effect on explicit positive attitudes for participants in the Chinese pipa learning group.](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marjorie-Li-2/publication/367310011/figure/fig3/AS:11431281114183712@1674294617068/Explicit-Attitudes-towards-Ethnocultural-Groups-Before-and-After-the-RIME-Intervention_Q320.jpg)
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Citation: Li, M.G.; Olsen, K.N.;
Davidson, J.W.; Thompson, W.F. Rich
Intercultural Music Engagement
Enhances Cultural Understanding:
The Impact of Learning a Musical
Instrument Outside of One’s Lived
Experience. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public
Health 2023,20, 1919. https://
doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031919
Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou
Received: 14 December 2022
Revised: 16 January 2023
Accepted: 17 January 2023
Published: 20 January 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
International Journal of
Environmental Research
and Public Health
Article
Rich Intercultural Music Engagement Enhances Cultural
Understanding: The Impact of Learning a Musical Instrument
Outside of One’s Lived Experience
Marjorie G. Li 1, * , Kirk N. Olsen 1,2 , Jane W. Davidson 3and William Forde Thompson 1,4,*
1School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia
2Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia
3Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Southbank, VIC 3006, Australia
4Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4226, Australia
*
Correspondence: marjorie.li@hdr.mq.edu.au (M.G.L.); bthompso@bond.edu.au or bill.thompson@mq.edu.au (W.F.T.)
Abstract:
Rich intercultural music engagement (RIME) is an embodied form of engagement whereby
individuals immerse themselves in foreign musical practice, for example, by learning a traditional
instrument from that culture. The present investigation evaluated whether RIME with Chinese or
Middle Eastern music can nurture intercultural understanding. White Australian participants were
randomly assigned to one of two plucked-string groups: Chinese pipa (n= 29) or Middle Eastern oud
(n= 29). Before and after the RIME intervention, participants completed measures of ethnocultural
empathy, tolerance, social connectedness, explicit and implicit attitudes towards ethnocultural groups,
and open-ended questions about their experience. Following RIME, White Australian participants
reported a significant increase in ethnocultural empathy, tolerance, feelings of social connection, and
improved explicit and implicit attitudes towards Chinese and Middle Eastern people. However,
these benefits differed between groups. Participants who learned Chinese pipa reported reduced
bias and increased social connectedness towards Chinese people, but not towards Middle Eastern
people. Conversely, participants who learned Middle Eastern oud reported a significant increase in
social connectedness towards Middle Eastern people, but not towards Chinese people. This is the
first experimental evidence that participatory RIME is an effective tool for understanding a culture
other than one’s own, with the added potential to reduce cultural bias.
Keywords:
intercultural music engagement; embodiment; affordance; cultural empathy; tolerance;
social connection; attitudes; racial bias; non-Western music training
1. Introduction
Intercultural tensions are a global threat, ranging from anti-Muslim sentiment due to
fear of terrorism, to Chinese people being blamed and vilified for the COVID-19 pandemic,
to violence against First Nations communities and people of colour. Underlying such
tensions is a lack of cultural empathy and implicit biases that have developed through
prolonged exposure to biased media and pervasive social attitudes. For example, Muslims
are frequently portrayed as aggressive, violent, and threatening in the public media [
1
].
Therefore, strategies are needed to promote intercultural understanding, defined as a state
of empathising, appreciating, and respecting others from different cultural backgrounds.
A significant challenge in identifying such strategies is that cultural differences are
vast and may include differences in religious beliefs, norms for dress and communication,
gender roles, and degrees of individualism or collectivism. We contend, however, that
embodied engagement with a traditional cultural practice may inspire cultural tolerance
and open-mindedness. Music represents an ideal introduction to another culture because it
does not need to conflict with long-standing belief systems. As such, intercultural music
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031919 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 2 of 16
engagement (IME) provides a simple and benign activity through which one can learn to
understand the traditions of another culture.
Although IME can be achieved by merely listening to music (e.g., [
2
]), we predict that
a more substantial level of engagement may be needed for a genuine change in cultural
attitudes to take place. We define rich intercultural music engagement (RIME) as a form
of intercultural music engagement that includes an embodied, performative component,
designed to provide a deeper experience than mere listening, and that results in a nuanced,
embodied experience of the culture. RIME brings participants inside another culture, as
opposed to observing a cultural practice at “a distance” or at a tokenistic level more akin to
music listening rather than embodied music engagement.
What features of music and underlying mechanisms might account for such an im-
pact? According to the Therapeutic Music Capacities Model, music acts like a combination
therapy by triggering numerous mechanisms that ultimately have implications for cog-
nitive, psychosocial, behavioural, and motor function [
3
]. Such outcomes occur because
music encompasses several design features or capacities: it is simultaneously engaging,
emotional, physical, personal, social, and persuasive, and affords synchronisation of action
with others. In therapeutic contexts, music can be strategically employed to address thera-
peutic goals such as the enhancement of movement, timing, memory, communication, and
self-awareness.
It is reasonable to assume that engaging in music from another culture activates the
same set of physical and psychological mechanisms, but results in outcomes that also
provide cultural understanding. As music is a powerful carrier of cultural information,
music engagement can provide an effective means of attaining cultural understanding [
4
,
5
].
Figure 1illustrates an adapted version of the Therapeutic Music Capacities Model, referred
to as the Intercultural Music Capacities Model (IMCM). The figure shows the various
contexts of music engagement, the potential capacities of that engagement, the mechanisms
that are triggered, and the potential intercultural outcomes. Rich intercultural music
engagement involves an active, participatory, embodied music experience, and is likely to
be one of the most effective means of achieving intercultural understanding.
Ethnographic evidence supports the premise of Figure 1and suggests that Westerners
who have an immersive, embodied experience of a non-Western musical culture feel
they gain a strong intercultural understanding [
6
,
7
]. However, experimental studies are
needed to assess the reliability and validity of such anecdotal claims. One experimental
study conducted by Vuoskoski [
2
] suggested that listening to music from non-Western
cultures might slightly reduce implicit bias for the people of those cultures, but this effect
was marginal and only evident for a subset of participants who scored high on empathy.
Another cross-cultural longitudinal study by Neto et al. [
8
] revealed that a 6-month singing
program reduced racial prejudice immediately following the program and two years later.
However, strong conclusions could not be drawn owing to the small sample size available
for the retest. Moreover, the design of the study makes it difficult to know whether music
engagement was responsible for these effects. For example, using songs as learning stimuli
makes it difficult to disentangle the effects of lyrical content with the effects of music.
Therefore, our study used instrumental music (no lyrics) as the intervention.
The present study was designed to examine the effects of RIME on intercultural
understanding for White Australians. In this study, White Australians refer to people
living in Australia who do not identify as First Nations or a person of colour. RIME was
operationalised as the acquisition of rich contextual knowledge of a non-Western musical culture
through learning to play a non-Western musical instrument from that culture. Two plucked-string
instruments, Chinese pipa and Middle Eastern oud, were used to represent two ethnocultural
groups. By learning the culture-specific musical instruments, participants were given the
opportunity to acquire intercultural understanding at an embodied, experiential level.
It was hypothesised that participating in RIME with Chinese or Middle Eastern music
should increase White Australians’ ethnocultural empathy and tolerance (H1), feelings
of connection (H2), and positive attitudes (H3), while reducing negative implicit biases
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 3 of 16
towards different ethnocultural groups (H4). We also surmised there may be differences
in the impact of RIME for the two cultural groups, perhaps reflecting the extent to which
biases for Chinese and Middle Eastern people are entrenched or recently acquired.
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW3of17
Figure1.TheInterculturalMusicCapacitiesModel(IMCM).TheIMCMillustratesthecontexts,ca‐
pacities,mechanisms,andoutcomesofengagingwithmusicfromanotherculture.Richintercul‐
turalmusicengagementisproposedasthemosteffectivemeansofachievingoutcomesrelatedto
interculturalunderstanding.
ThepresentstudywasdesignedtoexaminetheeffectsofRIMEoninterculturalun‐
derstandingforWhiteAustralians.Inthisstudy,WhiteAustraliansrefertopeopleliving
inAustraliawhodonotidentifyasFirstNationsorapersonofcolour.RIMEwasopera‐
tionalisedastheacquisitionofrichcontextualknowledgeofanon‐Westernmusicalculture
throughlearningtoplayanon‐Westernmusicalinstrumentfromthatculture.Twoplucked‐
stringinstruments,ChinesepipaandMiddleEasternoud,wereusedtorepresenttwoeth‐
noculturalgroups.Bylearningtheculture‐specificmusicalinstruments,participantswere
giventheopportunitytoacquireinterculturalunderstandingatanembodied,experiential
level.ItwashypothesisedthatparticipatinginRIMEwithChineseorMiddleEasternmu‐
sicshouldincreaseWhiteAustralians’ethnoculturalempathyandtolerance(H1),feelings
ofconnection(H2),andpositiveattitudes(H3),whilereducingnegativeimplicitbiases
towardsdifferentethnoculturalgroups(H4).Wealsosurmisedtheremaybedifferences
intheimpactofRIMEforthetwoculturalgroups,perhapsreflectingtheextenttowhich
biasesforChineseandMiddleEasternpeopleareentrenchedorrecentlyacquired.
2.MaterialsandMethod
2.1.Participants
Anaprioripoweranalysissuggestedaminimumof54participantstoachieveame‐
diumeffectsizeof0.25,α=0.05,power[1‐β]=0.95[Error!Referencesourcenotfound.]
andsimilarpreviousresearchhasrecruited61participants[Error!Referencesourcenot
found.].Inthisstudy,58participantswererecruited:38MacquarieUniversitypsychology
studentsinexchangeforcoursecreditpointsandAUD20cash;20participantsexternalto
Figure 1.
The Intercultural Music Capacities Model (IMCM). The IMCM illustrates the contexts,
capacities, mechanisms, and outcomes of engaging with music from another culture. Rich intercul-
tural music engagement is proposed as the most effective means of achieving outcomes related to
intercultural understanding.
2. Materials and Method
2.1. Participants
An a priori power analysis suggested a minimum of 54 participants to achieve a
medium effect size of 0.25,
α
= 0.05, power [1-
β
] = 0.95 [
9
] and similar previous research
has recruited 61 participants [
2
]. In this study, 58 participants were recruited: 38 Macquarie
University psychology students in exchange for course credit points and AUD20 cash;
20 participants external to Macquarie University in exchange of AUD20 cash and the
opportunity (1 in 5 chance) to win an AUD50 Amazon gift voucher.
The final analysis consisted of 26 females and 32 males ranging in age from 17 to
67 years (M= 29.78, SD = 15.91). A total of 29 participants were randomly assigned to the
Chinese pipa group, 17 female and 12 male ranging in age from 17 to 67 years (
M= 28.86
,
SD = 15.33
); and 29 participants were assigned to the Middle Eastern oud group, 9 female
and 20 male ranging in age from 18 to 67 (M= 30.68, SD = 16.69). Overall, 58.6% of
participants reported some form of previous musical training.
The inclusion criteria were: White Australians who (a) had no prior experience playing
a Middle Eastern oud or a Chinese pipa; (b) did not speak Arabic or Chinese; and (c) did not
have any close relationships with people from these regions for six months or longer. Ethics
approval was granted by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee,
Reference No: 52021955024986.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 4 of 16
2.2. RIME Intervention Programs
RIME intervention programs were developed by two trained specialists, one from
each of the two non-Western musical cultures, and the first author who has expertise in
Western music, the two non-Western musical cultures, and in teaching musical instruments.
Each RIME program contained two learning phases. Part A presented a two-hour pre-
recorded lecture on musical culture, including four modules: (a) an introduction to the
cultural history and social context related to the designated instrument (~30 min); (b) an
introduction to a wide range of performance practices in different ritual, operatic, narrative,
and folk ensembles and diverse musical traditions, including three exemplar performance
clips (~30 min); (c) an overview of the instrument, e.g., conventional and alternative
tunings, notation, and basic playing techniques, including four exemplar performance clips
(~30 min); and (d) a module that demonstrated a White student learning to play a folk song
from the trained specialist (~30 min). This final module consisted of learning the basics
in instrumental playing techniques, learning from observation, learning from imitation,
and then playing together. Part B was a two-hour hands-on instrumental learning session
where the participant sat face-to-face with the first author to learn a folk song. The content
from the fourth module in Part A was revisited and used as learning material in Part B.
This learning sequence aligns with the active ingredients from the IMCM framework (see
Figure 1) and ensures participants were fully engaged in every aspect of embodied learning.
To minimise any effects related to the two different qualified experts used in the
recorded RIME sessions for the Middle Eastern oud and Chinese pipa groups, the two
experts followed the same procedure (demonstration, imitation), thus interacting with
participants in a manner that was highly consistent with one another. In addition, all
participants, regardless of the cultural group, were exposed to the same structured lesson
outlines. Thus, it is unlikely that the observed differences can be explained merely by
differences in the approach or demeanour of the two experts. Furthermore, employing
the same expert for the recorded RIME sessions would have introduced a different kind of
confound related to the differential level of familiarity and comfort of the expert with the
two non-Western instruments.
2.3. Measures
2.3.1. Musical Engagement Style
This variable was measured to explore the individual’s level of music engagement in
cognitive and emotional regulation, music production, social connection, physical exercise,
and dance. The Musical Engagement Scale [
10
] was used as a 24-item questionnaire, each item
rated on a 6-point Likert scale (0 = “Not at all/Not applicable to me” to 5 = “Strongly agree”).
Total score ranged from 0 to 120. High scores indicated a high level of music engagement.
2.3.2. Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies (MIRIPS) Questionnaires
The MIRIPS questionnaires [
11
] contain a series of measures and four subscales were
used to assess: security (SEC), perceived discrimination (PD), tolerance/prejudice (TOL),
and attitudes towards ethnocultural groups (ATT). SEC and PD are rated on a 5-point Likert
scale (1 = “Strongly disagree” to 5 = “Strongly agree”). SEC is a 13-item scale that assesses
the sense of security from perspectives of multiculturalism. A high score reflects a high
sense of security, which may promote greater acceptance of others and positive attitudes
towards other ethnocultural groups in a multicultural society. Cronbach’s alpha for SEC
in MIRIPS studies ranges between 0.47 and 0.63 [
12
]. PD is a 5-item scale that measures
the sense of fear one may experience in a multicultural society. The high score reflects a
high perceived discrimination or threat, which may prevent acceptance of others and be
negatively associated with attitudes towards other ethnocultural groups. Cronbach’s alpha
for PD in MIRIPS studies ranges between 0.73 and 0.86 [12].
The TOL subscale of the MIRIPS is an 11-item scale that taps into ethnic tolerance
and attitudes on social equality. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = “Strongly
disagree” to 5 = “Strongly agree”). Total score ranges from 11 to 55 with a high score
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 5 of 16
indicating high tolerance towards ethnic others. Cronbach’s alpha for TOL in MIRIPS
studies ranges from 0.52 to 0.71 [
12
]. The ATT subscale uses a sliding scale from 0–100
to measure explicit attitudes (via ratings of favouritism) towards Chinese people, Middle
Eastern people, and Australian people. The higher the score, the more positive attitude
towards each group. A score of 50 indicates neither unfavourable nor favourable towards
each group.
2.3.3. Ethnocultural Empathy
Ethnocultural empathy was measured using the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE) [
13
].
The SEE is a 31-item questionnaire that measures explicit empathy towards people of
different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale
(
1 = “Strongly disagree”
to 6 = “Strongly agree”, no neutral option). The total score ranges
from 31 to 186, with high scores indicating a high level of ethnocultural empathy. The
SEE taps into four sub-domains [
13
]: (a) empathic feeling and expression; (b) empathic
perspective taking; (c) acceptance of cultural differences; and (d) empathic awareness. The
SEE yields high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91) and test–retest reliability
(r= 0.91).
2.3.4. Social Connectedness
This variable was measured using a modified version of the Inclusion of Other in
the Self (IOS) Scale [
14
]. The IOS is a single-item, pictorial measure tapping directly
into people’s perceived relationship of closeness. The scale is rated on a 7-point Likert-
style scale and consists of seven Venn diagrams, progressively showing a degree of self–
other overlapping (see Figure 2). The IOS scale has sound psychometric properties with
Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93 and a test–retest reliability of r= 0.83. In this study, three sets of
IOS scales were implemented to measure social connectedness before and after the RIME
intervention: Me vs. Middle Eastern (IOS_M), Me vs. Chinese people (IOS_C), Me vs.
Others (IOS_O) (“Me” denotes “White Australian”).
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW6of17
Figure2.AnExampleofaModifiedVersionoftheInclusionofOtherintheSelf(IOS)Scale.
2.3.5.ImplicitAttitudes
Implicitprejudice/biasesagainstpeoplefromdifferentracialandethnicbackgrounds
reflectinternalised,entrenchedattitudesthatcanpersistintheabsenceofconscious
awareness.TheImplicitAssociationTest(IAT)[Error!Referencesourcenotfound.]
measuresmeanlatencydifferencesinincompatible/compatiblesortingtasks(e.g.,sorting
targetfacesandpositive/negativeattributesintocategories).D‐scoresareusedtomeasure
thestrengthanddirectionoftheimplicitassociationbetweentargets(e.g.,faces)andcat‐
egories(positive/negativeattributes).AustralianandMiddleEasternfaceimagesusedin
theIATweresourcedfromsearchingpublicwebsites.Chinesefaceimagesweresourced
fromtheTsinghuafacialexpressiondatabase[Error!Referencesourcenotfound.].All
faceimageswerepre‐testedandverifiedasWhiteAustralian,Chinese,andMiddleEast‐
ernpeople.
Three‐setIATsweredevelopedtotestimplicitassociationbetweeningroup/out‐
groupracialfaceimagesandpositive/negativewords,inthesamewayasaprevious
studyinvestigatingtheimpactofmusiclisteningonimplicitaffiliation[Error!Reference
sourcenotfound.].TherewerethreesetsofIATsdesignedtomeasureimplicitpreference:
AustralianpeopleversusChinesepeople,AustralianpeopleversusMiddleEasternpeo‐
ple,andChinesepeopleversusMiddleEasternpeople.EachIATcontainedsevenblocks
oftrialsandfourpermutationswereusedtocounterbalanceleft/rightstartingpositions
oftargetsandcategories(seeTable1foranexample).Block1,Block2,andBlock5re‐
quiredparticipantstosortAustralianorChinesefacesusingtheletters“E”and“I”onthe
keyboard.Thelatencyoftheirresponsetimewasnotmeasured.Block3andBlock4re‐
quiredparticipantstorespondtothecompatiblepairs(WhiteAustralianfaceswithposi‐
tivewords;Chinesefaceswithnegativewords),whileBlock6andBlock7requiredpar‐
ticipantstorespondtotheincompatiblepairs(WhiteAustralianfaceswithnegative
words;Chinesefaceswithpositivewords).Theresponsetimesobtainedfromcompatible
pairingtrials(Block3and4)andincompatiblepairingtrials(Block6and7)wereusedto
calculateD‐scores.ThepresentationorderofthethreesetsofIATswasfurtherrandom‐
ised(sixpermutations)tominimiseanyordereffects.
TheQualtricsimplementationoftheIATsutilisedthesurveysoftwareIATdevel‐
opedbyCarpenteretal.[Error!Referencesourcenotfound.].Thesurveysoftwareis
opensourcewithfreedownloadandtechnicaldetailsavailablefromtheOpenScience
Frameworkhttps://osf.io/ntd97/(accessedon17February2021).Thesurvey‐softwareIAT
wasempiricallyvalidatedagainstMillisecond’sInquisit,areaction‐timesoftware.The
validationresultfoundthemcomparable:similarreliability(split‐halfestimate0.80and
0.72,alpha0.83and0.84),nodifferenceinD‐scoreresults,andhighcorrelations[Error!
Referencesourcenotfound.].
Figure 2. An Example of a Modified Version of the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale.
2.3.5. Implicit Attitudes
Implicit prejudice/biases against people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds
reflect internalised, entrenched attitudes that can persist in the absence of conscious aware-
ness. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) [
15
] measures mean latency differences in incom-
patible/compatible sorting tasks (e.g., sorting target faces and positive/negative attributes
into categories). D-scores are used to measure the strength and direction of the implicit
association between targets (e.g., faces) and categories (positive/negative attributes). Aus-
tralian and Middle Eastern face images used in the IAT were sourced from searching
public websites. Chinese face images were sourced from the Tsinghua facial expression
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 6 of 16
database [
16
]. All face images were pre-tested and verified as White Australian, Chinese,
and Middle Eastern people.
Three-set IATs were developed to test implicit association between ingroup/outgroup
racial face images and positive/negative words, in the same way as a previous study
investigating the impact of music listening on implicit affiliation [
2
]. There were three
sets of IATs designed to measure implicit preference: Australian people versus Chinese
people, Australian people versus Middle Eastern people, and Chinese people versus Middle
Eastern people. Each IAT contained seven blocks of trials and four permutations were used
to counterbalance left/right starting positions of targets and categories (see Table 1for an
example). Block 1, Block 2, and Block 5 required participants to sort Australian or Chinese
faces using the letters “E” and “I” on the keyboard. The latency of their response time
was not measured. Block 3 and Block 4 required participants to respond to the compatible
pairs (White Australian faces with positive words; Chinese faces with negative words),
while Block 6 and Block 7 required participants to respond to the incompatible pairs (White
Australian faces with negative words; Chinese faces with positive words). The response
times obtained from compatible pairing trials (Block 3 and 4) and incompatible pairing
trials (Block 6 and 7) were used to calculate D-scores. The presentation order of the three
sets of IATs was further randomised (six permutations) to minimise any order effects.
Table 1. An Example of the Sequence of Trial Blocks in IAT, White Australian versus Chinese.
Block Number of
Trials Items Assigned to “E” Key Items Assigned to “I” Key
B1 20 Australian faces Chinese faces
B2 20 Positive words Negative words
B3 20 Australian faces + positive words Chinese faces + negative words
B4 40 Australian faces + positive words Chinese faces + negative words
B5 20 Chinese faces Australian faces
B6 20 Chinese faces + positive words Australian faces + negative words
B7 40 Chinese faces + positive words Australian faces + negative words
Note. Australian faces refer to six grey-scaled Australian face images, three male and three female; Chinese faces
refers to six grey-scaled Chinese face images, three male and three female; positive words refer to eight positive
adjectives, “Friendly, Glorious, Happy, Joyous, Lovely, Magnificent, Pleasant, Wonderful”; negative words refer to
eight negative adjectives, “Angry, Awful, Disgust, Evil, Failure, Horrible, Nasty, Terrible”.
The Qualtrics implementation of the IATs utilised the survey software IAT developed
by Carpenter et al. [
17
]. The survey software is open source with free download and techni-
cal details available from the Open Science Framework https://osf.io/ntd97/ (accessed
on 17 February 2021). The survey-software IAT was empirically validated against Millisec-
ond’s Inquisit, a reaction-time software. The validation result found them comparable:
similar reliability (split-half estimate 0.80 and 0.72, alpha 0.83 and 0.84), no difference in
D-score results, and high correlations [17].
2.3.6. Post-Experiment Feedback Survey
A short post-experiment survey consisting of five 5-Likert-style items (rated from 1 to 5)
and two open-ended questions was implemented as a manipulation check. Participants
were asked to consider their experience of the RIME and answer whether (1) it challenged
me; (2) it gave me a sense of achievement; (3) it helped me understand [Chinese/Middle
Eastern] culture; (4) it made me feel more connected to [Chinese/Middle Eastern] people;
and (5) it made me feel more connected with others (all people in the world). The open-
ended items were worded: (1) please list any other benefits you have received from learning
a [Chinese pipa/Middle Eastern oud]; and (2) do you have further thoughts/feelings that
you would like to share with us?
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 7 of 16
2.4. Procedure
The survey components of this study were conducted online using Qualtrics. As
indicated in the schematic diagram in Figure 3, participants were invited to take part
through an email which included the Participant Information and Consent document and
link to the survey. Participants then completed the online consent form before completing
the pre-RIME survey for around 30 min. This survey consisted of demographic questions
and the measures: MES, SEC, PD, TOL, ATTs, SEE, IOSs, and the IAT blocks. On completion
of the survey, participants were randomly assigned to either the Chinese pipa or Middle
Eastern oud group. Participants were contacted to visit the campus and attend the Part A
two-hour lecture-style learning program. Following the learning session, participants were
contacted again to visit the campus and attend the Part B two-hour hands-on instrumental
playing session. After completing the learning programs, participants completed the post-
RIME survey (around 25 min), which consisted of the following measures: SEE, TOL, ATTs,
IOSs, and the IAT blocks. Afterwards, participants were invited to complete the optional
post-experiment survey.
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW8of17
Figure3.SchematicRepresentationoftheRIMEDesign.
2.5.TestofAssumptions
Onestatisticaloutlierwithaz‐scoreof−3.35wasdetectedusingthez‐scorecut‐off
criterionof±3.29[Error!Referencesourcenotfound.].However,giventhemeanrating
correspondingtothisoutlierwasonly0.09ratingscaleunitslowerthanthenexthighest
scoreontheTOLscaleof1–5,andthefactthatitwastheonlyoutlierinatotalof116TOL
responses(58participantsxpre‐andpost‐RIMEresponses),wechosenottotransformor
deletetheoutlier.Theassumptionofhomogeneityofvariancewasnotviolated(Levene’s
statisticp‐value>0.05).Theassumptionofhomogeneityofcovarianceswasnotviolated
(Box’sTestp‐value>0.05).Shapiro–Wilk’stestrevealedmoderateviolationsofnormality.
Nocorrectivestepsweretaken,giventhattheanalysisofvariance(ANOVA)methodis
robusttosuchviolationsiftherearenooutliers,andeachconditionhasmorethan20
participantsandrelativelyequalparticipantnumbers.
2.6.TestofPossibleCovariates
Aseriesofindependentsamplet‐testswereconductedtocompareindividualfactors
betweenthetwolearninggroupsonage,musicalengagement,senseofsecurity,andper‐
ceiveddiscrimination.Theresultsrevealednosignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwo
groups(p‐values>0.05).Therefore,thesefactorswerenotrequiredascovariatesinstatis‐
ticalmodelsevaluatingeachhypothesis.
3.Results
3.1.EthnoculturalEmpathy(H1a)
TheeffectoftheRIMEinterventiononethnoculturalempathywasexaminedusinga
2×2mixed‐designANOVAwithlearninggroup(Chinesepipa,MiddleEasternoud)as
thebetweensubjectsfactorandmeasurementtime(pre‐RIMEintervention,post‐RIME
intervention)astherepeatedmeasuresfactor.Meanratingscalculatedfromthe31‐item
SEEwereusedforthisanalysis.Therewasasignificantmaineffectofmeasurementtime
forethnoculturalempathy,whichsignificantlyincreasedbetweenpre‐RIME(M=4.59,SD
=0.54)andpost‐RIMEinterventionmeasurementtimes(M=4.73,SD=0.57),F(1,56)=
14.27,p<0.001,η
2p
=0.20.Therewasnolearninggroupxmeasurementtimeinteraction
(p‐value>0.05),meaningthattheeffectofRIMEonethnoculturalempathydidnotvary
asafunctionofthelearninggroup.ThesefindingssupportH1thatparticipantstrained
onaMiddleEasternorChineseinstrumentwillexperienceanincreaseinethnocultural
empathyafterexposuretotheRIMEintervention.Afollowupanalysisindicatedthatem‐
pathicawarenessatbaselinewaslowerformales(n=32)thanforfemales(n=26),but
increasedsignificantlymorefollowingRIMEformalesthanfemales,F(1,56)=5.87,p=
0.019,η
2p
=0.10.
FurtheranalysisoftheSEEsubdomainssuggestedthattheeffectofRIMEoneth‐
noculturalempathywasdrivenbyimprovementsinempathicfeelingsandexpression,
empathicperspectivetaking,andempathicawareness.Withbothlearninggroupscom‐
bined,empathicfeelingandexpressionsignificantlyincreasedbetweenpre‐RIME(M=
Figure 3. Schematic Representation of the RIME Design.
2.5. Test of Assumptions
One statistical outlier with a z-score of
−
3.35 was detected using the z-score cut-off
criterion of
±
3.29 [
18
]. However, given the mean rating corresponding to this outlier was
only 0.09 rating scale units lower than the next highest score on the TOL scale of 1–5,
and the fact that it was the only outlier in a total of 116 TOL responses (58 participants
x pre- and post-RIME responses), we chose not to transform or delete the outlier. The
assumption of homogeneity of variance was not violated (Levene’s statistic p-value > 0.05).
The assumption of homogeneity of covariances was not violated (Box’s Test p-value > 0.05).
Shapiro–Wilk’s test revealed moderate violations of normality. No corrective steps were
taken, given that the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method is robust to such violations if
there are no outliers, and each condition has more than 20 participants and relatively equal
participant numbers.
2.6. Test of Possible Covariates
A series of independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare individual factors
between the two learning groups on age, musical engagement, sense of security, and
perceived discrimination. The results revealed no significant differences between the
two groups (p-values > 0.05). Therefore, these factors were not required as covariates in
statistical models evaluating each hypothesis.
3. Results
3.1. Ethnocultural Empathy (H1a)
The effect of the RIME intervention on ethnocultural empathy was examined using a
2
×
2 mixed-design ANOVA with learning group (Chinese pipa, Middle Eastern oud) as the
between subjects factor and measurement time (pre-RIME intervention, post-RIME inter-
vention) as the repeated measures factor. Mean ratings calculated from the 31-item SEE were
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 8 of 16
used for this analysis. There was a significant main effect of measurement time for ethnocul-
tural empathy, which significantly increased between pre-RIME (
M = 4.59
,
SD = 0.54
) and
post-RIME intervention measurement times (M = 4.73, SD = 0.57),
F(1, 56) = 14.27
,
p< 0.001
,
η2p
= 0.20. There was no learning group x measurement time interaction (
p-value > 0.05
),
meaning that the effect of RIME on ethnocultural empathy did not vary as a function of the
learning group. These findings support H1 that participants trained on a Middle Eastern or
Chinese instrument will experience an increase in ethnocultural empathy after exposure to
the RIME intervention. A follow up analysis indicated that empathic awareness at baseline
was lower for males (n= 32) than for females (n= 26), but increased significantly more
following RIME for males than females, F(1, 56) = 5.87, p= 0.019, η2p= 0.10.
Further analysis of the SEE subdomains suggested that the effect of RIME on ethnocul-
tural empathy was driven by improvements in empathic feelings and expression, empathic
perspective taking, and empathic awareness. With both learning groups combined, em-
pathic feeling and expression significantly increased between pre-RIME (
M = 4.79
,
SD = 0.61
)
and post-RIME intervention measurement times (M = 4.90, SD = 0.68),
F(1, 56) = 7.46
,
p= 0.008
,
η2p
= 0.12. Empathic perspective taking significantly increased between pre-
RIME (
M = 3.58
,SD = 0.80) and post-RIME intervention measurement times (M = 3.73,
SD = 0.87
),
F(1, 56) = 4.08
,p= 0.048,
η2p
= 0.07. Finally, empathic awareness significantly in-
creased between pre-RIME (M = 4.81, SD = 0.90) and post-RIME intervention measurement
times (M = 5.07, SD = 0.85), F(1, 56) = 12.05, p= 0.001, η2p= 0.18.
3.2. Tolerance (H1b)
The effect of the RIME intervention on tolerance was also examined using a 2
×
2
mixed-design ANOVA. Mean ratings calculated from the 11-item TOL subscale of the
MIRIPS were used for this analysis. There was a significant main effect of measurement
time, with a significant increase in tolerance between pre-RIME (M = 4.54, SD = 0.42) and
post-RIME intervention (M = 4.64, SD = 0.33), F(1, 56) = 7.18, p= 0.010,
η2p
= 0.11. There was
no learning group x measurement time interaction (p-value > 0.05), meaning that the effect
of RIME on tolerance did not vary as a function of learning group. These findings support
H1 that participants trained on a Middle Eastern or Chinese instrument experienced an
increase in tolerance level towards ethnic groups after exposure to the RIME intervention.
3.3. Social Connectedness (H2)
The effect of the RIME intervention on social connectedness was examined by analysing
a modified version of the IOS scale. Each learning group rated the magnitude of their
social connectedness towards Chinese people, Middle Eastern people, and “Others” before
and after the RIME intervention. It was hypothesised that participants in the Chinese pipa
learning group would show a significant increase in social connectedness towards Chinese
people after the RIME intervention, whereas participants in the Middle Eastern oud learning
group would show a significant increase in social connectedness towards Middle Eastern
people after RIME.
As can be seen in the left panel of Figure 4, for participants in the Chinese pipa group,
there was a significant increase in mean ratings of social connectedness towards Chinese
people between pre- and post-RIME measurement times, t(28) = 2.83, p= 0.009, d= 0.53,
95% CI [0.13, 0.99]. There was no significant change in social connectedness towards Middle
Eastern participants, t(28) =
−
0.47, p= 0.646, d=
−
0.09, 95% CI [
−
0.45, 0.28] or to other
people in general, t(28) = 0.46, p= 0.648, d= 0.09, 95% CI [
−
0.28, 0.45]. Thus, H2 was
supported for the Chinese pipa group.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 9 of 16
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW10of17
Figure4.SocialConnectednessBeforeandAftertheRIMEIntervention.Leftpanel:theChinesepipa
groupshowedasignificantincreaseinsocialconnectednesstowardsChinesepeople,butnotto‐
wardsMiddleEasternpeopleorothers;Rightpanel:theMiddleEasternoudgroupshowedasignif‐
icantincreaseinsocialconnectednesstowardsMiddleEasternpeople,butnottowardsChinesepeo‐
pleorothers.*p<0.05.**p<0.01.Errorbarsreportstandarderrorofthemean.
3.4.ExplicitAttitudestowardsEthnoculturalGroups(H3)
TheeffectoftheRIMEinterventiononexplicitattitudestowardsethnocultural
groupswasexaminedbyanalysingtheATTsubscaleoftheMIRIPS.Foreachlearning
group,explicitattitudestowardsChinesepeople,MiddleEasternpeople,andAustralian
peopleweremeasured.Thehigherthescore,themorepositiveattitudetowardseach
groupviaratingsoffavouritism.IftheRIMEinterventionincreasespositiveattitudesto‐
wardsanotherculturalgroup,thenwewouldexpectasignificantincreaseinpositiveat‐
titudestowardsChinesepeoplefromparticipantsintheChinesepipalearninggroup,and
similarlyforpositiveattitudestowardsMiddleEasternpeoplefromtheMiddleEastern
oudlearninggroup.
AscanbeseenintheleftpanelofFigure5,forparticipantsintheChinesepipagroup,
pairedsamplet‐tests(two‐tailed)revealednosignificantincreaseinexplicitpositiveatti‐
tudestowardsChinesepeople,t(28)=1.98,p=0.058,d=0.37,95%CI[−0.01,0.74].There
wasalsonosignificantchangeinexplicitattitudestowardsMiddleEasternpeople,t(28)
=0.60,p=0.552,d=0.11,95%CI[−0.25,0.48]orAustralianpeople,t(28)=1.27,p=0.234,d
=0.23,95%CI[−0.15,0.59].Thus,H3wasnotsupportedfortheChinesepipagroup.
AscanbeseenintherightpanelofFigure5,forparticipantsintheMiddleEastern
oudgroup,therewasasignificantincreaseinexplicitpositiveattitudestowardsMiddle
Easternpeople,t(28)=2.13,p=0.042,d=0.40,95%CI[0.01,0.77].Therewasnosignificant
changeinattitudestowardsChinesepeople,t(28)=1.43,p=0.165,d=0.27,95%CI[−0.11,
0.63]orAustralianpeople,t(28)=−0.07,p=0.949,d=−0.01,95%CI[−0.38,0.35].Thus,H3
wassupportedfortheMiddleEasternoudgroup.Insummary,thesefindingsshowthat
learningamusicalinstrumentfromanotherculturewithintheRIMEinterventionin‐
creasedexplicitpositiveattitudestowardspeopleofthatcultureforparticipantsinthe
MiddleEasternoudlearninggroup.RIMEdidnothaveasignificanteffectonexplicitpos‐
itiveattitudesforparticipantsintheChinesepipalearninggroup.
Figure 4.
Social Connectedness Before and After the RIME Intervention. Left panel: the Chinese pipa
group showed a significant increase in social connectedness towards Chinese people, but not towards
Middle Eastern people or others; Right panel: the Middle Eastern oud group showed a significant
increase in social connectedness towards Middle Eastern people, but not towards Chinese people or
others. * p< 0.05. ** p< 0.01. Error bars report standard error of the mean.
As can be seen in the right panel of Figure 4, for participants in the Middle Eastern
oud group, there was a significant increase in mean ratings of social connectedness towards
Middle Eastern people between pre- and post-RIME measurement times, t(28) = 2.48,
p= 0.019
,d= 0.46, 95% CI [0.07, 0.84]. There was no significant change in social connected-
ness towards Chinese participants, t(28) = 1.14, p= 0.264, d= 0.21, 95% CI [
−
0.16, 0.58],
or to other people in general, t(28) =
−
1.27, p= 0.213, d=
−
0.24, 95% CI [
−
0.60, 0.14].
Thus, H2 was supported for the Middle Eastern oud group. Overall, the findings show that
learning a musical instrument from another culture within the RIME intervention increased
social connectedness towards that same culture.
3.4. Explicit Attitudes towards Ethnocultural Groups (H3)
The effect of the RIME intervention on explicit attitudes towards ethnocultural groups
was examined by analysing the ATT subscale of the MIRIPS. For each learning group, ex-
plicit attitudes towards Chinese people, Middle Eastern people, and Australian people were
measured. The higher the score, the more positive attitude towards each group via ratings of
favouritism. If the RIME intervention increases positive attitudes towards another cultural
group, then we would expect a significant increase in positive attitudes towards Chinese peo-
ple from participants in the Chinese pipa learning group, and similarly for positive attitudes
towards Middle Eastern people from the Middle Eastern oud learning group.
As can be seen in the left panel of Figure 5, for participants in the Chinese pipa group,
paired sample t-tests (two-tailed) revealed no significant increase in explicit positive attitudes
towards Chinese people, t(28) = 1.98, p= 0.058, d= 0.37, 95% CI [
−
0.01, 0.74]. There was
also no significant change in explicit attitudes towards Middle Eastern people, t(28) = 0.60,
p= 0.552, d= 0.11, 95% CI [
−
0.25, 0.48] or Australian people, t(28) = 1.27, p= 0.234, d= 0.23,
95% CI [−0.15, 0.59]. Thus, H3 was not supported for the Chinese pipa group.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 10 of 16
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW11of17
Figure5.ExplicitAttitudestowardsEthnoculturalGroupsBeforeandAftertheRIMEIntervention.
Leftpanel:theChinesepipagroupshowedanon‐significantincreaseinattitudestowardsChinese,
MiddleEastern,orAustralianpeople;Rightpanel:theMiddleEasternoudgroupshowedasignifi‐
cantincreaseinattitudestowardsMiddleEasternpeople,notChineseorAustralianpeople.*p<
0.05.n.s.=nosignificantdifference.Errorbarsreportstandarderrorofthemean.
3.5.ImplicitAttitudestowardsEthnoculturalGroups(H4)
ImplicitattitudestowardsethnoculturalgroupsweremeasuredtoaddressH4by
firstcalculatingD‐scoresfromresponsesaccordingtotheIATscorealgorithm[Error!Ref‐
erencesourcenotfound.,Error!Referencesourcenotfound.].Aseriesofone‐samplet‐
testsanalysedD‐scoresagainstzero(representingnoimplicitbias)todeterminethe
directionandmagnitudeofeachlearninggroup’simplicitbiasagainstChinese,Middle
Easternpeoplebothpre‐ andpost‐RIMEintervention.TheIATmeasuresimplicitbias
throughassociatedpreferencewithtargets,forexample,TargetAandTargetB.Positive
D‐scoresindicateapreferencetowardsTargetAandthusanegativebiasagainstTarget
B.NegativeD‐scoresindicateapreferencetowardsTargetB,andthusanegativebias
againstTargetA.Followingthecriteriaoutlinedby[2,21],aD‐scorebetween0and±0.15
indicatesneutralorlittlepreference,ascorebetween±0.15and±0.35indicatesaslight
preference,ascorebetween±0.35and±0.65indicatesamoderatepreference,andascore
greaterthan±0.65indicatesastrongpreference.
AscanbeseeninFigure6,participantsintheChinesepipagroupexhibitedimplicit
biasagainstChinesepeoplebeforetheintervention(M
D‐score
=0.26,SD=0.44)thatwas
significantlyhigherthananeutralpreference/D‐scoreofzero(p=0.003).Aftertheinter‐
vention(M
D‐score
=0.11,SD=0.38),thisbiaswasreducedtoalevelthatwasnotsignificantly
differentfromaneutralpreference/D‐scoreofzero(p=0.119).Thus,forparticipantsinthe
Chinesepipagroup,theRIMEinterventionreducedasignificantbiasagainstChinesepeo‐
pletonosignificantbiasagainstChinesepeople.ThisresultsupportedH4fortheChinese
pipagroup.
Figure6alsoshowsthatparticipantsintheMiddleEasternoudgroupexhibiteda
moderatetostrongimplicitbiasagainstMiddleEasternpeoplebothbefore(M
D‐score
=0.42,
SD=0.36)andaftertheRIMEintervention(M
D‐score
=0.49,SD=0.32)thatwassignificantly
greaterthananeutralpreference/D‐scoreofzero(p‐values<0.001).Thus,forparticipants
intheMiddleEasternoudgroup,theRIMEinterventiondidnotsignificantlyreduceany
implicitbiasagainstMiddleEasternpeople.ThisresultdidnotsupportH4fortheMiddle
Easternoudgroup,perhapsreflectingtheentrenchednatureofbiasesagainstMiddleEast‐
ernpeople.
Figure 5.
Explicit Attitudes towards Ethnocultural Groups Before and After the RIME Intervention.
Left panel: the Chinese pipa group showed a non-significant increase in attitudes towards Chinese,
Middle Eastern, or Australian people; Right panel: the Middle Eastern oud group showed a significant
increase in attitudes towards Middle Eastern people, not Chinese or Australian people. * p< 0.05.
n.s. = no significant difference. Error bars report standard error of the mean.
As can be seen in the right panel of Figure 5, for participants in the Middle Eastern oud
group, there was a significant increase in explicit positive attitudes towards Middle Eastern
people, t(28) = 2.13, p= 0.042, d= 0.40, 95% CI [0.01, 0.77]. There was no significant change
in attitudes towards Chinese people, t(28) = 1.43, p= 0.165, d= 0.27,
95% CI [−0.11, 0.63]
or Australian people, t(28) =
−
0.07, p= 0.949, d=
−
0.01, 95% CI [
−
0.38, 0.35]. Thus, H3
was supported for the Middle Eastern oud group. In summary, these findings show that
learning a musical instrument from another culture within the RIME intervention increased
explicit positive attitudes towards people of that culture for participants in the Middle
Eastern oud learning group. RIME did not have a significant effect on explicit positive
attitudes for participants in the Chinese pipa learning group.
3.5. Implicit Attitudes towards Ethnocultural Groups (H4)
Implicit attitudes towards ethnocultural groups were measured to address H4 by
first calculating D-scores from responses according to the IAT score algorithm [
19
,
20
]. A
series of one-sample t-tests analysed D-scores against zero (representing no implicit bias)
to determine the direction and magnitude of each learning group’s implicit bias against
Chinese, Middle Eastern people both pre- and post-RIME intervention. The IAT measures
implicit bias through associated preference with targets, for example, Target A and Target
B. Positive D-scores indicate a preference towards Target A and thus a negative bias against
Target B. Negative D-scores indicate a preference towards Target B, and thus a negative
bias against Target A. Following the criteria outlined by [
2
,
21
], a D-score between 0 and
±
0.15 indicates neutral or little preference, a score between
±
0.15 and
±
0.35 indicates a
slight preference, a score between
±
0.35 and
±
0.65 indicates a moderate preference, and a
score greater than ±0.65 indicates a strong preference.
As can be seen in Figure 6, participants in the Chinese pipa group exhibited implicit
bias against Chinese people before the intervention (M
D-score
= 0.26, SD = 0.44) that was
significantly higher than a neutral preference/D-score of zero (p= 0.003). After the interven-
tion (M
D-score
= 0.11, SD = 0.38), this bias was reduced to a level that was not significantly
different from a neutral preference/D-score of zero (p= 0.119). Thus, for participants in
the Chinese pipa group, the RIME intervention reduced a significant bias against Chinese
people to no significant bias against Chinese people. This result supported H4 for the
Chinese pipa group.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 11 of 16
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2023,20,xFORPEERREVIEW12of17
Figure6.ImplicitAttitudesAgainstChineseandMiddleEasternPeopleasMeasuredbytheIAT.
ThepanelontheleftindicatedthatChinesepipalearnersshowedareductioninbiasagainstChinese
people,fromaslightbiaspre‐RIMEtoeffectivelynobiaspost‐RIME;thepanelontherightindicated
thatMiddleEasternoudlearnersshowednoreductioninbiasagainstMiddleEasternpeople,i.e.,
biasagainstMiddleEasternpeopleweresignificantbothpre‐RIMEandpost‐RIME.**p<0.01.***p
<0.001.n.s.=nosignificantdifference.Errorbarsreportstandarderrorofthemean.
Insummary,theresultsprovidedpartialsupportforH4.ParticipantsintheChinese
pipagroupreducedimplicitbiasagainstChinesepeoplesignificantlybutnottowards
MiddleEasternpeople.ParticipantsintheMiddleEasternoudgroupdidnotreducethe
implicitbiasagainstMiddleEasternandChinesepeople,andbiasremainedmoderately
strong.Thus,theRIMEprogramonlyhadthepredictedeffectofreducingimplicitbias
forthosewholearnedtheChinesepipa.
3.6.Post‐ExperimentFeedbackSurvey
Forty‐oneparticipantsprovidedfeedbackonfive‐itemquestions.Responsesshown
inTable2providedadditionalsupportforthemainhypotheses,whereparticipantswere
askedfivequestionsona5‐pointLikertscale.
Table2.MeansandStandardDeviationsforFeedbackQuestions.
QuestionM(SD)
1.Itchallengedme.4.29(0.56)
2.Itgavemeasenseofachievement.4.76(0.44)
3.Ithelpedmeunderstand[Field‐Ethnicity]
1
culture.4.15(0.79)
4.Itmademefeelmoreconnectedto[Field‐Ethnicity]
people.4.05(0.81)
5.Itmademefeelmoreconnectedwithothers(allpeopleintheworld).3.93(0.82)
Note.
1
[Field‐Ethnicity]referstotheactualtextdisplayed,“Chinese”or“MiddleEastern”.
Thirty‐twoparticipantsprovidedresponsesononeorbothopen‐endedquestions.
Descriptionsoffeltexperiencetowardstheinterculturalmusicengagementstudywere
capturedaroundfourthemes(e.g.,enjoyableengagement,betterunderstandingothers’
musicandculture,andpeople),supportedbykeyconstructs(e.g.,intriguing;fun;inter‐
esting;amazing;openmind;respect;awareness).Thereflectionsfromparticipantsexem‐
plifiedhowRIMEmadeparticipantsfeelempathetictowardspeopleassociatedwiththe
musicalculture,andhowRIMEhelpedthemrealisethatculturalbiasagainstotherculture
andpeoplecouldhappenunconsciously.
Figure 6.
Implicit Attitudes Against Chinese and Middle Eastern People as Measured by the IAT.
The panel on the left indicated that Chinese pipa learners showed a reduction in bias against Chinese
people, from a slight bias pre-RIME to effectively no bias post-RIME; the panel on the right indicated
that Middle Eastern oud learners showed no reduction in bias against Middle Eastern people, i.e.,
bias against Middle Eastern people were significant both pre-RIME and post-RIME. ** p< 0.01.
*** p< 0.001. n.s. = no significant difference. Error bars report standard error of the mean.
Figure 6also shows that participants in the Middle Eastern oud group exhibited a
moderate to strong implicit bias against Middle Eastern people both before (
MD-score = 0.42
,
SD = 0.36) and after the RIME intervention (M
D-score
= 0.49, SD = 0.32) that was significantly
greater than a neutral preference/D-score of zero (p-values < 0.001). Thus, for participants
in the Middle Eastern oud group, the RIME intervention did not significantly reduce any
implicit bias against Middle Eastern people. This result did not support H4 for the Middle
Eastern oud group, perhaps reflecting the entrenched nature of biases against Middle
Eastern people.
In summary, the results provided partial support for H4. Participants in the Chinese
pipa group reduced implicit bias against Chinese people significantly but not towards
Middle Eastern people. Participants in the Middle Eastern oud group did not reduce the
implicit bias against Middle Eastern and Chinese people, and bias remained moderately
strong. Thus, the RIME program only had the predicted effect of reducing implicit bias for
those who learned the Chinese pipa.
3.6. Post-Experiment Feedback Survey
Forty-one participants provided feedback on five-item questions. Responses shown
in Table 2provided additional support for the main hypotheses, where participants were
asked five questions on a 5-point Likert scale.
Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations for Feedback Questions.
Question M(SD)
1. It challenged me. 4.29 (0.56)
2. It gave me a sense of achievement. 4.76 (0.44)
3. It helped me understand [Field-Ethnicity] 1culture. 4.15 (0.79)
4. It made me feel more connected to [Field-Ethnicity] people. 4.05 (0.81)
5. It made me feel more connected with others (all people in the world). 3.93 (0.82)
Note. 1[Field-Ethnicity] refers to the actual text displayed, “Chinese” or “Middle Eastern”.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 12 of 16
Thirty-two participants provided responses on one or both open-ended questions.
Descriptions of felt experience towards the intercultural music engagement study were cap-
tured around four themes (e.g., enjoyable engagement, better understanding others’ music
and culture, and people), supported by key constructs (e.g., intriguing; fun; interesting;
amazing; open mind; respect; awareness). The reflections from participants exemplified
how RIME made participants feel empathetic towards people associated with the musical
culture, and how RIME helped them realise that cultural bias against other culture and
people could happen unconsciously.
4. Discussion
This study investigated the impact of rich intercultural music engagement (RIME) on
cultural understanding and empathy through a two-part, four-hour intervention program
comprising non-Western music training. The White Australian participants exhibited signif-
icant improvement in five key aspects of intercultural understanding after the intervention.
First, ethnocultural empathy towards people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds
was significantly increased following the RIME intervention. This increase was reflected by
improvements in empathic awareness, as well as improvements in empathic perspective
taking, empathic feelings, and empathic expression. Such benefits contrast with results of
previous investigations involving non-musical interventions (e.g., [
22
]) and confirm that
RIME provides an especially beneficial strategy for enhancing intercultural understanding.
In addition, the main effect of RIME on ethnocultural empathy was more evident in male
than female participants.
A follow-up analysis revealed that males exhibited a statistically greater increase in
empathy and its subdomains than females. This finding is intriguing given that previous
research on cultural empathy has revealed no such gender differences or greater empathy
shown by females than by males [
13
,
23
]. A closer look at the baseline measures for empathic
awareness revealed that males were significantly lower on empathic awareness than females
to begin with. That is, there was greater room for improvement in empathic awareness for
males than females. Although this study enriches the current literature on empathy, further
enquiry is needed to investigate the role that gender has on embodied learning and empathy.
Second, tolerance towards people from different cultural backgrounds was signifi-
cantly increased following the RIME intervention. Although the baseline across the groups
was relatively high before RIME and the sense of security was not different between learn-
ing groups, the significant increase after RIME suggests the intervention was effective
in promoting the acceptance and interaction with those of other cultural backgrounds
(see also, [
12
]). Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence that RIME has
culture-general effects; that is, learning a musical instrument from another culture enhanced
empathy and tolerance to other cultures in general.
Third, social connectedness towards Chinese and Middle Eastern people significantly
improved within each respective learning group after the RIME intervention. For example,
participants who learned the Chinese pipa reported a significant increase in social con-
nectedness towards Chinese people but not Middle Eastern people, whereas participants
who learned the Middle Eastern oud reported a significant increase in social connectedness
towards Middle Eastern people but not Chinese people. These results suggest that RIME
may also have culture-specific effects.
Why should music engagement elicit feelings of social connection? One reason is
that feelings of social connection may result from the sheer enjoyment of culture-specific
musicking. Indeed, in the open-ended responses, participants frequently cited enjoyment
as a key experiential outcome from the RIME intervention. A second explanation is that
exposure to and experience with active movement involved in learning and playing the
pipa or oud activates a process of social entrainment that closes the “self–other gap” and
increases social bonding with the specific cultural group [
24
]. Such an interpretation is
consistent with research showing that the enjoyment of familiar culture-specific music is
associated with feelings of interpersonal connectedness [25].
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 13 of 16
Fourth, a more favourable attitude towards ethnocultural groups was instilled, but this
result was specific to particular cultural learning groups. Participants in the Middle Eastern
oud group exhibited a significant increase in positive attitudes towards Middle Eastern peo-
ple, whereas explicit attitudes towards Chinese people in the Chinese pipa group increased
numerically but the changes were not statistically significant. Why were White Australians
in the Middle Eastern oud group affected more by the intervention than those in the Chi-
nese pipa group? Examination of baseline (pre-RIME) scores suggests attitudes against
Middle Eastern people were more negative than attitudes towards Chinese (or Australian)
people. As such, there was greater scope for an increase in positive attitudes towards
Middle Eastern people than towards the other two ethnic groups. By engaging in embodied
learning of the Middle Eastern culture, participants may have become more aware of their
biases against Muslim communities and were willing to adjust their attitudes as a result.
In comparison, biases against Chinese people were subtle and hence less impacted by the
RIME intervention. The attitudes of Australians towards Australians increased but not
by a statistically significant amount. However, in general, White Australians held a more
positive attitude about themselves, as shown by the higher baseline with both groups. This
is reflective of ingroup favouritism, which exists without the inclination to dislike other
cultural groups.
Fifth, the RIME intervention reduced White Australian participants’ implicit bias
against ethnocultural groups, as measured by IAT D-score. Specifically, we observed
significant implicit biases against Chinese people and Middle Eastern people before the
RIME intervention, but for the Chinese pipa group, no bias was detected after RIME. RIME
with a Chinese instrument reduced implicit biases against Chinese people, but RIME with
a Middle Eastern instrument had no impact on minimising implicit biases against Middle
Eastern people.
It is striking that a two-part, four-hour program focusing on RIME was an effective
strategy of decreasing implicit ethnocultural bias against Chinese people, but not Middle
Eastern people. This pattern of results suggests that the effectiveness of the RIME inter-
vention depends on the nature of the cultural bias (i.e., explicit or implicit) [
8
,
26
]. In this
study, the baseline of explicit attitudes towards Middle Eastern people was lower, the
RIME intervention made participants aware and rectified their attitudes; therefore, explicit
attitudes towards Middle Eastern people were significantly improved. Implicit bias toward
Middle Eastern people diverged from that trend, and the strong implicit bias against Middle
Eastern remained strong after the RIME. One explanation might be the prolonged exposure
to stereotypical media (i.e., depicting Middle Eastern people as terrorists) instils fear and
threat among White Australians [
1
]. Fear and perceptions of threat activate the implicit
bias against Middle Eastern people [27].
Another explanation might be the impact of cultural distance on intergroup relation-
ships. In particular, Australia and China may be more culturally similar than Australia and
the Middle East, in part because of the physical proximity of Australia and China, but also
because there is a larger contingent of Chinese immigrants than Middle Eastern immigrants
within Australia. Furthermore, the divergence also highlights that attitudes (especially
racial biases) are often multilayered and people only have the ability to report the most
recent top layer of (explicit) attitudes, seemingly unaware that they suppress the older
layers of (implicit) attitudes [
28
]. The dynamic interaction of conscious and unconscious
awareness of attitudes is complex; therefore, explicit attitudes sometimes converge and
sometimes diverge with implicit attitudes. Furthermore, this divergence of implicit and
explicit attitudes may be caused by the fact that implicit and explicit tests measure different
manifestations of attitudes, namely, conscious introspection versus cognitive speed (for de-
tails on alternative tests, see [
28
]). Nevertheless, bodily engagement in physical musicking
may have nurtured an embodied awareness of cultural differences [
29
], which may have
triggered strategies of either reducing or holding on to that bias. Future research is needed
to investigate the impact of different types of tests and durations of the intervention, and
its efficacy for people with different levels of musical skill and trait empathy. Furthermore,
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 14 of 16
preexisting knowledge of, and engagement with, the target culture could be assessed. In
addition, despite the consistent approach adopted by the two instructors, subtle differences
in the teaching styles of instructors could be monitored closely to identify any potential
impact of teaching styles or demeanour on the study’s results.
Lastly, qualitative data from the open-ended questions provided additional evidence
in support of the hypotheses. For example, there was agreement across many participants
that the study helped them understand the music culture and feel more connected with the people
of that culture. Although the issue of prejudice and racism was not mentioned during
the RIME intervention program, such qualitative reflections supported the quantitative
findings that RIME increased intercultural empathy.
Overall, the findings of the present study provide the first empirical evidence that
RIME is an effective strategy for enhancing ethnocultural understanding, social connected-
ness, and attitudes. The findings underscore the benefits of music learning in multicultural
societies and suggest that embodied engagement with cultural traditions may be a crucial
element in unlocking such benefits. This study also demonstrated that implicit biases are
often persistent and may require greater durations of RIME for changes to be detected.
Negative implicit biases are deeply rooted, which may explain why bias against Middle
Eastern people was persistent despite our RIME intervention. Further longitudinal studies
are needed where a RIME intervention is implemented over many months with multiple
measures over time. This will shed light on whether RIME can reliably reduce implicit
biases and the time-course of such effects. Furthermore, investigating the effects of learning
in groups could provide further evidence for the efficacy of RIME intervention. Partici-
pants in the current study were highly educated Australian residents of predominantly
Anglo origin living in Sydney. Future research could investigate the effects of RIME for
other populations, such as people living in non-urban regions, or people of non-dominant
cultural origins. It would also be interesting to compare the impact of RIME for groups of
individuals with opposing political affiliations, who may have different baseline under-
standings or prejudices concerning other cultures. Future studies should also compare the
experience of taking part in the study for different age groups. Such a comparison might
provide insight into the efficacy of RIME for younger participants who may be constructing
and developing their cultural identities and attitudes versus participants for whom such
identities and attitudes are well established.
5. Conclusions
To conclude, training White Australians on the Chinese pipa or Middle Eastern oud
can effectively nurture intercultural understanding. As predicted by the Intercultural
Music Capacities Model, RIME successfully promoted intercultural understanding, lead-
ing to benefits such as increased ethnocultural empathy and tolerance, feelings of social
connection, improved attitude, and reduced implicit bias. The findings provided strong
support for the IMCM framework and suggest a causal impact of the intervention. Future
research into the nature of implicit cultural bias, for example, implicit stereotypes and
cultural bias hierarchy [
30
,
31
], may be useful for further refinement of the model. Our
RIME intervention is short, effective, enjoyable, and has the potential to be of enormous
value as an evidence-based educational program to nurture intercultural understanding in
multicultural societies worldwide.
Author Contributions:
Conceptualisation, M.G.L., K.N.O., J.W.D., and W.F.T.; methodology, M.G.L.,
K.N.O., J.W.D., and W.F.T.; formal analysis, M.G.L., K.N.O., and W.F.T.; investigation, M.G.L., K.N.O.,
and W.F.T.; writing—original draft preparation, M.G.L. and W.F.T.; writing—review and editing,
M.G.L., K.N.O., J.W.D., and W.F.T.; supervision, K.N.O. and W.F.T.; funding acquisition, J.W.D. and
W.F.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding:
This research was funded by a Discovery Project grant awarded to Professors Jane W Davidson
and William Forde Thompson by the Australian Research Council, grant number DP190102978, ‘So-
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023,20, 1919 15 of 16
cial cohesion and resilience through intercultural music engagement’; and by a Macquarie University
Government Funded Research Training Program Scholarship, allocation numbers 20213667 and 20224177.
Institutional Review Board Statement:
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declara-
tion of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of Macquarie University (protocol code:
52021955024986, 11/03/2021).
Informed Consent Statement:
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement:
The data presented in this study are available upon request from the
corresponding author.
Acknowledgments:
We thank Lulu Liu and Hamed Sadeghi for developing the Rich Intercultural Music
Engagement programs and Alexander Poirier for volunteering as a pilot study learner. Our thanks also
extend to all participants for embracing the unfamiliar musical culture with open-mindedness.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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