Cross-Cultural Music and Its Differential Effects on Consciousness State Regulation

Abstract

In recent years, research exploring the influence of music on emotional and cognitive processes has grown substantially. Nonetheless, most existing studies are confined to single cultural settings, with limited attention paid to the comparative effects of cross-cultural music on the regulation of consciousness states. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach—combining controlled experiments, subjective self-reports, and physiological monitoring—to examine how participants’ emotional states, attentional focus, and physiological responses (including heart rate, respiratory rate, and brainwave activity) change when exposed to Chinese and Western musical forms, specifically Traditional Chinese music and Western classical music. The findings reveal significant differences in both emotional modulation and consciousness regulation between the two musical traditions. These effects appear to be strongly associated with the music’s structural properties, cultural origins, and the listeners’ individual psychological characteristics.