In light of the burgeoning significance of creativity in contemporary society (Reckwitz, 2018), universities worldwide have assumed the responsibility of nurturing creative talent among students to recognize their pivotal role in societal advancement (Marquis et al., 2017). Educators are actively engaged in endeavors aimed at fostering creativity among students (Huang, 2021). Nonetheless, empirical evidence indicates a propensity for Chinese students to manifest comparatively lower levels of creativity vis-à-vis their Western counterparts (Wang & Greenwood, 2013), prompting scholarly inquiry into predictive factors conducive to creativity among Chinese students, including both individual and environmental determinants (Niu, 2007).

 

Of particular interest among environmental stimuli influencing individual creativity is the role of music, a subject that has attracted considerable scholarly attention (Ritter & Ferguson, 2017; Zhu & Chen, 2022). A seminal study in this realm concerns the Mozart Effect, which garnered widespread attention in the 1990s by suggesting a temporary enhancement of spatial reasoning skills following exposure to Mozart’s music (Rauscher et al., 1995). While subsequent research (Steele et al., 1999) has cast doubt on the universality and longevity of this effect, it catalyzed renewed exploration into the nexus between music and cognitive augmentation (Schellenberg, 2012).

 

Recent investigations have embraced a more nuanced approach to understanding the impact of music on creativity, taking into account variables such as music genre. For instance, Ritter and Ferguson (2017) examined the influence of four distinct music types (happy, sad, calm, anxious), as well as the impact of differing affective valences (positive, negative) and arousal levels (high, low) on individual creativity. They found that exposure to happy music (characterized by high-arousal classical compositions capable of eliciting positive emotions) facilitated divergent thinking compared to a control condition devoid of music. This observation underscores the role of emotional and situational factors in facilitating the persistence and adaptability of creative endeavors (Nijstad et al., 2010). Similarly, He et al. (2017) investigated the impact of music listening on creative cognition through the lens of the arousal-and-mood hypothesis, revealing that both positively and negatively valenced music exerted an influence on student creativity via indirect pathways mediated by emotional responses.

 

Despite recent progress in the field, there remain significant gaps in the understanding of the effects of music engagement on student creativity. Notably, extant research has predominantly concentrated on music listening, failing to fully encapsulate the resulting individual differences in music engagement, which refers to an individual’s active participation in musical pursuits, including both productive (e.g., musical production) and receptive (e.g., listening to music) modalities, while also considering cognitive, emotional, social, and physical outcomes (Chin & Rickard, 2012).

 

This study aimed to fill this gap by examining the relationship between music engagement and student creativity, as well as the underlying mechanisms therein. According to He et al. (2017) and Ritter and Ferguson (2017), music has a unique ability to resonate with listeners on an emotional level, and different genres, melodies, harmonies, and rhythms can evoke a wide range of emotions, from joy and excitement to sadness and tranquility. By listening to music, individuals become more attuned to these emotional responses, which can increase their sensitivity to their own and others’ emotions, suggesting that heightened emotional awareness could elucidate the positive outcomes associated with music engagement (Leung & Cheung, 2020). We regarded emotional awareness, defined as the capacity to accurately discern and differentiate between diverse emotional states (Leung & Cheung, 2020), as a mediator that may explain how music engagement enhances student creativity.

Music possesses the capacity to convey and evoke a broad spectrum of emotions (Murrock, 2005). Through elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, and lyrical content, music serves as a medium for articulating intricate emotional states (Murrock, 2005). Engagement with music typically entails active involvement in musical activities, such as focused listening or instrumental performance (Chin & Rickard, 2012). Through this engagement, individuals are exposed to a wide array of emotional stimuli, which can aid in the identification and understanding of different emotional states, both within oneself and in others (Saarikallio et al., 2014). For instance, music production involves various cognitive processes and brain regions associated with emotional processing (Koelsch & Siebel, 2005). Playing a musical instrument can activate the prefrontal cortex and limbic system, crucial regions for emotional regulation and expression (Peretz & Zatorre, 2005). Listening to music encompasses not only auditory perception but also visual, tactile, and emotional experiences (Altenmüller, 2004). Regular exposure to music can heighten individuals’ sensitivity to emotional responses, enhancing their awareness of both their own and others’ emotions (Salimpoor et al., 2009). Thus, participation in musical activities has the potential to improve individuals’ emotional awareness (Lane & Smith, 2021).

 

Moreover, empirical evidence suggests that music exerts a favorable influence on emotional regulation (Cook et al., 2019). Active engagement with music can facilitate emotional regulation, stress reduction, and the enhancement of emotional well-being (Papinczak et al., 2015). Given the close association between emotional awareness and regulation (Boden & Thompson, 2015), we predicted that music engagement could serve to bolster emotional awareness. Therefore, we posited the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: Music engagement will be positively related to emotional awareness.

 

Emotional awareness involves a profound comprehension and recognition of one’s own emotional states (Lane & Smith, 2021), thereby implicating an increased sensitivity to the emotional stimuli and responses experienced across diverse contexts. The recognition of emotions among students holds pivotal importance as it facilitates effective emotional regulation, which is critical for nurturing creativity (Ivcevic & Brackett, 2015). Emotional awareness enables individuals to access a diverse range of emotional states, serving as a valuable source of inspiration (Lane et al., 1990; Thrash et al., 2014). Increased awareness of one’s emotions allows for better understanding and processing, leading to enhanced self-expression and the capacity for innovative thinking (Ivcevic & Brackett, 2015). Additionally, emotional awareness facilitates improved empathy and the ability to comprehend varying perspectives (Schröder-Abé & Schütz, 2011), thereby fostering creativity through the exploration of novel viewpoints and approaches (Hoever et al., 2012). Thus, we posited the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2: Emotional awareness will be positively related to student creativity.

 

In summary, drawing from both theoretical perspectives and empirical findings, it is plausible to postulate that engagement with music can enrich students’ emotional awareness, thereby facilitating the emergence of innovative ideas and problem-solving approaches. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 3: Emotional awareness will mediate the relationship between music engagement and student creativity.

 

The proposed model is depicted in Figure 1.

We enlisted music and dance undergraduates enrolled in our respective universities as participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of Guangxi Normal University. We apprised participants of the strict confidentiality measures governing data collection, assuring them that all information gathered would be utilized only for research purposes. Those students who provided signed consent were eligible for inclusion in the study. Distribution of paper-based questionnaires was facilitated by faculty members at each institution. Participation was voluntary, with no inducements provided.

 

Following the exclusion of 70 invalid forms, we retained 330 valid surveys, indicating an effective response rate of 82.50%. The sample comprised 95 men (28.79%) and 235 women (71.21%), with a mean age of 19.92 years (SD = 1.10, range = 19–22). Distribution across academic years was as follows: 56 (16.97%) first-year students, 160 (48.48%) second-year students, 77 (23.33%) third-year students, and 37 (11.22%) fourth-year students.

We employed Chinese versions of the following measures. Translation procedures involved both forward and backward translation, executed by three doctoral candidates specializing in psychology. Responses were made on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

 

We adopted Chin and Rickard’s (2012) scale, which has been widely used to measure music engagement. It includes 24 items divided into five dimensions: cognitive and emotional regulation (seven items, e.g., “Certain types of music help me think”), engaged production (nine items, e.g., “I often get recognition from my friends for playing in a group”), social connection (three items, e.g., “I am able to make more friends when we like the same type of music”), physical exercise (three items, e.g., “Music improves my physical endurance level”), and dance (two items, e.g., “Dancing keeps me fit”).

 

We adopted the six-item emotional awareness dimension from the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). A sample item is “I am attentive to my feelings.”

 

We adopted Tsai et al.’s (2015) five-item student creativity scale. A sample item is “I am not afraid to take risks.”

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and correlations among the variables. After data collection, we conducted reliability and validity tests. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients indicated satisfactory internal consistency reliability. Additionally, all factor loadings exceeded .60, composite reliability scores surpassed the threshold of .70, and average variance extracted (AVE) values exceeded the threshold value of .50. Thus, convergent validity was established. Furthermore, the correlation coefficients between each pair of variables were smaller than the square roots of the corresponding AVE values, confirming discriminant validity.

The structural validity assessment is presented in Table 2, demonstrating that all model fit indices met the criteria indicative of a well-fitting model.

To assess the significance of the structural model, we employed a bootstrapping procedure with 5,000 resamples. The findings revealed significant positive associations between music engagement and emotional awareness, β = .66, p < .001, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.58, 0.73], and between emotional awareness and student creativity, β = .31, p < .001, 95% CI [0.20, 0.42]. Therefore, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.

 

Regarding mediation effects, the indirect impact of music engagement on student creativity via emotional awareness was both positive and significant, β = .21, p < .001, 95% CI [0.13, 0.29], indicating emotional awareness functioned as a mediating factor. Thus, Hypothesis 3 was supported.

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential mediating role of emotional awareness in the association between music engagement and student creativity. Contrary to Leung and Cheung (2020), who did not observe a significant relationship between aspects of music engagement (e.g., listening vs. instrument playing) and emotional awareness among adolescents, our study yielded results indicating that music engagement fostered emotional awareness. This may be attributed to differences in the demographic composition of our respective research samples. Specifically, the participants in our study comprised solely college students majoring in music or dance, who are likely to exhibit high-level sensitivity to emotions in music. Given the inherent capacity of music to evoke a spectrum of emotions (Murrock, 2005), engagement with music—whether through listening, instrumental practice, or vocalization—exposes individuals to diverse emotional encounters. This exposure facilitates the identification, comprehension, and regulation of one’s emotional states, thereby nurturing high-level emotional awareness.

 

Furthermore, our study revealed a positive relationship between emotional awareness and student creativity. This finding underscores the pivotal role of emotional awareness in fostering creativity, as it enables individuals to draw inspiration from their emotional experiences. By cultivating an acute awareness of their emotions, students are empowered to channel their feelings into creative expression. This emotional connectivity is evident across various artistic modalities, including songwriting, visual arts, and dance, wherein emotions serve as catalysts for the creation of meaningful and innovative works (Averill, 2002).

 

An essential contribution of this study lies in its demonstration of the mediating role of emotional awareness in the relationship between music engagement and student creativity. This finding indicates that music engagement contributes to enhanced emotional awareness, subsequently fostering student creativity. Through engaging with music, students encounter emotional stimuli and experiences that may activate cognitive processes pertinent to creativity. These results enrich comprehension of the underlying mechanisms by which music engagement fosters creativity in students.

 

In addition, our findings carry significant practical implications. We encourage educators to integrate activities and lessons aimed at fostering emotional awareness within music education. Such initiatives may include discussions on the emotional responses elicited by various genres of music, reflective exercises focusing on personal emotional experiences related to music, and activities designed to facilitate the expression and communication of emotions through music. Meanwhile, we urge educators to underscore the interdisciplinary nature of music and emotional awareness by integrating these concepts into other academic subjects. For instance, within language arts, students could analyze song lyrics to explore emotional themes and perspectives, while in visual arts, students could create artworks inspired by music that elicits diverse emotional responses. By interlinking music and emotional awareness with other academic disciplines, educators can offer students a comprehensive learning experience, thereby further enhancing their creativity.

 

The primary limitation of this study pertains to the characteristics of the participants, who were exclusively enrolled in music and dance programs. Therefore, the generalizability of our findings to students with other academic majors remains uncertain. Future researchers could replicate our study using a more diverse sample of college students. Another limitation stems from the cross-sectional design of this study, which precludes the establishment of causal relationships between variables. Future researchers are encouraged to employ longitudinal or experimental designs capable of establishing causal relationships. In addition, while we considered music engagement as a whole construct, future researchers could explore the effects of different dimensions of music engagement on student creativity.

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