a laboratory setting, and even longitudinal observations may fail to catch it.
However, there is some evidence to suggest that strong behavioral contingen-
cies operate during formal musical learning at very early stages of develop-
ment. For example, the Suzuki method, which promotes high levels of
teacher approval, parental involvement, and concentrated rehearsal, may
provide the necessary prerequisites for the acquisition of musical skill and
motivation to practice through optimal behavioral shaping (Colprit, 2000;
Duke, 1999; Scott, 1992). One might even interpret this sort of experience as
an example of a broader behavioral phenomenon known as learned industri-
ousness, whereby early extrinsic reinforcers can help shape behavior into pat-
terns that are consistent with indices of intrinsic motivation (Eisenberger,
1992). Nevertheless, even if the evidence in favor of innate motivational dis-
positions can be accounted for by behavioral mechanisms or other explana-
tions, this does not preclude the possibility that biologically determined fac-
tors have other indirect effects. As discussed in our review of the personality
of chess players, we may also want to consider whether broader emotional
and social dispositions are important precursors of musical ability, or
whether such traits or temperaments might predispose certain individuals to
engage in the activities of a particular domain.
Taking into consideration the necessity of solitary practice, as well as the
expectations of expressive performance among critics and audiences, one
might expect to find a high degree of introversion and emotionality among
musicians (at least those in the classical genre; Kemp, 1996). The empirical
literature is somewhat consistent with this argument, in that professional
classical musicians as a group do generally score higher than the norm on
various trait measures of introversion and emotionality (Hamilton, Kella, &
Hamilton, 1995; Kemp, 1981a; Marchant-Haycox & Wilson, 1992; Steptoe &
Fidler, 1987). However, most of the sample means from these studies rest well
inside the normal range, and the degree of variability within the samples of-
ten spans both ends of the trait poles. In addition, the predicted profile is even
less clear when one examines the same personality traits in college music stu-
dents. For instance, some researchers have found music majors to be more in-
troverted relative to normative samples (Bell & Cresswell, 1984; Kemp,
1981a), but others have observed a tendency toward extraversion (Cooley,
1961; Kemp, 1982; Shuter-Dyson, 2000; Wubbenhorst, 1994). Similarly,
while some researchers (Kemp, 1981a; Shuter-Dyson, 2000) report above av-
erage scores for music students on measures of emotionality, others have ob-
served the opposite trend (Bell & Cresswell, 1984; Cooley, 1961). One might
explain the previous inconsistencies by arguing that college students prepar-
ing for a career in musical performance fit a different personality profile than
those pursuing an educational track. Kemp (1982) highlighted this point di-
rectly, and it should be noted that in studies where extraversion was the pre-
dominant profile (Cooley, 1961; Shuter-Dyson, 2000), the samples were
308 CHARNESS, TUFFIASH, JASTRZEMBSKI