It should be noted that while our perspective on innate musical disposi-
tions is somewhat negative, we do not mean to imply that personality and
similar constructs are completely irrelevant to musical skill acquisition. For
instance, individual differences in emotional temperaments might account
for significant variability in musical tastes or choice of instrument (Kemp,
1996), though again, the influence of early upbringing and other subtle social
forces (e.g., gender stereotypes, see O’Neill, 1997) should not be discounted.
However, it is also likely that any significant influences of dispositional vari-
ables on musical behavior are mediated by some set of intervening motiva-
tional constructs. It is to the latter that we now turn our attention.
Expectations, Values, and Goal Orientations
In contrast to earlier motivational theories and their emphasis on uncon-
scious, innate drives, proponents of contemporary motivational frameworks
tend to emphasize the role of conscious, explicit attitudes, such as the subjec-
tive value of different tasks or goals and the expectations that individuals set
for their potential performance. Proponents of this perspective argue that an
individual’s willingness to engage and persist in effortful activities is a func-
tion of the importance or enjoyment that they ascribe to achieving a goal and
their beliefs regarding the relevance or usefulness of particular activities in
reaching those goals (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
Expectancy-value theory and related concepts have also been somewhat
successful in accounting for participation and success in musical endeavors.
For instance, Hallam (1998) reported that students’ attitudes regarding the
value of practice were significant predictors of performance on a standard-
ized test of instrumental musical skill after accounting for the influence of
time spent in training. In addition, a follow-up study revealed that those stu-
dents who dropped out of musical instruction during the subsequent year
tended to feel less strongly about the value of practice during the initial sur-
vey. Although the author did not report the correlation between practice-
related values and actual practice time, other studies have addressed this issue
in detail. For instance, O’Neill (1999) reported a small but statistically signifi-
cant positive relationship between the subjective value (i.e., perceived impor-
tance) and the quantity of current practice among 60 adolescent instrumental
music students, but did not elaborate on the contents of that practice. In a
more detailed investigation, McPherson and McCormick (1999) found that
the degree of self-reported intrinsic value, described as both the importance
of doing well and the enjoyment of playing the instrument, was a modest but
statistically significant predictor of the frequency of formal practice (techni-
cal exercises and repertoire) and informal practice (improvising or playing for
fun) among 190 piano students. Further studies with the same sample re-
310 CHARNESS, TUFFIASH, JASTRZEMBSKI