ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4654-8392
Current Organisations
PEPsych (Performance Enhancement Psychology)
,
University of Melbourne
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Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 15-06-2020
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 11-2005
Publisher: Begell House
Date: 2020
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 13-05-2021
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of using a self-directed practice diary on conservatory pianists’ self-regulated learning tendencies. We sought to determine whether the implementation of a self-directed practice diary based on the three-phase model of self-regulated learning would lead students to gradually demonstrate more self-regulated learning tendencies across a semester of practicing, and if the type and quality of their self-regulated learning tendencies varied as a function of performance ability. A marked and consistent improvement in metacognitive monitoring skills was observed across the semester for all seven participants. Variations between lower and higher ability students were most pronounced in the Forethought stage, with higher ability pianists reporting fewer goals and strategies and higher self-motivational beliefs than their lower ability counterparts. In the Performance phase, higher ability students invested more effort in help seeking and structuring their practice environment, and lower ability students reported more self-instruction. In the Self-Reflection phase, higher ability pianists reported being more focused in the practice session. Suggestions for further refinement of the technique to improve musicians’ ability to master their learning and achieve their personal best are provided.
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20443569
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1177/20592043211022535
Abstract: Investigations of music in everyday life are dominated by a functional perspective, drawn from work using the theory of Uses and Gratifications. In so doing, we may have neglected to fully appreciate the value people place on music listening. Therefore, the present study considered if, and why, people value music listening and probed instances when they may not want to listen to music in everyday life. A s le of 319 university students residing in Australia (76.50% female, M age = 20.64) completed an online questionnaire, on which they were asked to provide short responses to open-ended questions directly addressing two research questions. Inductive thematic analysis yielded 13 themes synthesizing how participants valued listening to music, such as appreciation, emotion, time and engagement, cognitive factors, and mood regulation. Reasons for not listening to music were summarized by eight themes dominated by interference with activities that required focus or concentration, followed by environmental context, affective responses, music engagement and inversely, a preference for silence or other auditory stimuli. Fifteen percent of participants stated there was never a time they did not want to listen to music. The findings provide a novel perspective on the value of music listening beyond that considered by uses and gratifications with regard to the function of listening to music in everyday life.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-06-2023
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2023.1185296
Abstract: Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a common challenge for classical musicians, however its etiology has received minimal research, particularly in regards to caregiver experiences during childhood and adolescence. The aim of this research was to explore the impact of childhood experiences with parents along with patterns of dysfunctional cognitive schemas that develop through childhood ('Early Maladaptive Schemas' EMSs) on the manifestation and severity of MPA in adulthood. Study 1 employed 100 adult professional, amateur, and tertiary student classical musicians from across Australia. Participants completed the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI). Study 2 included eight participants from Study 1, five of whom scored 1.5 standard deviations or more above the mean K-MPAI score and three of whom scored 1.5 standard deviations or more below the mean K-MPAI score. Participants were interviewed about experiences of parenting during childhood and adolescence, along with their experiences of MPA and musical training. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore themes in the interview data. Study 1 factor analysis revealed four higher-order EMS factors, F (4, 95) = 13.74, p & 0.001, one of which was a significant predictor of MPA, t (99) = 3.06, p = 0.003. This factor comprised themes of failure, catastrophising, and incompetence/dependence. Study 2 qualitative analysis revealed various key parenting themes experienced in childhood that differentiated low- and high-MPA scorers in adulthood. Findings from both studies are discussed in light of clinical applications and interventions, and implications for both parents and music educators.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2007
DOI: 10.1177/10298649070110S204
Abstract: This study assessed the effectiveness of a combined in idual and group cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) program to reduce music performance anxiety (MPA) in adolescent musicians. Twenty-three adolescents with high MPA from a selective high school were randomly assigned to either a seven-session intervention program or a behaviour-exposure-only control group. The intervention consisted of psychoeducation, goal setting, cognitive restructuring, relaxation training and behavioural exposure in the form of two solo performances with audience. Outcome measures included self-reports of MPA, trait and state anxiety, diagnostic interview for social phobia, heart rate, frontalis EMG, and performance quality. Significant improvements in self-reported MPA were observed at posttest for adherent students only ( i.e., students who were actively engaged in the program and who adopted program techniques). Adherent students also had higher MPA at commencement. Non-adherent and behaviour-exposure-only students both showed reductions in MPA over the study period but not to the same degree as adherent students. There appeared to be no effect of CBT on performance quality.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2014
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20235912
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 27-08-2015
Abstract: This study extends an eight-country mapping exercise (McPherson & O’Neill, 2010 see Research Studies in Music Education issues 2010–2011) to include students’ motivation to study music within the Australian context. It sought to determine whether music learners (students learning an instrument or voice), might be more motivated to study academic subjects at school, and whether gender and socio-economic status (SES) affected student motivation to learn music at school. A total of 2,727 students from grades 5 to 12 completed a questionnaire based on Eccles and Wigfield’s expectancy-value framework. Data collected included: ratings of competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness and difficulty for music, English, maths, and science indications of whether the students were currently learning a musical instrument or voice (music learners) and whether they would like to if given the opportunity. There was an overall significant decline in competence beliefs, interest, importance, and usefulness across the school years, in contrast with increased task difficulty ratings across the school years. Music learners reported significantly higher competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness, and less task difficulty than non-music learners. This advantage applied across all school grades for music, competence beliefs for English in upper primary and lower secondary school grades, and for maths in lower secondary grades. Although females reported music as more important and useful than males, their competence beliefs and task difficulty ratings were equivalent. Music was considered slightly less interesting for females than for males. The value of music as a subject declined significantly for upper SES students from upper primary to lower secondary schools. The greatest number of participants (40.8%) who expressed a desire to learn a musical instrument came from the lower SES category in upper primary school. This is an important result in the Australian context, indicating that this may be a positive time to recruit learners. This study provides new information regarding the relationship between motivation and desire to learn a musical instrument across school grades, gender, and socio-economic factors.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 30-04-2018
Abstract: Typical musicians devote most of their time to blocks of physical practice and mistake-avoidance, as opposed to mental preparation, desirable difficulties, and strategies that strengthen self-efficacy and autonomy. For this reason, teachers try to steer students away from mindless drill and towards self-regulated learning strategies. Yet, both the scientific and pedagogical literature lack guidelines for developing musicians that are supported by empirical research. This exploratory study with 14 musicians was designed to capture what they planned to practice, as well as what they actually did in the practice room, in order to assess the level of repetition and innovation intended and carried out. A questionnaire captured the musician’s self-reported intentions (cognitions), behavior, and emotions during practice. The questionnaire accompanied a self-recorded video of a practice session of the participant’s choice. Evaluation of the questionnaire and videos provided evidence that participant’s own ratings of the effectiveness of their practice supported their belief in the importance of repetition. The evaluation scores of these students’ practice sessions by two independent raters, in contrast, indicated that varied strategies were more beneficial with regard to in idual progress than habitual repetition.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 26-10-2017
Abstract: This article describes the development of a music practice microanalysis protocol that is based on the three-phase model of self-regulated learning (i.e., Forethought, Performance, and Self-Reflection). Up until now, most studies on music practice have tended to focus on behavioural aspects. The expanded view presented here outlines a technique for mapping the types of behaviours (actions), cognition (thoughts), and affect (feelings) that can help focus musicians’ practice. To explain the technique, we describe the practice of two first year Bachelor of Music students studying at a prominent university music school who are compared at three time points across one semester as they prepare an étude for a performance exam. These case studies demonstrate two broadly contrasting self-regulated learning profiles of how microanalysis can be used to cue students to think about what they are doing and then reflect critically on the strategies they can use to improve their playing. As a technique, microanalysis can inform educational interventions aimed at breaking the cycle of habits that typify musical practice by encouraging musicians to become more behaviourally, metacognitively, and motivationally involved in their own learning.
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.26188/14813457.V1
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20280321
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1017/THG.2022.29
Abstract: The relationship between pitch-naming ability and childhood onset of music training is well established and thought to reflect both genetic predisposition and music training during a critical period. However, the importance of the amount of practice during this period has not been investigated. In a population s le of twins ( N = 1447, 39% male, 367 complete twin pairs) and a s le of 290 professional musicians (51% male), we investigated the role of genes, age of onset of playing music and accumulated childhood practice on pitch-naming ability. A significant correlation between pitch-naming scores for monozygotic ( r = .27, p .001) but not dizygotic twin pairs ( r = −.04, p = .63) supported the role of genetic factors. In professional musicians, the amount of practice accumulated between ages 6 and 11 predicted pitch-naming accuracy ( p = .025). In twins, age of onset was no longer a significant predictor once practice was considered. Combined, these findings are in line with the notion that pitch-naming ability is associated with both genetic factors and amount of early practice, rather than just age of onset per se. This may reflect a dose–response relation between practice and pitch-naming ability in genetically predisposed in iduals. Alternatively, children who excel at pitch-naming may have an increased tendency to practice.
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20443551.V1
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-10-2022
DOI: 10.1177/1321103X221123234
Abstract: Self-efficacy is a key factor in performance success, yet little is known about how music educators nurture students’ self-belief within studio and class music lessons. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of pedagogical priorities in the development of self-efficacy. The goal was to understand how teachers intuitively nurture students’ performance self-efficacy and determine the optimal means by which positive self-perceptions and subsequent musical achievement could be most effectively fostered within music environments. Australian music educators ( n = 304) responded to a questionnaire asking them to share their strategies for helping students cope with common performance scenarios (exam, first concert, negative experience, and sub-par performance) and key performance issues such as music performance anxiety and confidence. Qualitative analyses coded to the four self-efficacy sources revealed that teachers preferred to focus on mastery experiences and employ verbal persuasion. The development of vicarious experience or the psychological performance skills that would benefit physiological and affective states were given substantially lower priority. There were also some significant between-group findings in the way that studio and school classroom teachers employed verbal persuasion which may be a reflection of the different teaching environments. Efforts to enhance performance self-efficacy could focus on the less-utilized sources. Further recommendations and implications for music pedagogy are outlined.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2015
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-09-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0273828
Abstract: Musicians with absolute pitch (AP) can name the pitch of a musical note in isolation. Expression of this unusual ability is thought to be influenced by heritability, early music training and current practice. However, our understanding of factors shaping its expression is h ered by testing and scoring methods that treat AP as dichotomous. These fail to capture the observed variability in pitch-naming accuracy among reported AP possessors. The aim of this study was to trial a novel explicit priming paradigm to explore phenotypic variability of AP. Thirty-five musically experienced in iduals ( M age = 29 years, range 18–68 14 males) with varying AP ability completed a standard AP task and the explicit priming AP task. Results showed: 1) phenotypic variability of AP ability, including high-accuracy AP, heterogeneous intermediate performers, and chance-level performers 2) intermediate performance profiles that were either reliant on or independent of relative pitch strategies, as identified by the priming task and 3) the emergence of a bimodal distribution of AP performance when adopting scoring criteria that assign credit to semitone errors. These findings show the importance of methods in studying behavioural traits, and are a key step towards identifying AP phenotypes. Replication of our results in larger s les will further establish the usefulness of this priming paradigm in AP research.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-02-2022
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 29-05-2020
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-2008
Abstract: Aversive performance incidents play a role in the development of some anxiety disorders. The role of sensitizing experiences in the development of music performance anxiety (MPA) in adolescent music students has not yet been explored. Two-hundred-and-ninety-eight music students were asked to provide written descriptions of their worst performance, what happened and how they felt, specifying their age at the time, audience members, and any events that occurred subsequent to the performance. Descriptions were scored according to six domains: situational and behavioural factors, affective, cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety, and outcome. Scores were summed to provide a linear scale that was compared with self-reported MPA and standardized trait anxiety scores. MPA was best predicted by trait anxiety and gender. The presence of negative cognitions in the worst experience descriptions improved the prediction of MPA over trait anxiety and gender alone. None of the other factors added to the prediction. Females reported more emotional distress than males and had significantly higher total scores. These findings confirm patterns found in adult performers and across other forms of performance anxiety in children (e.g., test anxiety). This study highlights cognitions as an important element to address in the treatment of MPA in young musicians.
Publisher: University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw
Date: 2006
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date: 18-03-2022
DOI: 10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780190058869.013.11
Abstract: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a pervasive and frequently debilitating difficulty faced by many performers associated with negative impacts on performance quality, psychological distress, deteriorations in confidence, and, at its extreme, disengagement from performing. MPA typically begins early in a musical career and negatively affects performance achievement and career sustainability. Much of the research investigating the vulnerabilities and mechanisms associated with MPA has focused on biological characteristics such as age and gender psychological characteristics such as trait anxiety, social phobia, and perfectionism and associated factors such as gender, age, musical genre, and performance context. These factors have been identified as pertinent in predicting and coping with performance anxiety in musicians. This chapter reviews the characteristics and incidence of MPA, and provides a developmental model and treatment modalities, before ending with a summary of practical coping strategies to be used as starting points for musicians at any age or stage.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1016/J.JANXDIS.2004.09.002
Abstract: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a distressing experience for musicians of all ages, yet the empirical investigation of MPA in adolescents has received little attention to date. No measures specifically targeting MPA in adolescents have been empirically validated. This article presents findings of an initial study into the psychometric properties and validation of the Music Performance Anxiety Inventory for Adolescents (MPAI-A), a new self-report measure of MPA for this group. Data from 381 elite young musicians aged 12-19 years was used to investigate the factor structure, internal reliability, construct and ergent validity of the MPAI-A. Cronbach's alpha for the full measure was .91. Factor analysis identified three factors, which together accounted for 53% of the variance. Construct validity was demonstrated by significant positive relationships with social phobia (measured using the Social Phobia Anxiety Inventory [Beidel, D. C., Turner, S. M., & Morris, T. L. (1995). A new inventory to assess childhood social anxiety and phobia: The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children. Psychological Assessment, 7(1), 73-79 Beidel, D. C., Turner, S. M., & Morris, T. L. (1998). Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C). North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems Inc.]) and trait anxiety (measured using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory [Spielberger, C. D. (1983). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory STAI (Form Y). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.]). The MPAI-A demonstrated convergent validity by a moderate to strong positive correlation with an adult measure of MPA. Discriminant validity was established by a weaker positive relationship with depression, and no relationship with externalizing behavior problems. It is hoped that the MPAI-A, as the first empirically validated measure of adolescent musicians' performance anxiety, will enhance and promote phenomenological and treatment research in this area.
Publisher: Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education
Date: 18-11-2022
Abstract: Extended lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic severely ruptured the capacity of performing artists to connect with peers and colleagues in professional and educational contexts. In this study we test a protocol for the use of immersive performance technologies in tertiary institutions to provide developing and early career musicians to connect with pedagogues and access safe, realistic spaces within which to practice performing under varying degrees of pressure. We investigated the affordances of a VR environment to trigger performance anxiety, and the effectiveness of a synchronous digitally mediated environment for tertiary educators to train a key performance psychology skill. Heart rate, self-reported anxiety and confidence measurements were taken over four levels of situational stress and performance demands. Results revealed that the technology enabled a pre-performance routine to be effectively taught online by an instructor to a musician wearing a VR headset. Notably, this was achieved by both participants being in separate locations without detriment to the teacher-student relationship. This study provides encouraging insight into the capacity for immersive technologies to help students effectively manage the stresses of live performance in both virtual and real worlds.
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20280321.V3
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 03-03-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2002
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20443551
Publisher: International Journal of Wellbeing
Date: 16-12-2020
Publisher: University of Melbourne
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.26188/20280318
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 28-02-2018
Abstract: The way musicians appraise their abilities to succeed in a forthcoming evaluative performance impacts on the range of emotions they will experience. According to Lazarus’ cognitive-motivational-relational theory, emotions may wield powerful consequences depending on whether the performance is interpreted as a threat (high importance rimary appraisal low coping prospects/secondary appraisal), or challenge (high importance high coping prospects). Thirty-six Bachelor of Music students at a large University music school completed an adaptation of the Precompetitive Appraisal Measure (PAM) and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2R-D twice in relation to their end-of-semester recital: at the start of semester, and within an hour before their recital. Primary and secondary appraisals formed theoretically consistent and reliable evaluations of threat and challenge. Secondary appraisals were significantly lower for students who viewed the performance as a threat. Students who viewed the performance as a challenge reported significantly less cognitive anxiety and higher self-confidence. Findings indicate that the PAM is a brief and reliable measure of cognitive appraisals that trigger precompetitive emotions of anxiety and confidence which can be used to identify those performers who could benefit from pre-performance intervention strategies to manage performance stress.
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Date: 2022
Abstract: This cross-sectional study explored athlete responses to the Compassion Motivation and Action Scales Self-Compassion Scale, examining its relationship with well-being. Athlete ( N = 207 mean age 27.9 years) scores were consistent with previous population means. Scores on the Compassion Motivation and Action Scales Self-Compassion Scale did not differ between elite and nonelite athletes, nor did they correlate significantly with trait competitiveness. Significant differences emerged based on athlete well-being state, with athletes categorized as “flourishing” scoring higher on the total score and all subscales of the Compassion Motivation and Action Scales Self-Compassion Scale, as compared with those with “moderate mental health” (Cohen’s d s from 0.58 to 0.92). Furthermore, the distress tolerance subscale significantly mediated the relationship between self-compassion intentions and well-being (indirect path: B = 0.034, p .001). The results suggest that self-compassionate intentions are not enough, and athletes may need support to tolerate the distress that comes with moving toward one’s own suffering.
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.52305/LERQ4827
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-03-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-10-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S12671-022-01990-9
Abstract: Many athletes seek to embody a mindful state when competing. However, amidst competitive pressures and demands to perform at their best, athletes report similar or even higher levels of psychological distress than community norms. Despite the widespread use of mindfulness as a sport performance strategy, few studies have examined the mechanisms behind mindfulness, and the role egoic fixation plays, in athlete well-being. The current study aimed to explore the role of mindfulness and nonattachment-to-self (NTS) in athlete well-being and self-actualization. An online survey was administered to 223 athletes (53.8% men), predominantly from Australia and New Zealand. Two-thirds of the s le were elite athletes. We used structural equation modeling to test a hypothesized model whereby NTS mediates the relationship between mindfulness and both well-being and self-actualization. We also tested an alternative model that positioned mindfulness as the mediator between NTS as the predictor, and well-being and self-actualisation as outcomes. Both models exhibited similar fit to the data, although the alternative model displayed slightly better fit than the hypothesized model. Partial mediation was found for the hypothesized and alternative models, highlighting both as plausible pathways. Interestingly, NTS was found to exhibit a stronger effect on well-being and self-actualization than mindfulness, suggesting it may play a central role in athlete well-being. The findings highlight the need for researchers to consider mindfulness and NTS in tandem, acknowledging the role that egoic fixation plays in athlete mental health—especially when designing mindful-based interventions for athletes.
No related grants have been discovered for Margaret Osborne.