Aesthetic Evaluation of Musical Work: An Experimental Study on the Role of Framing of Hearing Status, Music Type, and Willingness to Support

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the extent to which musicians’ hearing status influences the audience’s evaluations of both the music and the musician. Building on the literature on creativity, aesthetic experiences, and attribution theories, the current study proposes four hypotheses regarding the relationships among the framing of hearing status, music type, and consequential audience support, as well as the mechanisms underlying these relationships. To test the predictions, this study employed a 2 × 3 between-subjects factorial design (classical vs. electronic music and deaf vs. partially deaf vs. no hearing difficulties) in an online experiment. The primary analyses of the full sample (N=189), supplemented by sensitivity analyses using the manipulation-check-pass sample (N=143), revealed no statistically significant differences in perceived musical creativity across hearing-status framings. Moreover, classical music tended to be evaluated as more creative and meaningful than electronic music did regardless of the musician’s hearing status. The results suggest that audience judgments were shaped more strongly by music type than by the musician’s disability background, further suggesting limited evidence for the role of disability-related sympathy in aesthetic judgment. The theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.