Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe Musician’s Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (MAAQ): A New Tool for Measuring Psychological Flexibility as it relates to Music Performance Anxiety in Student and Professional Singers(The Voice Foundation, 2023)Singers in all genres, and at all levels of study struggle with Music Performance Anxiety (MPA). MPA can manifest behaviorally as avoidance of auditions and other high-stakes performances, avoidance of practice, the inability to experience flow while practicing/performing, and it also correlates with maladaptive perfectionism. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a mindfulness and acceptance-based intervention, teaches that if singers remain “psychologically flexible” in the presence of MPA, we may cope with it more effectively. These findings are relevant to voice professionals because ACT coaching can ethically be administered within the lesson by voice teachers/vocal coaches to help singers cope better with MPA and related challenges. This study is the first to measure levels of psychological flexibility in both student and professional musicians. It tested a new musician-specific questionnaire, the Musician’s Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (MAAQ), adapted from the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - Version II (AAQ-II). Students were recruited from an Australian conservatory and a School of Music within a private liberal arts university in the Midwestern United States. Professional participants included an international sample of musicians in all genres/instruments. Participants filled out the AAQII, the MAAQ, the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), the revised Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (KMPAI-R), short measures of flow within performance and practice (SDFS-2), and they answered questions about their performance and practice-related behaviors. The MAAQ was successfully constructed and showed good reliability and invariance of its factor structure and good convergent/divergent validity with established questionnaires. It outperformed the AAQ-II as a predictor of important outcomes in music performance and practice. In the student samples, the MAAQ better predicted avoidant behavior in one’s practice and in performances, flow states in practice and performances, and grades on a recent, adjudicated music exam. In the professional sample, the MAAQ better predicted performance-related avoidance and whether one competes in professional music competitions after completing their education. Despite the small samples, these results offer preliminary support for the MAAQ’s utility in measuring and predicting problematic behaviors associated with MPA.
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Item‘It’s not so scary anymore. It’s actually exhilarating’: A proof-of-concept study using virtual reality technology for music performance training under pressure(ASCILITE Publications, 2022-11-18)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.
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ItemAssessing Psychological Flexibility with the Musician's Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (MAAQ).(ACBS, 2022-06-14)Performance anxiety, low motivation to practice, psychological distress, perfectionism, and having to endure adjudicated exams/auditions, are some of many stressors facing university musicians across the world. Existing research suggests that remaining psychologically flexible might enable students to cope more effectively with these challenges (Juncos et al., 2017). However, no specific measures of psychological flexibility (PF) exist for them yet, aside from general PF measures, i.e., AAQ-II (Bond et al., 2011). This study aimed to validate a self-report measure of PF for student musicians (Musician’s Acceptance and Action Questionnaire), and to determine its ability to predict outcomes of interest within their performances and practice, in particular, scores on an adjudicated music exam, avoidance of performances/practice, and a history of psychotherapy/medication due to music performance, e.g., treating performance anxiety. Two samples of university musicians were recruited from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Nf64) and Butler University (Nf64). Students completed a pilot version of the MAAQ, along with measures of PF, music performance anxiety, perfectionism and flow. Demographic information about their training experiences were collected, and they were asked about a history of avoidance within their performances and practice. Results of analyses to determine the MAAQ's factor structure, internal consistency, and construct/discriminant validity will be reported. Also, the results of analyses to determine its incremental predictive validity when compared to the AAQ-II in predicting outcomes of interest for university musicians will be reported. The MAAQ's psychometric properties and overall ability to measure PF within music performance and practice settings will be discussed.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEthical considerations for sustainable music training using VR technology: a case study of performance anxiety.( 2022-04-08)Presentation given at the 2022 Teaching Music Online in Higher Education (TMOHE) and Music, Education and Technology (MET) online international conference. INTRODUCTION Simulation training is used to develop performance skills in various disciplines, particularly where in-situ training is either impossible or unsafe to implement (Renganayagalu et al., 2021). Such training enables learners to acclimatise to real-life stressors and anxiety-inducing scenarios in a physically and/or psychologically safe environments, to protect against performance decrements which reveal themselves in high pressure contexts rather than low-stress practice sessions. BACKGROUND Recent work using immersive virtual reality (VR) provides preliminary evidence of the capacity of this technology to evoke music performance anxiety (Fadeev et al., 2020; Fanger et al., 2020). In this study, we explore the capacity of VR to assist music students to develop technical and psychological competence to perform at their best under pressure implemented within tertiary music institution settings. METHOD Richie’s Plank Experience (Toast VR, 2016) was used to approximate the physiological symptoms of high-stress performance in a single case pilot study with a highly trained violinist. Prior to exposure, a performance psychologist taught the participant a pre-performance routine with demonstrated utility in musicians (Osborne et al., 2014). The psychologist subsequently guided the participant remotely through the routine via Zoom, whilst the participant was immersed in the VR environment. Heart rate, subjective units of distress, and confidence measurements were taken across five levels of exposure which varied the integration of instrument and intervention. FINDINGS The plank task induced a notable stress response. Additionally, the musician was receptive to pre-performance routine instructions to downregulate their stress response. This created a performance focus when in the VR environment, demonstrated by decreased anxiety and increased confidence ratings across performance tasks. IMPLICATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS We provide preliminary evidence for the capacity of immersive VR to induce the situational stress required to trigger a cascade of physical and psychological responses. The benefits of this technology need to be considered alongside areas such as privacy, storage, access, and accessibility
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ItemWindows to wellbeing: Insights from music performance science(ISPS, 2021-10-30)The emotional life of performers is complex. To perform with freedom, spontaneity, and creativity, they must be prepared to take risks and ‘feel the fear’, but they must also find ways to manage their fear so they can be physically and mentally capable of expressing themselves freely and creatively. A nuanced approach is needed to help performers navigate this territory. Applying interventions to enhance performance requires us to be cognisant to the performer’s stage of development and performance ambitions. These are situated within a myriad of biopsychosocial factors and educational and occupational demands that collectively influence musicians’ health across their lifespan. In this talk I draw from clinical, research and teaching practice to discuss windows to psychological wellbeing - tried and tested approaches to performance anxiety management. My explanation explores basic psychological needs, self-regulated learning principles, performance routines for emotional regulation, and psychological flexibility. Strategies will be suggested for musicians to implement in their performance practice. Reference: Osborne, M.S. (2021, 27-30 October). Windows to wellbeing: Insights from music performance science. Keynote presented at the International Symposium of Performance Science on “Performance Health and Wellbeing”, Montréal, Canada.