Are Musical Emotions Invariant Across Cultures?

Cross-cultural studies of music and emotion are needed to assess the generalizability of results and also have important implications for theory development. However, progress requires that the domain is broken down into smaller constituents based on key distinctions. For example, a multilevel theory of emotion-causation implies that the relative contributions made by culture and biology differ depending on the underlying mechanism involved, which precludes general conclusions. Such an account of emotions to music might be cross-culturally valid at the level of mechanisms even if there is cross-cultural diversity in musical surface features and aroused emotions. An analysis in terms of psychological mechanisms can provide the necessary bridge between biological and social-constructionist perspectives on musical emotions.