Indifference to dissonance in native Amazonians reveals cultural variation in music perception

Authors: Josh H. McDermott et al. (2016)

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27409816/
 

Background Information:

Human beings across the world engage with music, and many Western listeners find certain combinations of musical notes—known as consonant intervals—pleasant, while dissonant combinations are often perceived as jarring. This preference has historically been assumed to reflect universal, perhaps biological, principles of auditory processing. However, this paper challenges that view by exploring how individuals from vastly different cultural backgrounds respond to consonance and dissonance. Before diving into the findings, it's useful to understand that consonance and dissonance are subjective qualities linked to how sound waves interact.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Psychology_of_music_preference

Purpose of the Study:

The authors conducted their research to investigate whether the preference for consonant musical intervals is a universal human trait or one that depends on cultural experience. Specifically, they sought to test whether people with little or no exposure to Western music still preferred consonant sounds. If the preference were truly innate, then all human groups—regardless of cultural background—should display similar preferences. If it were learned, then individuals with less exposure to harmonic music should exhibit different perceptual judgments.

Methods and Data Analysis:

To test this hypothesis, the researchers compared four groups with varying levels of exposure to Western musical traditions: members of the Tsimane’ tribe in the Bolivian Amazon (with minimal or no exposure), rural Bolivians, urban Bolivians, and American participants (both musicians and non-musicians). Participants were asked to listen to pairs of sounds, including consonant and dissonant chords, harmonic and inharmonic tones, and emotional vocalizations such as laughter and gasps. They were instructed to rate which sound in each pair was more pleasant. The researchers also included control tasks to ensure participants could distinguish acoustic differences unrelated to musical training, such as roughness and timbre.

Key Findings and Conclusions:

American participants—especially those with musical training—showed a strong preference for consonant intervals. Urban and rural Bolivians also showed a mild preference, though weaker than their American counterparts. However, the Tsimane’ participants displayed no significant preference between consonant and dissonant sounds. Importantly, the Tsimane’ were still able to distinguish differences in pitch, roughness, and emotional vocalizations, indicating that their auditory perception was intact. This suggests that the indifference to consonance was not due to a deficit in hearing or task comprehension, but rather reflected a genuine difference in aesthetic judgment shaped by cultural exposure.

Applications & Limitations:

These findings suggest that preferences for consonance are not biologically hardwired but instead develop through exposure to specific musical traditions. This conclusion has broad implications for our understanding of how culture shapes sensory experience. It also opens avenues for future research into how different musical systems across the world affect perception, emotion, and cognition. However, the study has limitations: it focused on a single indigenous group and was cross-sectional in design, which means it cannot determine how preferences might evolve over time with increased exposure to harmonic music. Additionally, although the Tsimane’ had limited contact with Western culture, they were not entirely isolated, raising the possibility of minimal indirect exposure. This study provides compelling evidence that our musical preferences may be more flexible and experience-dependent than previously thought.