Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research

This article provides a summary and critical review of the experimental perceptual studies within music psychology which have investigated the effect of evaluators’ perceived race of performers and the interaction with evaluators’ race on performance evaluations. With racial inequities continuing to...

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Main Author: Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-05-01
Series:Music & Science
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043251341705
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author Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
author_facet Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
author_sort Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
collection DOAJ
description This article provides a summary and critical review of the experimental perceptual studies within music psychology which have investigated the effect of evaluators’ perceived race of performers and the interaction with evaluators’ race on performance evaluations. With racial inequities continuing to be a major issue within historically-European classical music performance, controlled experimental studies can provide an important source of empirical data on which to base productive interventions. This article identifies a number of issues in the existing research which could benefit from future interdisciplinary collaboration. These include the need to define and control for racialized characteristics of performance variables, the need for further consideration of potential racial bias in evaluative frameworks and concepts, the need to address the racialization of research subjects and participants, and the need to avoid reaffirming harmful stereotypes through study designs and unsupported conjectures.
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spelling doaj-art-d8bc2ad025b8427d90b59d9fdba5d5602025-08-20T02:32:30ZengSAGE PublishingMusic & Science2059-20432025-05-01810.1177/20592043251341705Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation ResearchCayenna Ponchione-BaileyThis article provides a summary and critical review of the experimental perceptual studies within music psychology which have investigated the effect of evaluators’ perceived race of performers and the interaction with evaluators’ race on performance evaluations. With racial inequities continuing to be a major issue within historically-European classical music performance, controlled experimental studies can provide an important source of empirical data on which to base productive interventions. This article identifies a number of issues in the existing research which could benefit from future interdisciplinary collaboration. These include the need to define and control for racialized characteristics of performance variables, the need for further consideration of potential racial bias in evaluative frameworks and concepts, the need to address the racialization of research subjects and participants, and the need to avoid reaffirming harmful stereotypes through study designs and unsupported conjectures.https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043251341705
spellingShingle Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
Music & Science
title Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
title_full Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
title_fullStr Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
title_full_unstemmed Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
title_short Discrimination in Evaluation: A Call for Greater Attention to Issues of Racial Discrimination in Experimental Musical Performance Evaluation Research
title_sort discrimination in evaluation a call for greater attention to issues of racial discrimination in experimental musical performance evaluation research
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043251341705
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