Character strengths in Spanish music students: An exploratory study

Abstract

The factors in the choice of musical instruments and how it influences and modifies the personality of the musicians are a common theme in research. However, less attention has been given to the formative effect of music on the character of music students, whose long-term commitment to acquiring professional competences as performers, teachers, conductors or composers can be examined using the research on Positive Psychology, which is mainly concerned with furthering people’s psychological wellbeing. This paper profiles the virtues and character strengths of a sample of eighty Spanish students completing bachelor’s degrees in music during the academic year 2016-2017, using the VIA Inventory of Strengths –free version (VIA-IS) (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) to analyse the respondents’ key strengths. The survey showed high scores in judgment and lower scores in self-regulation. The results were contrasted with samples of students in bachelor’s degrees in the social sciences.