Hargreaves' ``open-earedness'': A critical discussion and new approach on the concept of musical tolerance and curiosity

Abstract

This study offers a critical discussion of the term open-earedness, which David Hargreaves introduced in 1982. Despite the lack of an exact definition, the term has been used as a theoretical basis for numerous studies in recent years. We show that such an ambiguous term might lead to conceptual and methodological inconsistencies in scientific contexts, which in turn calls into question the validity of any results that have been published as a result. Therefore, based on the semantic discussion of recent circumscriptions of open-earedness as musical tolerance and curiosity, we develop a consistent definition and methodological operationalization, and propose the Osnabruck Open-Earedness Index (OOI) as a measure of open-earedness. Lastly, we introduce a few basic empirical findings based on this new approach.