ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Performance Science
Mitigating Fear: The Role of Embodied Music Cognition and Emotional Intelligence in Performance Anxiety and Engagement of Chinese Elementary Students
Xu Wei 1
Felix Kalman 2
1. Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
2. Far Eastern State Academy of Arts, Vladivostok, Russia
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Abstract
Students' music engagement (SME) is essential for musical development, motivation, and academic success. However, psychological factors such as Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) —a state of apprehension and physiological arousal that can interfere with musical performance— may negatively affect engagement, particularly among young learners in structured educational settings. This study examines the direct effect of MPA on SME, the mediating role of Emotional Intelligence (EI), and the moderating influence of Embodied Music Cognition (EMC) in a sample of 1,015 Chinese students aged 10 to 12. Using a moderated mediation model (PROCESS macro, Model 15; Hayes, 2022), results indicate that MPA significantly reduces SME. However, EI partially mediates this relationship, suggesting that students with higher emotional intelligence experience less performance anxiety and maintain higher engagement. Additionally, EMC moderates the direct and indirect effects of MPA on SME, demonstrating that students who integrate bodily and sensory awareness in their musical experience are more resilient to performance-related anxiety. These findings deepen our understanding of how emotional and embodied processes jointly shape children's engagement with music, pointing to new avenues for educational strategies that cultivate emotional intelligence and bodily awareness to strengthen resilience and enjoyment in musical learning.
Summary
Keywords
music performance anxiety, Students' Music Engagement, Emotional Intelligence, embodied music cognition, moderated mediation, music education, Chinese Primary Students
Received
13 March 2025
Accepted
08 December 2025
Copyright
© 2025 Wei and Kalman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Xu Wei
Disclaimer
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