Music Preferences Linked to Personality: Study

Yahoo ^ | June 7th 2003 | Natalie Engler

[CanadianFella]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The music you listen to may say more about you than you think, according to new research findings that suggest that our choice in music reflects our personalities.

Do you enjoy blues, jazz, classical and folk music? You may be intelligent, tolerant and politically liberal, researchers report.

Meanwhile, country and religious music fans tend to be cheerful, outgoing, reliable and conventional, while alternative and heavy metal music lovers tend to be physically active, curious risk-takers.

As for rap/hip-hop and dance music fans? They are often outgoing, agreeable people who generally eschew conservative ideals, according to a report in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (news - web sites).

The findings help explain why people who meet at parties often ask one another about their favorite music or bands, study author Dr. Peter J. Rentfrow told Reuters Health. "It assumes that knowing the answer tells you something about who they are" and whether or not to pursue a relationship, added Rentfrow, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin.

The results, noted Rentfrow, could have implications for not just dating and friendships, but for marketing, too. Already advertisers use music to entice certain types of people to buy their products.

"We might come up with typologies comprised of music preferences, socioeconomic status, and age," he told Reuters Health.

Online merchant Amazon.com, among other Web sites, tracks customers' purchasing history and browsing patterns and compares their habits with those of others in order to come up with product recommendations. While the company chose not to disclose data indicating the success of this approach, a spokesperson told Reuters Health that it is "well suited to music, where tastes don't change much over time."

Common sense? Perhaps. On the other hand, said Rentfrow, the study may reveal insights into "the mundane."

"Sometimes the most obvious things are hardest for researchers to see," he told Reuters Health. "That's why there's so little research on music preferences and personality. Because it's something we take for granted."

To look at the relationship between music preferences and personality traits, Rentfrow and Texas colleague Dr. Samuel D. Gosling conducted six studies on over 3,500 students. They examined the students' beliefs about music, their music preferences, self-perceptions and cognitive abilities.

Their findings suggest that personality, self-perception and cognitive ability each play a role in the "formation and maintenance of music preferences," they write.

SOURCE: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003;84:1236-1254.

[Pro-Bush]

Heck yeah- I'm listening to Saint Anger right now!

How do you like it? I haven't got it yet.

[iopscusa]

Hope I never get stuck in a Bomb Shelter with anyone else's "Musica", most music mentioned in this thread is little more than mind-numbing noise, IMHO of course.

[Fish_Keeper]

What is the personality type for classic rock? I can still get into Led Zep, Skynryd, Allman Bros, ZZ Top, Dire Straits and older Aerosmith to name a few. FM pop radio today is terrible IMO, the only one I like is Eminem. (At least his stuff they play on the radio since I don't buy his albums.) Not that I'm a big rap fan, his music just kinda grew on me after a while.

[majordivit]

I enjoy blues, classical, jazzz, folk and opera...but i am not politically liberal. I am a rabid right winger. Conservatives listen to jazz, folk and classical music. This article is designed to praise liberals as the people most likely to appreciate the most advanced types of music.

Who do these people think listens to rap noise or acid rock if not people on the political left?

[SamAdams76]

I like country (especially bluegrass and the older stuff), blues, most rock, a little jazz, and 1970s pop (which is very similar to country music today). I am a big classical music fan but mostly of the "Big 3" (Beethoven, Bach, Mozart) and music from the Baroque and Renaissance period (i.e. Vivaldi; Monteverdi; polyphonic Gregorian Chants).

I can listen to this stuff all at once. I can segue from one of Bach's cantatas to Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffitti" to Hank Williams effortlessly. Drives my wife nuts.

But I hate what passes for todays "pop" music and rap. Except maybe the Beastie Boys. That music is fun...if you are in the right mood.

[chasio649]

hmmm...you sound a lot like me...throw in Sade, ACDC and Steely Dan also.

[RandallFlagg]

Not bad. I was hoping for the rhythm guitars to be a bit louder, though.

Lars hits that snare drum WAY too much.

[Misterioso]

What people find attractive in "music" is in the ear of the beholder. A lot of what is called popular music is just lyrics put to catchy sounds. Most of today's pop sounds are basically interchangeable, I feel, with only an occasional memorable melody. Post-modernism has robbed our kids of the joy of music and this can be laid at the door of twentieth century classical composers. But romanticism is making a comeback evidenced by the success of singers like Norah Jones and Diana Krall and the expanding market of budget classical CDs re-releasing the classics like Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. And, as a jazz fan, it is heartening to see the resurgence of the sounds of swing amongst the younger set.

[Hawkeye's Girl]

I think it's awesome. Really heavy, loud, and brutal. Not what I was expecting, and that's fine with me. I'd say that it's the music of Metallica through Justice with the lyrics and voice of the Black Album onward. Damn good, and I'll definately be wearing out this CD. Kings of metal, baby.

I'd say buy it for yourself and see what you think after you listen to it. The online reviews aren't all that helpful because the positive ones are usually just one sentence stuff like "Metallica rules!" while the negative ones are dissertations venting about whatever their personal issue is with the band (James can't sing/write, there's no Kirk, Lars is a moron, etc.) But they are hilarious to read, especially when people complain about opposite things (it's not loud enough/it's too loud) in concurrent posts.

[metesky]

Eminem?

That's it, you're out of the club!

Just teasing...

[Hawkeye's Girl]

Lars hits that snare drum WAY too much.

You're not the only one with that complaint (from Yahoo):

"For Whom The Snare Tolls"
"Lars sounds like he's banging an annoying trash can throughout the disc"
"I don't know what brand of drums Lars used, but it sounds very clangy, noisy, and just plain stinks."
"Lars sounds like he's banging on metal kitchenware."
"Is Lars playing a toy drum kit?"

I liked it myself; it's distinctive.

[dennisw]

Personally I go for hard rock/acid rock played at a decibel ......

Blue Cheer anyone? I actually saw these doofs live. Am I dating myself or what?

[tdadams]

I'd post my CD list, but nobody would believe it. Currently, I'm big into Damien Rice and classic rock. Next week it could be back to Slayer, Queen, or John Coltrane.

[Vinnie]

I'm a soft jazz,soft rock, classical, new age kinda guy.

I do think music preferences do reflect personality.

For instance... rap

Fascinated by shiny objects.

[FreedomPoster]

>>I adore HARD, electric rock and I loose at least a few brain cells every time I listen to my CD's.

Go get the new Zeppelin DVD set. It's great.

I haven't listened to the CD's yet, haven't been in the car much, just loaded all 3 into the changer magazine.

Got a great package deal, CD set + DVD set for $32. I think it's over, though.

[BSunday]

It probably says they need to grow up. ;) sorry couldn't resist.

[TAIPAN22001]

Thank you (my thoughts exactly)!

[CompGeek]

The DVD sounds alot better

[OpusatFR]

I'm a Verdi, Shostakavitch, Dead, Blue Grass...

I love how these stupid studies attempt to pigeonhold people.

[geege]

You sound just as "confused" as me.....I love Rainbow, Scorpions and Judas Priest but will never give up my Donna Summer and Push Push in the Bush disco albums and feel when there's drink in hand I should be listening to Herb Albert and Count Basie?????????