Study Links Music and Personality

Written by Eric Olsen
Published June 08, 2003

The kind of music you like may be related to your personality:

    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

    ....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. [Reuters]

My first reaction to this information is the personality traits are so broad it sounds like astrology. Second - don't any stupid, sluggish, sullen, antisocial asswipes listen to music? Guess not.

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Study Links Music and Personality
Published: June 08, 2003
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Section: Music
Filed Under: Music: News
Writer: Eric Olsen
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#1 — June 8, 2003 @ 17:44PM — Tim Hall [URL]

. Second - don't any stupid, sluggish, sullen, antisocial asswipes listen to music?

Sounds like a typical Marilyn Manson fan to me. (Flashes back to some particularly annoying individuals from the CompuServe Rocknet forum a few years back)

#2 — February 2, 2008 @ 14:13PM — Rajdeep

i love heavy metal.i can be a risk taker but im not really psycically active
i'm also antisocial some times

#3 — April 11, 2008 @ 19:29PM — Shanice


I do agreee that these generalizations are too vague and broad to target specific personality traits, however most genres tend to focus along a particular style or rythym that can be deciphered onced observed and studies. Further research into favourite bands can also provide a deeper insight to the personality of someone.. just a thought

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