Musical Tastes and Personality

By Jennifer Copley (Last Updated 8 May 2011)

There haven't been many studies conducted into the intersection of musical preference and personality, as most research in the field has focused on how music (particularly heavy metal and rap) may influence behaviour (see the Heavy Metal and Rap Music pages for more information on this). However, there has been some fascinating research conducted in recent years linking musical tastes to certain personality traits, which I've summarized below. These are, of course, only tendencies. Although the average fan of a particular genre may be more or less likely to have certain traits, there will always be plenty of individuals who don't fit the prototype.

The Link Between Music Preference and Personality

An ongoing study undertaken by Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University (2008), the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, has generated a number of interesting findings regarding personality traits and musical preferences. The following table indicates which traits have been associated with preference for each music genre. Some of the findings run contrary to traditional stereotypes. For example, heavy metal fans are more inclined to be gentle and at ease, and dance music fans are more aggressive, on average.

Blues	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Bollywood	Creative/Outgoing
Chart Pop	Gentle/Hardworking/High Self-Esteem/Not at Ease/Not Creative/Outgoing
Classical Music	At Ease/Creative/High Self-Esteem/Not Outgoing
Country/Western	Hardworking/Outgoing
Dance	Creative/Not Gentle/Outgoing
Disco	Gentle/Hardworking/High Self-Esteem/Not Creative/Outgoing
Easy Listening	At Ease/Not Creative/Gentle/Hardworking/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Funk	At Ease/Creative/High Self-Esteem/Not Hardworking/Outgoing
Heavy Metal	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/Low Self-Esteem/Not Hardworking/Not Outgoing
Indian Folk	Creative/Gentle/Low Self-Esteem/Not Hardworking
Indie	Creative/Low Self-Esteem/Not Gentle/Not Hardworking
Jazz	At Ease/Creative/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Latino	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/Hardworking/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Marching/Military	At Ease/High Self-Esteem/Not Gentle/Not Outgoing
Opera	Creative/Gentle/High Self-Esteem
Rap	High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Reggae	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/High Self-Esteem/Not Hardworking/Outgoing
Rock	At Ease/Creative/High Self-Esteem/Hardworking/Not Gentle
Samba	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Soul	At Ease/Creative/Gentle/High Self-Esteem/Outgoing
Swing	At Ease/Creative/High Self-Esteem

 

Personality Dimensions Associated with Music Choice

Research undertaken by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) also found links between a number of personality dimensions and musical preferences. It's important to note that because intelligence and physical attractiveness scores come from self-ratings by subjects, they may provide more information about a subject's self-esteem than the way in which he or she is perceived by others. Also worth noting is that emotional stability was not linked with music preference, and contrary to popular belief, fans of intense and rebellious music were not more likely to be more disagreeable or neurotic than fans of other music genres.

*"Openness to Experience" is a personality trait that encompasses a love of variety, aesthetic sensitivity, imaginativeness, and intellectual curiosity.

Reflective and Complex	Blues Jazz Classical Folk	Emotionally Stable Open to Experience Not Socially Dominant Politically Liberal Non-Athletic Intelligent High Verbal Intelligence Imaginative Tolerant
Intense and Rebellious	Rock Alternative Heavy Metal	Open to Experience Risk-Taking Athletic/Active Intelligent High Verbal Intelligence
Upbeat and Conventional	Country Sound Tracks Religious Pop	Extroverted Agreeable Conscientious Conservative Self-Rated as Physically Attractive Athletic Not Open to New Experiences Not Socially Dominant Low Verbal Intelligence Conventional Cheerful Reliable Helpful
Energetic and Rhythmic	Rap/Hip-Hop Soul/Funk Dance/ Electronica	Extroverted Agreeable Talkative Politically Liberal Athletic Attractive Not Socially Dominant Energetic Forgiving

For more music psychology articles, visit the Music Psychology page. For a list of all psychology articles, visit the Psychology page.

	References: Heriot-Watt Univerisity. (2008). "Music Preferences Link to Personality - Press Release." Scribd.com. Rentfrow, P.J., & Gosling, S.D. (2003). "The Do Re Mi's of Everyday Life: The Structure and Personality Correlates of Music Preferences." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1,236–1,256.