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Listening to Latino or bopping along to some Indie Rock in your spare time,may say more about you than the student gap year you spent in SouthAmerica or the long summers spent singing along at rain soaked festivals.A researcher from Heriot-Watt University has found that strong personalityattributes are linked to our choices in music, with classical lovers more likelyto have strong self-esteem and creative tendencies and dance fans beingoutgoing without being very gentle.Prof Adrian North, who conducted the study, said the findings were veryrevealing and that our musical tastes can be seen as a direct reflection of our characters. “Researchers have been showing for decades that fans or rockand rap are rebellious, and that fans of opera are wealthy and well-educated,but this is the first time that research has shown that personality links to likingfor a wide range of musical styles. We asked people to rate how much theyliked 104 musical styles, before then completing a personality test. 36518people from all around the world took part, and the research is by far thelargest study of musical preference and personality ever undertaken.”“Jazz and classical music fans are creative and have good self-esteem, butthe former are much more outgoing whereas the latter are shy. Country andwestern fans are hardworking and shy, whereas rap fans are outgoing. Indiefans lack self-esteem, and aren’t terribly gentle people, but are at leastcreative. Contrary to the stereotype, heavy metal fans are gentle and at easewith themselves. Unsurprisingly, Magik Markers fans are questionablecharacters.”“People often define their sense of identity through their musical taste,wearing particular clothes, going to certain pubs, and using certain types of slang. It’s not so surprising that personality should also be related to musicalpreference.”The researchers also found that your personality and lifestyle said a lot aboutthe kind of emotional reactions to music that you have. If listeners preferred
exciting, punchy music they were more likely to be on a higher earningbracket with those opting for relaxing sounds more inclined to be lower downthe pay scale.Prof North is continuing his research, and needs as many people as possiblefrom anywhere in the world to visitwww.peopleintomusic.com,where they will
be asked to spend five minutes completing a short questionnaire.Prof North’s new book,
The Social and Applied Psychology of Music
, waspublished earlier this year by Oxford University Press.Notes to Editors:Adrian North is Professor of Psychology and head of the Department of Applied Psychology at Heriot Watt University, situated in Edinburgh, UnitedKingdom. Tel: +44 (0)131 451 8239 / +44 (0)7811 121950. Email:a.north@hw.ac.uk. Web: http://www.psychology.hw.ac.uk/staff.phpThe following table details links between personality and some prevalentmusical styles. An ‘↑’ means that people who like the musical style scorehigher on this aspect of personality, and an ‘↓’ means that people who like themusical style score lower on this aspect of personality. If a cell is empty thenthere is no relationshipSelf-esteemCreativeHardworkin
gOutgoingGentleAt easeBollywood↑↑Indian folk↓↑↓↑Latino↑↑↑↑↑↑Samba↑↑↑↑↑Blues↑↑↑↑Funk↑↑↓↑↑Jazz↑↑↑↑Classical music↑↑↓↑Opera↑↑↑Easy listening↑↓↑↑↑↑Country & western↑↑Rap↑↑Reggae↑↑↓↑↑↑
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