Article

Psychology of Music
40(4) 411–428
Toward a better © The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0305735610388897
relation between music pom.sagepub.com

preference, listening
behavior, and personality

Peter Gregory Dunn

Philips Research & University of Technology Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Boris de Ruyter
Philips Research, the Netherlands

Don G. Bouwhuis
University of Technology Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Abstract
Previous research relating personality and music preferences has often measured such reported
preferences according to genre labels. To support previous research, the current paper has
expanded investigation of the relation between personality and music preferences to include direct
measurement of music listening behavior. A study (N = 395) measured participants’ personality,
reported music preferences, and their listening behavior, which was tracked while using a music
database for a minimum period of three months. Results indicated that reported music preferences
were correlated to listening behavior, and indicated robust positive relations between Neuroticism and
Classical music preference, and between Openness to Experience and Jazz music preference. Results
also indicated issues when using genre labels to measure music preferences, which are discussed.

Keywords
Big Five, genre, listening behavior, music preferences, personal preferences, personality

Numerous factors are involved when an individual selects a particular song, album, or genre of
music to be played (Levitin, 2006). Arguably, these factors include, but are not limited to: emo-
tions, personal experience, social context, and culture. Nonetheless, Levitin has stated that per-
sonality has a predictive influence over individuals’ music preferences. Levitin’s statement is

Corresponding author:
Peter Gregory Dunn, Flow Interactive, 90–98 Goswell Road, London, EC1V 7DF, UK.
Email: peter.gregory.dunn@gmail.com
412 Psychology of Music 40(4)

mainly grounded in research that has related personality and music preferences (e.g., Arnett,
1992; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Zweigenhaft, 2008). Further support, however, has come
from research indicating that individuals see music preferences as strong indicators of person-
ality characteristics (e.g., North & Hargreaves, 1999; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006). North and
Hargreaves have gone so far as to call music preferences a badge of identity, which individuals
use as an indicator of their personality and help define the social groups that they attach them-
selves to. Thus, there is a clear relation between personality and music preferences, but so far
the vast majority of research that has investigated this relation has focused on using reported
music genre preferences as its dependent variable. The current paper aims to support and build
on previous research by incorporating individuals’ listening behavior to record music prefer-
ences, which can then be related to both reported music preferences and personality.

Music preferences and personality

Prior to 2003, there had been several attempts made by researchers to develop their own meas-
ure of music preferences or analyze the structure of music preferences (e.g., Cattell & Anderson,
1953; Litle & Zuckerman, 1986; Rawlings, Barrantes i Vidal, & Furnham, 2000; Rawlings,
Hodge, Sherr, & Dempsey, 1995). Still, none of these studies had made a concerted effort to
produce a comprehensive measure of music preferences based on rigorous testing of a music
preference model over a series of studies. Motivated to create such a measure, Rentfrow and
Gosling (2003) developed their own four-factor model of music preferences, which was then
related to personality and other characteristics (e.g., self-views, cognitive ability). Since that
landmark study, various researchers have tried to replicate Rentfrow and Gosling’s findings
(e.g., Delsing, Ter Bogt, Engels, & Meeus, 2008; George, Stickle, Rachid, & Wopnford, 2007;
Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006; Zweigenhaft, 2008). Consequently, Rentfrow and Gosling’s work
represents a recent turning point in how music preferences according to genre have been meas-
ured and their work has had a profound influence on related music preferences and personality
research since 2003. For these reasons, the present paper has focused on Rentfrow and Gosling’s
work and on related research since 2003.
Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) research and the research that has followed them (e.g.,
Delsing et al., 2008; George et al., 2007; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006; Zweigenhaft, 2008) has
been a substantial step forward toward understanding the structure of music preferences.
Nonetheless, the research has had mixed results. For example, George and colleagues found an
eight-factor model when they included 30 music genres, compared to the 14 genres included in
Rentfrow and Gosling’s original model. Furthermore, both George and colleagues and Delsing
and colleagues found subtle differences in the factor structure when comparing their model to
Rentfrow and Gosling’s. On the one hand, rock, heavy metal, and alternative genres were con-
sistently grouped together. On the other hand, genres like rap and dance/electronica, or blues,
jazz, and classical, were inconsistently grouped; sometimes under the same factor and some-
times not. Therefore, despite statements from these authors (i.e., Delsing et al., 2008; George
et al., 2007) supporting Rentfrow and Gosling’s model of music preferences, their findings indi-
cate that further research is needed.
The research investigating music preferences since 2003 (e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; George
et al., 2007; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003, 2006; Zweigenhaft, 2008) and much of the research
prior to it (e.g., Arnett, 1992; Litle & Zuckerman, 1986; McNamara & Ballard, 1999) has
almost exclusively relied on individuals’ self-reports to measure and broadly define music pref-
erences according to genre. The subtle differences among factor structures describing music
preferences suggest different notions of genre categorization among the different participant
Dunn et al. 413

samples. Consequently, it is argued that measuring reported music preferences by means of

genre labels might be limited in its applicability. This argument is supported by Aucouturier and
Pachet (2003), who contend genre categorization is inconsistent and indicate that there is no
clear definition of what does, or does not, encapsulate a genre.
Given the argued genre limitations, it would seem prudent to better understand how reported
music preferences are related to actual music listening behavior. Investigating the relation
between reported music preferences and listening behavior might seem trivial, but it is well
understood that attitudes are not always consistent with behavior. With respect to music pref-
erences, research has clearly indicated the importance of music as a tool that individuals use to
communicate their social identity (e.g., North & Hargreaves, 1999; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006).
Given that music is a badge of one’s social identity (North & Hargreaves, 1999), then it is rea-
sonable to suggest that social desirability may at least subconsciously influence how one
responds to questions regarding one’s music preferences. Therefore, though it seems likely that
reported music preferences and listening behavior are strongly positively correlated, the differ-
ing notions of genre among participants and the influence of social desirability when reporting
music preferences warrants an investigation of the relation between these two variables.
Most researchers investigating the relation between personality and music preferences since
Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) paper have measured personality in terms of the Big Five trait
model rather than using various other measures based on different personality models (e.g.,
Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007; Delsing et al., 2008; George et al., 2007; Rentfrow &
Gosling, 2006; Zweigenhaft, 2008). Within personality trait theory, the Big Five was developed
and robustly tested over a series of studies, and has become arguably the most accepted model
of personality traits (John & Srivastava, 1999). As its name implies, the Big Five measures five
trait dimensions (Costa & McCrae, 1992), which have been identified and described as:

• Neuroticism (N): an individual’s propensity to feel fear, sadness, embarrassment,

anger, guilt, and other emotions of negative affect.
• Extraversion (E): an individual’s propensity to be sociable, talkative, assertive, active,
and indicates their preference toward stimulating and exciting environments.
• Openness to experience (O): an individual’s propensity toward intellectual curiosity,
imagination, aesthetic and emotional sensitivity, and originality.
• Agreeableness (A): an individual’s propensity toward being altruistic, helpful, sympa-
thetic, and empathetic toward others.
• Conscientiousness (C): an individual’s propensity toward cleanliness, orderliness,
having self-determination, and self-control.

Each of these dimensions represents a continuous scale with opposite extremes. Higher scores
for a given dimension are interpreted such that the individual should be more consistent in
personality with the dimension label and description (e.g., extraversion), whereas lower scores
are interpreted such that the individual should be more consistent with personality adjectives
that are opposite to the dimension label and description (e.g., introversion). Furthermore, Costa
and McCrae (1992) have developed a measure of the Big Five that also assesses trait facets.
There are six facet trait descriptors within each of the dimensions, which are measured and
interpreted in the same manner as their affiliated trait dimensions. For instance, individuals
who score high on the aesthetics facet under openness to experience are more open-minded
about (new) aesthetic experiences, while the opposite can be said of individuals who score low
on this facet. As a result, facets offer more specific and detailed personality information.
414 Psychology of Music 40(4)

Despite a concerted effort since 2003 to measure personality in terms of the Big Five, the
research correlating music preferences with the Big Five has provided mixed results as well.
These mixed correlation results are demonstrated in Table 1, which summarizes previous cor-
relations found between music preferences and the Big Five. The first column provides the origi-
nal four music preference dimensions presented in Rentfrow and Gosling’s four-factor model,
followed by the genres contained within each of these dimensions in the second column. The
third through sixth column indicate the significant correlations between music preferences by
genre and abbreviated traits for each of the referenced research papers shown as column head-
ings: (1) Rentfrow and Gosling (R & G; 2003); (2) Delsing et al. (D et al.; 2008); (3) George et al.
(G et al.); and (4) Zweigenhaft (Z; 2008). While there are a number of consistent findings
among the studies summarized in this table, it is evident that there are also several inconsisten-
cies across the studies as well. Indeed, there are conflicting results (e.g., pop, rap/hip-hop) in
which some research has reported a positive correlation for a given trait, while other research
has reported a negative correlation for the same trait.
One possible explanation for the inconsistencies summarized in Table 1 is again attributable
to the genre ambiguity issue described earlier. That is, differing notions of music genres among
different populations are likely to reveal different relations between personality and music pref-
erences. Investigating the relation between personality and both reported music preferences
and listening behavior might help identify more robust relations between these variables.
Furthermore, most of the studies referred to in Table 1 measured participants’ personality at
the dimension level. It has been argued that facets would provide greater descriptive detail and
a better understanding of the relation between personality and music preferences (Rentfrow &
Gosling, 2003; Zweigenhaft, 2008). While Zweigenhaft (2008) did correlate reported music

Table 1.  Significant correlations found between the Big Five dimensions and music preferences in research
studies since 2003

Music Dimension Genre Correlated Traits

R&G D et al. G et al. Z

Reflective & complex Blues O – O O

Classical O O, N O -
Folk O – E, C O
Jazz O O, N O O
Intense & rebellious Alternative O – O, A, C -
Heavy metal O O O, A, C -
Rock O O O, A, C -
Upbeat & conventional Country E, A, C, O – E, C -
Pop E, A, C, O E, A O, A, C O
Religious E, A, C, O – - O
Soundtracks E, A, C, O – – A, O
Energetic & rhythmic Dance/ Electronica E, A E, A O, C -
Rap/hip-hop E, A E, A O, A, C E, O
Soul/funk E, A E, A – O
Notes: Referenced material: R & G = Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; D et al. = Delsing et al., 2008; G et al. = George et al.,
2007; Z = Zweigenhaft, 2008. Trait abbreviations: N = Neuroticism; E = Extraversion; O = Openness;
A = Agreeableness; C = Conscientiousness. Abbreviations denote significant correlations (p < .05) between trait and
genre. Correlation is positive unless an underlined abbreviation is shown, indicating a negative correlation. Single
dashes (-) indicate no significant correlations found in that particular study. Double dashes (–) indicate that the genre
was not considered in that particular study.
Dunn et al. 415

preferences to personality facets, he also reported over 200 correlations doing so, which made
it highly likely that spurious correlations were also reported. Reporting only significant correla-
tions that are consistently found between personality and both reported music preferences and
listening behavior would minimize the chance of spurious correlations being reported.
In sum, the present paper contributes to the research that has investigated the relation
between music preferences and personality by including an observed measure of music listen-
ing behavior. In doing so, the present paper aims to work toward a better understanding of the
structure of music preferences, clarify the relation between reported music preferences and
listening behavior, and build on and give greater detailed insight into the patterns of music
preferences and its relation to personality. Based on the reviewed literature, the hypotheses for
this study were as follows:

1. Music preferences data from the current sample will support Rentfrow and Gosling’s
(2003) model of music preferences.
2. Reported music preferences will be positively correlated with listening behavior for the
same genre.
3. Significant correlations between reported music preferences and personality will be con-
sistent with significant correlations obtained between music listening behavior and per-
sonality for the same genres.

Method
Participants
Participants (N = 395; 335 males) volunteered following a recruitment announcement adver-
tised to individuals using an experimental music database (see materials). All participants were
employees of Royal Philips Electronics. Participants’ ages in this sample ranged from 22 to 60
years (M = 36.7, SD = 8.93). Five participants did not provide their age. There were 29 nation-
alities represented in this sample. Most participants were Dutch (n = 202), but other nationali-
ties included the United States (US; n = 50), France (n = 35), Germany (n = 18), Belgium (n =
16), United Kingdom (UK; n = 11), Other European countries (n = 33), Latin Americas (n = 4),
Canada (n = 2), and Asia/Pacific (n = 10). Fourteen participants did not specify their national-
ity. Due to attrition, not all parts of the study were completed; 267 participants (227 males)
provided sufficient listening behavior data (see procedure), and of those participants, 138 (114
males) completed the personality measure (NEO PI-R). Participants’ mean age for the first sub-
sample (n = 267) was M = 36.5 years (SD = 8.77). Mean age for the second sub-sample (n =
138) was M = 36.4 years (SD = 8.71). Nationalities for these sub-samples were proportionally
similar to the complete sample.

Materials
The music database used was an experimental platform available to participants via Royal
Philip Electronic’s intranet. This database contained nearly 70,000 audio recordings which
were originally uploaded by its users. These recordings were tagged according to an industry
standard (All Music Guide [AMG], 2008) into one of 16 music genre categories: alternative,
blues, classical, country, dance, folk, funk, heavy metal, jazz, pop, rap, religious, rock, R&B,
soundtracks, and ‘other’ category. The other category included miscellaneous items (e.g.,
416 Psychology of Music 40(4)

underground music, comedy). With exception to the R&B and other categories, these genres
matched the 14 genres used by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003). Participants’ music listening
behavior was measured in two ways:

1. Song count tracked the number of songs selected for listening, per genre, by each partici-
pant. For each participant, the number of songs selected was divided by the total number
of songs they listened to. Thus, this dependent variable was the relative percentage of
songs that began playing within each genre for each participant.1
2. Listening duration tracked the time duration (in seconds) of music listened to, per genre,
by each participant. For each participant, their time duration per genre was divided by
their total listening time. Thus, this dependent variable was the relative listening time
percentage within each genre for each participant.

A minimum criterion of at least 100 songs selected for listening was imposed to estimate par-
ticipants’ typical listening behavior. This meant that participants’ minimum amount of time
listening to music was roughly 200 minutes. In addition to tracking participants’ music listen-
ing behavior, two psychometric measures were used in the study:

1. Short Test of Music Preference (STOMP) measured participants’ reported music prefer-
ences (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Participants rated their music preference toward 14
genre items. These items load onto the four dimensions described in Rentfrow and
Gosling’s model of music preferences. Items were rated on a scale from 1 (strongly dislike)
to 7 (strongly like).
2. Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) measured participants’ personality (Costa
& McCrae, 1992). Participants rated 240 items on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree), which load onto the Big Five personality dimensions. The NEO provided
aggregated scores for the five personality dimensions, as well as scores for the six facets
contained within each dimension. Participants were able to complete the NEO PI-R in
either English (Costa & McCrae, 1992), or in Dutch (Hoekstra, Ormel, & de Fruyt, 2003).

Procedure
After providing informed consent, participants were given the option to complete a survey in
either English or Dutch. The survey consisted of some demographic information (age, gender,
nationality, and years of musical training), the STOMP, and the NEO PI-R. Once the entire sur-
vey had been completed, participants were debriefed and thanked for their participation. If the
participant had completed the NEO PI-R, they were also provided with a personality report as
reward. The music database was only accessible to participants while at their office desk.
The music database recorded participants’ music listening behavior prior to them receiving
the survey and then further tracked their listening behavior subsequent to completing the sur-
vey for a minimum period of three months. It is possible that participants’ listening behavior
may have been influenced by knowing the purpose of the study provided in the debriefing.
Nonetheless, most of the collected listening behavior data was taken prior to participants’ com-
pletion of the survey. Furthermore, it was believed that participants’ listening behavior would
not be unusually influenced for the entire three-month tracking period given the information
provided in the debriefing.
Dunn et al. 417

Results
Confirming the existing model of music preferences
A large enough sample (N = 395) had been collected to test the first hypothesis and conduct a
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the music preference dimensions specified by Rentfrow
and Gosling (2003). Using LISREL (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2007), the CFA was conducted with
participants’ music preference ratings taken via the STOMP. In addition to a chi-square (χ2),
several other goodness-of-fit criteria were used to assess the adequacy of the model (Tabachnick
& Fidell, 2007). The criteria included the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), the Root Mean Square
Error of Approximation (RMSEA) and the Standardized Mean Square Residual (SRMR). A CFI
above .95 indicates a good-fitting model, while decision rules regarding the cut-off criteria for
RMSEA and SRMR indicate that values should be below .10 and .08, respectively (Tabachnick
& Fidell, 2007). The Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) and the Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI)
were also calculated to provide estimates of the proportion of variance accounted for by the
model. Figure 1 illustrates the standardized parameter estimates for the CFA model given the
obtained music preference data.
A significant chi-square was calculated, χ2 (71, N = 395) = 499.27, p < .001, while other fit
criteria statistics were: CFI = .56, RMSEA = .12, SRMR = .10, GFI = .77, AGFI = .85. Taken
together, the present results suggested that, unlike Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) results, the
obtained data did not fit the existing model well.

Figure 1.  Standardized parameter estimates for CFA model from the obtained music preference data.
Notes: χ2 (71, N = 395) = 499.27, p < .001 (GFI = .77, AGFI = .85, CFI = .56, RMSEA = .12, SRMR = .10). e = error variance.
418 Psychology of Music 40(4)

The existing model was based on results from a series of rigorous studies conducted by
Rentfrow and Gosling (2003). So, it was important to better understand how and why obtained
data did not fit the existing model. Visual examination of the CFA results provided in Figure 1
suggests that pop provided the only noticeably weak path coefficient. Conceivably then, remov-
ing pop would provide a much better fit for the CFA model given the obtained data. Though
removing pop from the model did improve the fit criteria statistics, further removal of sound-
tracks and jazz was necessary before the model showed minimally acceptable fit criteria statis-
tics. After removal of these three genre variables, the fit criteria statistics were, χ2 (38, N = 395)
= 173.59, p < .001, CFI = .79, RMSEA = .095, SRMR = .071, GFI = .93, AGFI = .87.
Alternatively, additional paths between independent genre variables and latent music prefer-
ence dimensions could be added until a better model fit using the obtained data is reached.
Unfortunately, results showed that numerous paths would have to be added and still a good
model fit would not be reached. Overall, these results suggest that the patterns of music prefer-
ences toward genres with the obtained data differ substantially from the existing model pro-
vided by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003).
To further investigate how and why obtained data differed from Rentfrow and Gosling’s
(2003) data and model, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) used obtained STOMP ratings to
explore alternative music preference dimensions. The PCA was done using SPSS 15.0 (SPSS,
2006) and used Varimax rotation. Results from the PCA were somewhat conflicted. Initially, a
six-factor solution that accounted for 70% of the total variance was obtained by implementing
the Kaiser rule (eigenvalues greater than 1), which were supported by results from a parallel
analysis with Monte Carlo data (O’Connor, 2000). Table 2 provides the six-factor, Varimax-
rotated PCA solution. Cells in Table 2 indicate the factor loading for the indicated genre (rows)
and factor (columns). Factor loadings marked in bold indicate the highest loading, signifying
that the predicted variance in that genre is explained most by that factor. With exception to the
Bass-Heavy label, these factors were labeled based on genre categorization by AMG (2008). The

Table 2.  PCA factor loadings from the 14 genres using a six-factor, varimax-rotated solution

Genre Music preference dimension

Rhythm ‘n’ blues Hard rock Bass heavy Country Soft rock Classical

Jazz .774 .069 .097 −.154 −.017 .278

Blues .754 −.006 −.182 .311 .001 .061
Soul .703 .063 .383 .113 .072 −.143
Heavy Metal −.061 .812 .083 .134 .024 −.141
Alternative .134 .763 .161 −.077 −.143 .222
Rock .106 .655 −.176 −.057 .548 −.110
Rap .113 .017 .842 .119 .056 −.089
Dance .010 .111 .763 −.109 .056 .098
Country .020 −.112 .007 .834 .145 .069
Folk .146 .164 −.016 .731 −.079 .118
Pop .077 −.002 .097 .015 .869 −.155
Soundtracks −.157 −.061 .149 .079 .613 .507
Classical .222 .013 −.132 .043 −.020 .762
Religious −.024 −.016 .163 .429 −.140 .603
Notes: N = 395. All factor loadings .300 or larger are provided in italics; factor loadings in bold represent highest
factor loadings for each genre given each dimension.
Dunn et al. 419

Bass-Heavy label was used to express an audio characteristic generally perceived to be exhibited
in that music.
Unfortunately, the initial six-factor solution conflicted with results using Goldberg’s
(2006) Bass Ackwards method to determine how many principle components should be
retained. Instead, the Bass Ackwards method suggested a four-factor solution that accounted
for 52% of the total variance. Nevertheless, it should be said that this four-factor solution
was markedly different from Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) four-factor model of music pref-
erences. Table 3 gives the structure of the four-factor Bass Ackwards solution and is organ-
ized in the same manner as Table 2. Table 3 also provides the opportunity to compare its
structure of music preferences to that of Rentfrow and Gosling’s model outlined in Table 1.
The four factors were named in similar fashion to the six-factor solution. Indeed, there are
two factors that have identical compositions and so have the same factor name. The remain-
ing two factors from the four-factor solution have been named to express core audio quali-
ties of the type of music represented by each of these factors. Even here there is a clear
connection between the Bass Foundation factor in the four-factor solution and the Bass-
Heavy factor in the six-factor solution. Connections between the four-factor and six-factor
solutions are further facilitated by Figure 2, which provides a hierarchical representation of
a one-through-six-factor solution using the Bass Ackwards method. In Figure 2, correlation
coefficients greater than .40 are shown between factors at each level to show the progres-
sion from a one-factor solution to a six-factor solution. In doing so, Figure 2 summarizes
how and why the data obtained from the current study substantially differed from the data
used by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) to construct their model of music preferences. Given
the obtained results, it seemed prudent to conduct further analyses at the genre level, rather
than using Rentfrow and Gosling’s music dimensions.

Table 3.  PCA factor loadings from the 14 genres using a four-factor, varimax-rotated solution

Genre Music preference dimension

Acoustic foundation Hard rock Bass foundation Soft rock

Folk .639 .108 −.023 .101

Country .624 −.116 −.051 .382
Religious .606 −.176 .082 .118
Blues .600 .187 .146 −.299
Classical .568 −.006 −.030 −.086
Rock −.060 .814 −.077 .286
Heavy metal −.038 .723 .027 .068
Alternative .096 .643 .190 −.180
Rap −.036 −.057 .792 .206
Dance −.127 .005 .693 .174
Soul .245 .211 .649 −.175
Jazz .367 .220 .441 −.398
Pop −.083 .261 .174 .657
Soundtracks .232 −.007 .089 .650
Notes: N = 395. All factor loadings .300 or larger are provided in italics; factor loadings in bold represent highest
factor loadings for each genre given each dimension.
420 Psychology of Music 40(4)

Figure 2.  Bass Ackwards (Goldberg, 2006) hierarchical representation of a one-through-six-factor

solution that indicates correlations between factors from one level to the next. Only correlations with a
magnitude greater than .40 are shown

Reported music preferences versus listening behavior

To test the second hypothesis, analysis at the genre level compared participants’ reported music
preferences to their listening behavior. Due to insufficient listening behavior from some of the
participants, this analysis used the first sub-sample (n = 267) reported in the method section.
Furthermore, correlations between the two measures of listening behavior (i.e., song count
and listening duration) showed these measures to be largely redundant. No correlation was
greater than r = .97 between these measures for each of the 16 genre categories tested.
Therefore, only listening duration percentages were used for the remainder of the analyses
because this measure was arguably slightly more accurate as a measure of participants’ entire
music listening behavior (e.g., participants may not listen to an entire song after selecting it,
and classical songs tend to be longer than songs from other genres). For convenience, listening
duration percentages will be referred to as duration scores from this point on.
Prior to testing the second hypothesis, a 2 (language) × 2 (gender) × 16 (genre) mixed analy-
sis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to find out if participants’ duration scores differed
depending on language or gender for the 16 genres tracked. There were no between-group
effects due to language F(1, 258) = 0, ns, or gender, F(1, 258) = 0, ns. Additional multiple lin-
ear regressions were conducted separately for musical training and age given duration scores
across all genres to test for these effects. No effects were found for musical training on Duration
scores, R2 = .05, F(15, 196)2 = .75, ns. There was an effect of age on Duration scores, however,
R2 = .17, F(15, 247) = 3.48, p < .001, which indicated that age significantly predicted folk,
partial b = .16, t(250) = 2.83, p < .01, and pop duration scores, partial b = .26, t(250) = 3.68,
p < .001. Given that age accounted for a significant proportion of variance in only two of 16
genres, it was decided that it was not necessary to use age as a covariate for music preferences
in further analyses. Therefore, there was no need to compare results separately for gender or
language, or account for musical training or age in further analyses.
Dunn et al. 421

At this point, it is worth mentioning that the distribution of music content in the experimen-
tal database was not evenly divided across the 16 genres used. Figure 3 provides a histogram
indicating the relative percentages of songs available in the music database per tracked genre.
The songs available in the music database had been added to this database by its users, which
included participants from the current study. Consequently, the histogram describes the music
preferences among all individuals using the music database. Interestingly, these music prefer-
ences reflect the current state of industry music sales in the UK and US (see British Phonographic
Industry [BPI], 2008; Information Technology (IT) Facts, 2008, respectively), particularly with
respect to rock and pop genres. Furthermore, a correlation across genres between the percent-
age of songs available on the database and the mean duration scores was r = .99. The magni-
tude of this correlation might suggest that participants’ listening behavior is equal to chance
probabilities solely dependent on the amount of music available for a given genre. Nonetheless,
if the second hypothesis is confirmed, it will indicate that individuals will seek out the music
that they enjoy regardless of the music that is available to them.
Ultimately, the second hypothesis was tested by correlating participants’ reported music
preferences, via the STOMP, and their listening behavior, by means of their duration scores.
Correlations found between participants’ STOMP ratings and their duration scores across gen-
res are given in Table 4. As seen along the diagonal in Table 4, participants’ STOMP ratings
were nearly always significantly positively correlated to their duration scores for the same
genre. The lone exception to this trend was for alternative. Interestingly, however, Table 4 also
shows that both combinations of preference ratings and duration scores for alternative and
Rock were significantly positively correlated. Alternative music is often considered a sub-genre
of rock (AMG, 2008). Furthermore, while no R&B rating was recorded by the STOMP, R&B can
be considered synonymous with soul (AMG, 2008). Given this, results from Table 4 show that
funk/soul ratings were significantly positively correlated with R&B duration scores.

Figure 3.  Histogram indicating the relative percentages of songs per tracked genre compared to all
available songs in the music database.
 422

Table 4.  Correlation coefficients between participants’ STOMP scores and their Listening Duration scores per genre

Music STOMP Genre

Listening
duration Classical Blues Jazz Folk Alternative Rock Heavy Country Pop Religious Soundtracks Rap Soul Dance
genre Metal

Classical .33*** −.10* .02** .00** −.11* −.11* −.21* −.02** −.04* .06** .03** −.08* −.10* −.10*
Blues .00*** .22** −.05* .08** .00** −.02* .03** −.04** −.06* −.05* −.14** .01** .16** −.12*
Jazz .09*** .06** .37** .00** .06** .00** −.04* −.15** −.05* −.05* −.25** −.02* .14* .05**
Folk .08*** −.01* −.05* .16** .03** −.06* .01** .11*** −.03* .04** −.03** −.05* −.02** −.01*
Alternative −.11*** −.13* −.04* −.06* .11** .13** .16** −.03** .05** −.06* −.01** .06** −.05** .13**
Rock −.21*** .00** −.01* −.05* .38** .33** .44** −.13** .00** −.12* −.09** .00** .04** −.07*
Heavy metal −.17*** −.15* −.11* −.10* .11** .11** .28** −.11** −.06* −.10* −.09** .00** −.04** −.05*
Country .01*** .04** −.05* .18** .10** −.09* −.04* .27*** .04** .07** .03** −.01* .06** −.03*
Pop −.10*** .10** −.12* .00** −.33* −.04* −.13* .22*** .20** .03** .07** −.14* −.08** −.24*
Religious .06*** .00** −.02* −.06* −.08* −.29* −.12* .05*** −.18* .26** .02** −.07* −.08** −.10*
Soundtracks −.05*** −.03* −.09* .05** −.06* −.03* −.13* .12*** .06** −.04* .14** .00** −.12** .00**
Rap/hip-hop −.10*** .04** .01** .11** −.04* .03** .02** .01*** .08 .08** .07** .42** .17** .15**
Soul /funk −.14*** .23** .02** .12** −.10* −.05* .01** .07*** −.05* .10** −.15** .04 .24** −.07*
Dance/ −.03*** −.08** .04** −.12** .02** −.17** −.07** −.16*** −.09** .01** −.04** .13** .05** .43**
Electronica
R&B −.02*** .07** .14** −.13* −.16* −.13* −.13* −.03** .05** −.08* .06** .12** .16** .07**
Other .18*** −.01* .00** .10** −.16* −.14** −.29* .13** −.05* .08** .21** −.07** −.13* −.03*
Note: N = 267. Correlation values in bold indicate expected significant positive correlations between participants’ reported music preferences and their listening behavior
for the same genre.
* p < .05; ** p < .01.
Psychology of Music 40(4)
Dunn et al. 423

Personality, music preferences, and listening behavior

The third hypothesis was tested by correlating participants’ measured personality traits with
both their reported music preferences and their listening behavior. Due to incomplete or unre-
turned NEO PI-R surveys, these analyses used the second sub-sample (n = 138) reported in the
method section. Table 5 provides correlations between participants’ measured personality
dimensions and reported music preferences/listening behavior per genre. Columns separate
correlations by each of the Big Five personality dimensions, further divided by correlations
between participants’ measured personality dimension and their reported music preferences
(S), or their duration scores (D). Rows separate correlations by genre. Looking at Table 5, only
two pairs of correlations provided consistent significant findings between participants’ person-
ality and their music preferences. These consistent correlations were between neuroticism and
classical and between openness to experience and jazz.
In addition to investigating the relations between reported music preference or listening
behavior and personality at the Big Five dimension level, the inventory used to measure person-
ality afforded the opportunity to investigate the same relations at the facet level. There were
870 correlations calculated between reported music preference/listening behavior and person-
ality. Of the 870 correlations, 79 were significant and there was a certainty that some of these
correlations were spurious. So, to avoid reporting so many possibly spurious correlations, a
criterion was specified so that only pairs of significant correlations between personality and
both reported music preferences and listening behavior are reported. Using this criterion, only
four pairs of significant correlations were found: (1) self-consciousness (neuroticism facet) was
correlated with classical preference ratings (r = .27, p < .01) and with classical duration scores
(r = .24, p < .01); (2) aesthetics (openness facet) was correlated with jazz preference ratings
(r = .21, p < .05) and with jazz duration scores (r = .27, p < .01); (3) ideas (openness facet) was

Table 5.  Correlations between participants’ personality traits and their reported music preferences/
listening behavior per genre
Genre N E O A C

S D S D S D S D S D

Blues −.13 −.15 .05 .06 −.04 −.06 .09 .06 −.03 .00
Classical .20* .18* −.08 −.04 .15 .14 .02 .02 −.09 −.24**
Folk .06 .26** −.03 −.18* .10 .11 .20* .05 .00 −.05
Jazz .08 .11 .04 −.15 .27** .18* −.05 .01 −.19* −.15
Alternative .11 −.06 .05 .03 .18* .06 −.04 .11 −.09 .03
Heavy metal −.04 −.02 .10 .03 −.04 .02 −.18* −.11 .05 .09
Rock −.04 −.15 .02 .11 .20* .02 .07 −.09 .06 .08
Country .05 .14 .01 .10 −.16 .00 .13 .15 −.10 .09
Pop −.16 −.13 .20* .03 .02 −.10 .23** .09 .13 .16
Religious .11 −.06 −.01 .17* .01 .05 .04 .09 −.13 .04
Soundtracks .15 .04 .10 −.14 −.04 .09 .01 .18* .07 .05
Dance/eltrnc −.15 .03 .22* −.07 .02 −.11 .06 .05 .09 .01
Rap/hip-hop −.18* −.07 .21* .05 .04 −.04 .00 −.07 .14 .00
Soul/funk .05 .02 .03 −.03 .13 −.17* .00 −.03 −.05 −.11

Notes: N = 138. S = STOMP preference ratings, D = Duration scores. Items in bold represent agreement of significant
correlations regardless of measure.
* p < .05; ** p < .01.
424 Psychology of Music 40(4)

correlated with jazz preference ratings (r = .23, p < .01) and with jazz duration scores (r = .21,
p < .05); and (4) excitement-seeking (extraversion facet) was correlated with rock preference
ratings (r = .19, p < .05) and with rock duration scores (r = .23, p < .01).

Discussion
The present study focused on supporting previous research that has investigated the relation
between personality and reported music preferences by expanding on that research to include
a measure of music listening behavior. As expected, participants’ reported music preferences
toward various genres were nearly always positively correlated with their listening behavior
toward the same genre; 16 of the 17 correlations were significant. The study also attempted to
confirm Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) model of music preferences, and correlations between
music preferences and personality. The results are discussed in the following sub-sections in
order of the hypotheses, beginning with the attempt to confirm Rentfrow and Gosling’s model
of music preferences.

Confirming the existing model of music preferences

A CFA was employed to test the first hypothesis, which was concerned with whether or not
Rentfrow and Gosling’s (2003) model of music preferences would be confirmed. Given the
obtained results, the structure of Rentfrow and Gosling’s model was not confirmed. Additional
analyses were subsequently done to explore structural differences in music preferences observed
in the current sample compared to Rentfrow and Gosling’s sample. The additional analyses
included a Principal Components Analysis (PCA), which initially revealed a six-factor structure
using the current sample versus Rentfrow and Gosling’s four-factor structure. While parallel
analysis supported the six-factor structure, Goldberg’s Bass Ackwards approach yielded a four-
factor structure that was noticeably different to Rentfrow and Gosling’s four-factor structure.
The differing factor structures demonstrate subtle inconsistencies across the results pre-
sented by various researchers. For instance, while rap and dance genres grouped together in the
present research, these genres are grouped separately in other research (e.g., Delsing et al.,
2008; George et al., 2007). Conversely, blues and jazz were grouped separately from classical in
the six-factor PCA, but grouped together in other research (e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; Rentfrow
& Gosling, 2003). Ultimately, only alternative, rock, and heavy metal genres were consistently
grouped across all factor structures obtained from the present research and in other research
(e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; George et al., 2007). While Rentfrow and Gosling labeled this factor
as intense and rebellious, it was labeled hard rock in the current paper in agreement with other
researchers (i.e., Delsing et al., 2008; Zweigenhaft, 2008), who have questioned the original
label used by Rentfrow and Gosling. Consequently, the hard rock label suggests that this factor
is more a reflection of the industry nomenclature of rock music (AMG, 2008), rather than
thematic attitudes conveyed by Rentfrow and Gosling’s labels.
In sum, the current results suggest that there are differences among samples and cultures
regarding how genre labels are viewed; what content is represented by a genre label, and how it
is related to other genre labels. The distinctly different sample obtained in the present research
(i.e., working adults) compared with much of the previous research (i.e., university students)
suggests that age differences also influence how some genre labels are viewed and inevitably
listened to. Age-related differences were certainly evident when considering the amount that
participants listened to folk and pop music. Specifically, as participants’ age increased, so did the
Dunn et al. 425

amount that they listened to both pop and folk music. Whether these age-related differences are
due to changes in people’s perception of genre over time or due to the evolving nature of the
genre content cannot be answered by the present results. Nevertheless, analysis of the current
results does benefit from introduction of the Bass Ackwards method, which helps to provide
some insight into how various genre labels are viewed and the extent that they related to each
other. In conclusion, the current results indicate that the ambiguous nature of genre labels
(Aucouturier & Pachet, 2003) makes it difficult to construct a lasting and robust model of
music preferences based on such genres.

Reported music preferences versus listening behavior

As previously stated, participants’ reported music preferences were generally correlated to their
listening behavior. Given the distribution of music content provided in the experimental data-
base, the results show that participants specifically sought out and listened to music from gen-
res they reportedly preferred. Analyses of these results also indicated no gender effects on the
amount of music listened to for any particular genre, but it should be mentioned that the small
number of females in the current sample suggests that gender effects on music listening behav-
ior needs further investigation.
The results from this analysis also further support the notion that it is somewhat difficult to
accurately measure music preferences using ambiguous genre labels. Specifically, the percep-
tion of what a genre label represents is often confused and overlapping, which was evidenced by
significant correlations between rock and alternative genres for example. The genre ambiguity
argument might be particularly true for genre labels that are broadly defined (e.g., pop), poten-
tially vaguely conceived by our participants (e.g., folk), or both (e.g., soundtracks). Therefore, it
is argued that genre ambiguity contributed to lower correlations found amongst the results by
introducing measurement error.

Personality, music preferences, and listening behavior

Genre ambiguity might also partly explain why correlation results between music preferences
and the Big Five personality traits have varied so greatly across the research in this area (e.g.,
Delsing et al., 2008; George et al., 2007; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Zweigenhaft, 2008). Such
inconsistencies were also found in the current results. On the one hand, there were several sig-
nificant correlations when considering reported music preferences, such as positive correla-
tions between extraversion and pop, dance, and rap genres, which matched some of the previous
research (e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). On the other hand, listening
behavior data provided positive correlations between extraversion and religious music, as well
as between agreeableness and Soundtracks; which is again similar to previous findings (e.g.,
Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Nonetheless, the only consistent correlations found after consider-
ing both reported music preferences and listening behavior was between neuroticism and clas-
sical music, as well as between openness to experience and jazz. Furthermore, only the latter of
these two correlations was also consistent when compared with previous research (e.g., Delsing
et al., 2008; George et al., 2007; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Zweigenhaft, 2008).
Given the number of correlations that were performed, the results suggest that relatively few
reliable correlations exist between personality and music preferences. Moreover, similar to
previous research (e.g., Delsing et al., 2008; George et al., 2007; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003;
Zweigenhaft, 2008), most correlations between personality and music preferences are relatively
426 Psychology of Music 40(4)

weak (i.e., r < .30). Consequently, if more robust and reliable relations between personality and
music preferences are to be found, then measurement of both personality and music preferences
must be more accurate. For example, preference for objectively measured music characteristics
might provide greater accuracy for measuring music preferences when compared to reported
genre preference.
It is noteworthy to point out that the consistent correlations found between personality and
music preferences were improved when moving from personality dimensions to more specific
personality facets. It is argued that the improvement is due to emphasizing the specific facets
within a personality dimension that exhibit a stronger relation with a given music genre prefer-
ence, while dismissing weaker relations exhibited by other facets within the same personality
dimension with the same genre. In sum, these results suggest that including a measure of
music listening behavior when examining the relation between music preference and personal-
ity will limit spurious and inconsistent research findings and will help emphasize more robust
and long-lasting findings.

Limitations and conclusions

The results provided in the current article demonstrate that reported music preferences reflect
music listening behavior. Nonetheless, more research investigating music listening behavior
and its relation to personality would prove useful. For instance, while it is likely impossible to
study participants’ music listening behavior in all contexts, it is clear that the present study has
provided a limited context in this respect. Given this limitation, future research should focus on
investigating music listening behavior in other non-occupational contexts and relating this to
music preferences. Furthermore, the limitations of genre argued in the current paper suggests
that research relating personality and music preferences would be served well if robust connec-
tions between personality and specific, objective audio characteristics within various pieces of
music were identified. Finally, the improved correlations observed using personality facets com-
pared to the Big Five dimensions suggests that using these facets in future research could pro-
vide a more specific and descriptive relation between personality and music preferences.
In conclusion, the current paper indicates that reported music preferences are generally
related to listening behavior to the same genres. Nevertheless, it has also been argued that
using genre to categorize music preferences presents its own limitations, as evidenced by the
results. Specifically, the evolving and ambiguous nature of genre representation makes it diffi-
cult to find long-lasting relations between music preferences and personality that provide
robust results across cultures. Therefore, the inclusion of both measures of reported music
preferences and listening behavior has brought us one step closer to a better understanding of
the robust relations between music preferences and personality. In turn, this provides greater
knowledge about the social relationships formed between individuals with similar tastes in
music, and similarities in personality. Music is an integral part of individuals’ daily lives (Levitin,
2006), and so, unraveling the relation between personality and music preferences will inevita-
bly provide practical and relevant information about what makes us who we are.

Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper was funded by the Marie Curie Early Stage Training grant
(MEST-CT-2004-8201). The authors would like to thank all of our participants, and thank Marco
Tiemann, Dragan Sekulovski, William Green, Jan Engel, Armin Kohlrausch, Sam Gosling, Peter Jason
Rentfrow, and our anonymous reviewers for their help or advice toward producing this work.
Dunn et al. 427

Notes
1. Participants’ music listening behavior for song count and listening duration included all data from
songs selected multiple times.
2. There was missing data for musical training, resulting in a smaller df in the denominator than
expected.

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Peter Dunn has a background in Experimental Psychology and Human–Computer Interaction.

Originally from Ottawa, Canada, he received his PhD from the University of Technology in
Eindhoven, The Netherlands (TU/e) in January 2010. He is currently a User Experience
Consultant at Flow Interactive in London, England. His research interests are focused on user/
personality modelling, psychometrics, and user-centred design.

Boris de Ruyter, after his graduation, worked as a research assistant in experimental psychol-
ogy at the University of Antwerp. Since 1994 he has been with Philips Research, where he is
appointed as principal scientist. His research focuses on user modelling and psychometrics.
Since 1999 he has been leading a research team of behavioral scientists that contributes to the
Lifestyle research program of Philips Research. He is an author of multiple international pub-
lications and owns numerous patents.

Don G. Bouwhuis has a background in cognitive science, mathematics, and computer science.
After a career in industrial research he became Professor of Cognitive Ergonomics at the
University of Technology, Eindhoven NL. His current research interests are centered on evalu-
ation metrics for usability and user experience, on telecare and on the perceptual experience of
novel media, like 3D TV and multimedia recommender systems.