Tunes and Traits: How Personality Affects Music Taste

While I agree with my sister about many things, music is the only exception. We always fight over who has the AUX: She prefers pop and indie music, whereas I enjoy hip-hop and jazz. The more we bickered, the more I wondered about the factors that affect musical taste. How could we be closely related but still have stark differences in what kind of music we listen to? 

Research shows that music satisfies 3 important psychological functions. First, music allows us to improve our performance on certain tasks. This takes the form of listening to music while studying, for example, or using music to reach a certain mindset or level of concentration for completing an activity. Music also helps to stimulate intellectual curiosity through close analysis of songs and the music we hear, which gives us a look into the artist’s life and the purpose behind a song or specific movement. Lastly, research demonstrates that music allows us to manipulate our emotional state to achieve a desired mood, such as happiness, sadness, or excitement. That is why many people want to listen to sad music every once in a while or blast “Party in the U.S.A.” after a long day of work. 

Because music helps us in these ways, I realize that musical taste and certain listening behaviors correlate with personality traits and our identity. Since mood states are closely related to our personality and music can be used as a means of emotional regulation, we can use a scientific understanding of music to get to know others on a deeper level; we do not necessarily need to be experts to know the psychology of music. Generally, rebellious people like hip-hop and rock, and more clever people like classical and jazz music. However, there have not been any strong correlations discovered in research between musical preference and personality. Why is that? Why are our intuitive judgments more “effective” than scientific research? 

Since music is much more accessible in today’s society, most people listen to a wide variety of genres and songs, making it difficult to deduce how genres of music contribute to a person’s character or personality. Although the major function of music and art is meant to be emotional, psychologists have also yet to figure out the connections between different songs and emotions. In addition, the purpose behind listening to a specific music genre or artist is mostly driven by our social identity, or who we want to be seen as in society. Since hip hop and R&B are most popular today, more people would be seen listening to SZA or Drake rather than heavy metal artists like Metallica or Iron Maiden. Therefore, age, sex, and socio-economic status are more important than personality when it comes to explaining why we select certain genres of music.

Although many limitations and factors restrict research from connecting music to our personality, we can still use music as a resource to get to know others and ourselves better. Understanding your musical preferences allows you to get closer to knowing yourself and who you want to be, which can be fulfilling and lead you to find balance in life. Exploring the musical preferences of the ones closest to you can also strengthen your relationships and allow you to appreciate other music genres you may never have thought of listening to before. Whether it relates to your family, friends, or even new people you just met, understanding the psychology behind musical preferences can create a deeper understanding and appreciation for the people around you.