Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 265–273

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Personality and Individual Differences

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Can personality traits predict musical style preferences? A meta-analysis

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A meta-analysis was performed on the results of previous studies investigating the association between person-
Received 10 March 2017 ality traits and music preferences. Regarding the categorization of personality traits, the Big Five and sensation
Received in revised form 26 April 2017 seeking were used most often and were therefore chosen as the most appropriate categories in the meta-analysis.
Accepted 29 April 2017
Regarding the categorization of musical style preferences, the five-dimensional MUSIC (mellow, unpretentious,
Available online xxxx
sophisticated, intense, contemporary) model was used most often and was therefore employed in the meta-anal-
Keywords:
ysis. Hence, we included studies in the analysis when they had investigated the relationship between at least one
Music preference of the Big Five personality traits or sensation seeking and at least one of the five MUSIC dimensions. In total, there
Personality were 30 subanalyses. All weighted averaged correlation coefficients were very small, with most of them near
Big five zero. Only 6 of the 30 coefficients exceeded 0.1 in magnitude (|r| ≥ 0.1). The largest effects were observed for
Sensation seeking the openness to experience personality trait, which exhibited small correlations with preference for three musi-
Meta-analysis cal styles. Thus, personality traits barely account for interindividual differences in music preferences. Musical
functions are discussed as an alternative explanation for these differences. The predictability of musical style
preferences based on individual psychological variables is questioned in general.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In an online study, Rentfrow and Gosling (2006) instructed a group of a meta-analysis of the correlations between musical style preferences
of 60 university students to freely interact with each other on an Inter- and personality traits.
net platform. The students' only task was to get to know each other.
When the researchers analyzed the conversations it turned out that 1. Determinants of music preference
participants talked about musical issues more often than almost any
other topic (in the first week, 58% talked about music, followed by Why is it that preferences for musical characteristics, styles,
movies and football with 41% each). Among the musical issues, music substyles, composers, artists, or single tunes are so diverse? What first
preference was the one most frequently discussed. The reason for the comes to mind is that variables that obviously differentiate between in-
dominance of music preference as a topic in first-acquaintance situa- dividuals might also be responsible for their individual music prefer-
tions is that many people believe that music preference can reveal ence. Indeed, there has been a long tradition in investigating variables
something about a person's personality (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003) or, such as age, gender, cognitive style, and personality traits with regard
more specifically, about the similarity of personal values (Boer et al., to their influence on the emergence and development of music prefer-
2011). Thus, music preference is an everyday phenomenon and a popu- ence. Age appears to be the variable with the largest influence—in two
lar topic of conversation—at least in young people. Almost everybody different ways. First, for most people, the importance of music increases
can spontaneously name their favorite musical styles, tunes, or artists. until adolescence and early adulthood but decreases more and
But, most impressively, there are vast interindividual differences in more in later adulthood. This trend is typically mirrored in the general
these answers. Where do they come from, how can they be explained, strength of music preference, which is most pronounced in adolescence
and how effective are personality traits in contributing to their and early adulthood and diminishes later on (Bonneville-Roussy,
explanation? Rentfrow, Xu, & Potter, 2013). Second, the relatively higher importance
In the present article, we first briefly discuss the determinants of of music during adolescence and early adulthood usually causes people
music preference, then focus more specifically on the role of personality to keep a preference for the musical styles, tunes, or artists that had
traits in explaining music preference. We end by presenting the results been popular at that time (Holbrook & Schindler, 1989), although
many people exhibit an increasing preference for classical musical styles
when they get older (Bonneville-Roussy et al., 2013). There is also evi-
dence that music regains importance when people retire because elder-
⁎ Corresponding author. ly people increasingly use music for affect regulation and to reminisce
E-mail address: thomas.schaefer@psychologie.tu-chemnitz.de (T. Schäfer). (Mende, 1991).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.061
0191-8869/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
266 T. Schäfer, C. Mehlhorn / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 265–273

The influence of gender on music preference is not that strong. Male 2. Personality and music preference
adolescents tend to prefer music that is more energetic and unconven-
tional and that has an exaggerated bass while female adolescents tend As mentioned above, it is tempting to assume that music preferences
to prefer more conventional music and more mellow styles such as are diagnostic of a person's personality characteristics—precisely be-
soft rock (Bunte, 2014; see North & Hargreaves, 2008, for an overview). cause these preferences are considered to be substantially caused by
When people get older these differences seem to disappear. personality characteristics. As a “mirror of personality,” music prefer-
Cognitive style is also linked to music preferences. Specifically, on an ences have been scientifically investigated for quite some time, going
empathizing–systemizing continuum, individuals with a bias toward back to Burt (1939). There are many theoretical approaches concerning
empathizing have been found to prefer mellow styles of music such as the association between personality traits and music preferences that
rhythm and blues (R ‘n’ B) and soul, while individuals with a bias are all grounded in an interactionist approach (Rentfrow & McDonald,
toward systemizing have been found to prefer intense styles of music 2011). According to the uses-and-gratifications approach, for instance,
such as punk or heavy metal (Greenberg, Baron-Cohen, Stillwell, people have individual psychological and social needs as well as specific
Kosinski, & Rentfrow, 2015). Notably, the authors reported that cogni- expectations about the satisfaction of their needs through mass media.
tive style can explain variance in musical style preferences over and Individual needs and expectations result in individual patterns of
above personality traits. media use (Hall, 2005). It is assumed that individuals prefer specific
Research on the influence of personality traits on music preference kinds of music because their personality traits drive them to pursue spe-
has a long tradition, dating back to the 1950s when individual music cific goals that can be satisfied by that very music (e.g., Arnett, 1995;
preferences were used in the diagnosis of mental and personality Delsing, ter Bogt, Engels, & Meeus, 2008; Larson, 1995). For instance, ex-
disorders (Cattell & Anderson, 1953). It has been assumed that stable traverted individuals, who typically enjoy spending time with others,
personality traits substantially determine cognitive and physiological tend to prefer music that can foster social interaction with peers. By con-
processes and, as a result, should also substantially determine the pref- trast, the theory of optimal arousal focuses on the music's potential to
erence for certain musical characteristics. At least with regard to one regulate listeners' level of psychophysiological arousal (e.g., Eysenck,
personality trait there is evidence supporting this assumption, namely, 1990). As already mentioned, preference for highly arousing musical
sensation seeking. This trait has been used to describe individuals who styles such as heavy metal, rock, and rap is correlated with measures
exhibit a strong desire for psychophysiological arousal, which they can of listeners' physiological resting state and measures of the sensation-
find in highly arousing or risky activities. People scoring high on sensa- seeking personality trait (McNamara & Ballard, 1999; Nater, Krebs, &
tion seeking typically prefer music that is highly activating (e.g., fast, Ehlert, 2005).
complex, jarring, loud), such as heavy metal (McNamara & Ballard, Since the 1960s and the dissemination of elaborate theories of per-
1999). Other than for the sensation-seeking trait, which has a clear rela- sonality and personality inventories (above all, the five-factor approach,
tionship to an individual's optimal level of psychophysiological arousal, e.g., Costa & McCrae, 1992; John & Srivastava, 1999), research on the as-
evidence for the association between personality traits and music sociation between personality traits and music preferences has intensi-
preference is rather weak. Much research has focused on the Big Five fied, though revealing unclear and inconsistent results due to a large
personality traits and has revealed a large number of correlations be- inconsistency in the measurement of both personality traits and music
tween the Big Five dimensions and musical style preferences. Below preferences. Standardization was reached only by the introduction of
we show in detail that the results of these studies are quite inconsistent scales to measure music preferences more reliably, for instance, by
and that the effects—overall—are rather small or negligible. Only with Zuckerman (e.g., Litle & Zuckerman, 1986) and Rentfrow and Gosling
regard to the openness to experience personality trait, there are also (2003). Yet, the use of more standardized instruments did not much im-
medium-sized correlations—though to almost all musical styles, which prove the general picture of results. First, there are still very many ways
simply means that people scoring high on openness to experience researchers measure personality or music preference, going far beyond
have a higher affinity to listening to music in general. such simple categorizations as the Big Five. Second, even studies that
Other variables influencing individual music preference include used the same constructs and measurement approaches have yielded
cultural background, social background, and musical education and ex- inconsistent results.
perience. Different cultures have developed different musical traditions Here is a brief impression of the inconsistency of results regarding
that of course have found expression in the likes and dislikes of their personality traits and music preferences. The majority of the more re-
members who acquire very basic preferences for certain musical char- cent studies followed the unifying conceptual approach of Rentfrow
acteristics such as the use of specific instruments or tonal systems. The and Gosling (2003) and used their categorization of musical style pref-
social background is shaped by manifold influences that affect individ- erences. These authors used principal component and confirmatory fac-
uals through their parents, teachers, peers, and role models (Finnäs, tor analyses to identify fundamental dimensions of music preferences.
1989). The developing preferences of children are strongly shaped by They found four consistent dimensions that they dubbed reflective
the musical repertoire of their parents. During adolescence, the influ- and complex, intense and rebellious, upbeat and conventional, and en-
ence of peers and idols grows more and more since this is the time in ergetic and rhythmic. Some studies found positive correlations between
life when young people try to define their personality, identity, and so- the personality trait openness to experience and the dimensions reflec-
cial affiliation and to dissociate themselves from their parents. Music, tive and complex (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003) and intense and rebellious
like clothes or self-presentation in social networks, is an effective (Langmeyer, Guglhör-Rudan, & Tarnai, 2012; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003;
means to do so. The desire for social affiliation can go so far that Tekman, 2009), though with quite different effect sizes. Other studies
young people adopt the music preferences of others in a virtually un- (e.g., Livosky, Stevens, Hoff, & Surawski, 2012) could not replicate
questioning way, regardless of the musical styles or tunes those others these findings. Langmeyer et al. (2012) found a negative correlation be-
prefer (Salganik, Dodds, & Watts, 2006). Not least, musical education tween the dimension intense and rebellious and the personality trait
and experience shape music preferences. This can happen through conscientiousness. Other studies did not find this effect (Livosky et al.,
both the acquisition of theoretical knowledge about music and intense 2012; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Tekman, 2009). Some studies found
listening to music. The engagement in music theory and music listening a positive association of the dimension upbeat and conventional with
typically results in both more differentiated music preferences and an extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Delsing et al.,
increasing preference for complex styles or compositions. Apart from 2008; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003) and a negative association with
that, making music—by professional or autodidactic musical education openness to experience (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Tekman, 2009;
and engagement—results in music preferences that are shaped by the Zweigenhaft, 2008), while Tekman (2009) did not find an association
music that is composed or performed. with either agreeableness or conscientiousness. The dimension energetic