Personality and Music Preference

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Discussion
Conclusion
Reference List

Abstract

This study aims to establish a link between music preference and personality traits. To achieve this end, this study adopted deductive reasoning. As such, the questions adopted for the survey were derived from past literature on the topic at hand. These questions were elicited by the need to clarify the contentious issues in the literature on personality and music preference. Audio records and questionnaires were adopted as the instruments for data collecting data. The collected data was then analyzed quantitatively. Thus, the correlation coefficient was adopted to measure the relationship between variables.

The findings revealed mutual dependence between the style of music and a person’s character. As such, the adults who preferred classical and jazz types of music were less likely to exhibit cases of depression. On the other hand, playing the piano was identified as a necessary tool for raising self-esteem. These findings, among others, imply that music preference is correlated to cognitive and personality traits. Moreover, the findings imply that the choice of music that an individual listens to can be attributed to behavioral traits that he/she possesses. These findings are consistent with past literature. However, this study could not explain all the intervening variables between music preference and personality traits. Hence, it recommends for future research to address this gap in a profound manner.

Discussion

Restatement of the Hypothesis

This study is comprised of five main hypotheses. These hypotheses seek to establish the correlation between music preference and personality traits. Despite the presence of consistency of the results between this study and the past studies that were reviewed in the literature, this study has added new information to the body of knowledge, as it has managed to establish other variables that influence the correlation between music preference and personality traits.

Implication and Interpretation of the Results

The first hypothesis is consistent with Schafer and Sedlmeie’s (2010) findings. This hypothesis affirms that people are motivated by different factors in their choice of music. This explains that the cognitive purpose of the music and the physiological intrusion deduced by the music are the key determinants of the choice of music. The second hypothesis is consistent with Kopacz’s (2005) findings. This hypothesis affirms that inherent aspects that shape personality traits with respect to music determine a person’s preference for a particular kind of music. This finding, however, contradicts Sedlmeie’s (2010) findings, which are premised on inherent personality traits.

The third hypothesis is consistent with Lim’s (2008) findings. This hypothesis affirms that introverts are often internally under-aroused, and thus they require alternative stimuli to raise their moods to the maximum level of response. But given that establishing the extent to which high pitch sound is positively correlated to enthusiasm is a challenging task, the results of this hypothesis can be contradictory. The fourth hypothesis is consistent with Kopacz’s (2005) findings.

This hypothesis affirms that liveliness influences the choices of music. This finding is facilitated by the fact that this study seeks to associate the lively people with the desire to listen to music with various melodic elements. Finally, the fifth hypothesis is consistent with Lim’s (2008) findings. This hypothesis affirms that playing piano has a positive correlation with high self-esteem, as opposed to listening to music with therapeutic effect.

Strengths and Limitations

The strength of this study is premised on the fact that it has reviewed diverse articles in order to test diverse concepts pertaining to the relationship between music preference and personality traits. However, this study is faced with a number of limitations, including introducing a model that assumes a lack of intervening variables between music preference and personality traits. This assumption contributes to an analysis that can assume premature dismissal of the relation between the two variables. For a case in point, this study could not establish the extent to which high pitch sound is positively correlated to the enthusiasm with respect to age, among other variables. Thus, this study can be criticized on the grounds of overlooking the intervening variables while formulating the results.

Future Direction

This study has established the future direction of the study that will help establish the relationship between music preference and personality traits in a concrete manner. First, the findings of this study have failed to establish all the intervening variables between music preference and personality. As earlier indicated, this study could not establish the extent to which high pitch sound is positively correlated to enthusiasm. Thus, delving into a study that seeks to establish the intervening variables would be critical since it would help improve the evaluation of the extent to which music preferences are influenced by personality traits.

Conclusion

This study aimed to establish a correlation between music preference and personality traits. This necessitated the need to establish the motive behind the choice of specific music among diverse personalities. The literature review forms the basis for replicating this study. Most importantly, the replication of this study has been able to develop diverse theories to establish the convergence and divergence of music preferences and personality traits. Through this development, this study has established room for further research. Hence, this study has added new information to the body of knowledge.

Reference List

Kopacz, M. (2005). Personality and Music Preferences: The Influence of Personality Traits on Preferences Regarding Musical. Journal of Music Therapy, 42(3), 216-235. Web.

Lim, A. (2008). The effect of personality type and musical task on self-perceived arousal. Journal of Music Therapy, 45(2), 147-163. Web.

Schafer, T., & Sedlmeie, P. (2010). What makes us like music? Determinants of music preference. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(4), 223–23. Web.

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