Music Preferences Reveal Cognitive Style, Study Finds
Are you a fan of Beethoven or Metallica? Do you prefer rock or blues? Pop or jazz? According to researchers at the University of Cambridge, our musical preferences can reveal how empathetic or systematic we are in our thinking. While it is well-known that music has various positive effects on the body and mind, including experiments that have successfully read the music we are listening to in our brains, this new study sheds light on how our personality is reflected in our musical taste.
David Greenberg and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge investigated whether music taste could provide insight into cognitive style, which refers to a person’s tendency to react empathetically or systematically to their environment. The study involved 4,000 participants who completed a detailed questionnaire about their personality and cognitive style. They then listened to 50 music pieces from 26 different genres and rated them based on personal preference. The results were surprising and independent of personality type or gender.
The study found that cognitive style is a better predictor of music preference than personality type. Empathetic individuals tended to prefer simple, emotional pieces in the pop genre, while systematic thinkers favored intense, complex pop pieces. These preferences were not limited to different music genres but were also evident within a single genre. The researchers suggest that these findings could help in understanding autism, as individuals with autism are known to be extreme systematizers with underdeveloped empathy.
In conclusion, this study highlights how our musical preferences can reveal our cognitive style and personality traits. Music is a reflection of who we are emotionally, cognitively, and socially. As Senior Author Jason Rentfrow notes, “Music expresses who we are.”
