Where Does Our Music Taste Come From?

Music is universal; and universally we all have different tastes. Some people prefer indie music while others swear by rap, and the list goes on. Of course this also means we can dislike other genres of music. Which leads to many arguments over what music genre is better, and who has the better music taste. Which all leads me to wonder, where do we get our music taste? And is it fair to judge someone based off their taste in music?

According to an article featured on Business Insider, the music in which you like says a lot about how you process information. In this particular study, researchers based it off of the idea that there are two ways people respond to their surroundings: empathizing (when someone is outgoing and interactive with others) and systemizing (more of an introvert, needs a pre-set notion of how they think they should act). The participants, who ranged from as young as being in their twenties, to as old as 61,  were first asked to take a psychological survey to determine if they were empathizing, systemizing, or a balance of both. They then asked them to evaluate 50 songs from 26 genres of music, to rule out any predispositions. The results showed that those participants who were empathic tended to like mellow, humble, or contemporary music such as folk, country, and even popular techno songs which could express negative emotions. Although they seemed to have a strong dislike for genres such as heavy metal or punk. On the other hand, the systemizing participants enjoyed music that reflected high-energy and positive emotion, and songs with complexity, such as classical music. The chart below shows what kind of music each group preferred, Type E being the empathizers, Type S the systematizers, and Type B being the balance of both.

To answer my initially proposed question, there in fact is a “magic age” in which we develop our taste in music. Just as every human has a critical age for language development, we also have a critical age for our taste in music; starting at around 14 and peaking at the age of 24. According to Daniel J. Levitin, a professor of psychology and the director of the laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University, this is considered a critical age because at the age of 14 many of us are experiencing pubertal growth hormones. Thus everything becomes more important as we are reaching a point in our cognitive development when we establish our tastes. At the age of 24, when an individual has reached the “peak of musical taste acquisition” (quote), they are most open-minded and accepting at this age, what with meeting many different people with differing backgrounds etc.. The music heard at this age tends to be the types of music that stick with the individual, and after their twenties they tend to no longer branch out of their music taste. Part of why this happens is because starting at 24 or 25, an individuals ear will begin to lose sensitivity to higher pitches and therefore will be unable to detect small changes in pitches. This makes music less vibrant and pleasurable than the music they had heard during the peaks of their lives, thus it is less preferable. But one of the biggest reasons for why this happens is because after 24, the personality of an individual will start to firm up and they will be sure of their identities (can no longer be influenced or challenged by others).

Not to mention, researchers Dr. Samuel Gosling and Peter Rentfrow at University of Texas at Austin, have found music preference can say a lot about ones’ personality traits. In fact they found that music choice falls into four broad categories: Reflective and Complex, Intense and Rebellious, Upbeat and Conventional, or Energetic and Rhythmic. Collecting data about music preferences from undergraduate students and 500 listeners across the country, they were able to infer their personality traits (using a new scale called the Short Test of Music preferences, or STOMP). The study suggests that people favoring music in the Reflexive and Complex category (classical, jazz, folk, and the blues) are inventive and have active imaginations and are considered to be politically liberal. The Rebellious and Intense category (heavy metal, rock, alternative music) hosts individuals who are risk-takers and quite intelligent. Upbeat and Conventional listeners (pop, country, religious music) are outgoing and cheerful and see themselves as physically attracted with conservative views. Lastly, Energetic and Rhythmic listeners (funk, hip-hop, soul, electronica music) are talkative, have high-energy and confidence, and are generally forgiving people.

Thus it is fair to say it is in fact plausible to judge someone on their music taste, as you may be able to learn a little about the individual before you even fully interact. As for how we develop our music taste, I feel it is conceivable to agree that we do in fact have a “critical age” in which we develop our taste. Although I do wonder how set in stone that could be, because the studies that go along with that do not really rule out many third variables (such as not really listening to music as a teen, or being heavily influenced by those around you creating a false development possibly). Also I feel reverse causation has not been entirely ruled out because of the possibility that at the age of 14 we just started to be exposed to music more. Thus it may not matter about the growth hormones and development at that time.

 

6 thoughts on “Where Does Our Music Taste Come From?

  1. Sam Mark Harman

    As an avid music listener, this article instantly caught my eye. It is interesting to note that our tastes in music may correlate with certain personality traits, however this does leave a big potential for outliers. There are definitely many people who’s music taste does not fit their personality. I do agree that your concern for third variables is quite valid. I do think that peoples’ tastes are largely affected by their surroundings. . Thanks for the interesting post I very much liked it!

  2. Chao Wei Chen

    Your blog has just caught my eyes. I learned to play clarinet since eleven years ago. I put a lot of passion on it, and I used to be the first clarinet of my middle school’s orchestra. I do love music, especially for the classic music. According to my personal experience, I think that one’s taste of music can be largely influenced by enviroment.

    ”You have good taste in music” hah
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=You+have+good+taste+in+music

  3. Julian Eisenberg

    With music comes emotion. I started playing violin at the age of four. At the time, I wasn’t truly able to grasp the vitality of the music. I clearly wasn’t a fully developed person at the time, and I never really drew an attachment to playing classical violin. After reading this article, I now know that I never fell into the reflexive and complex category, the foundation of classical violin, but instead the energetic and rhythmic listeners category. As of now, I put my energy mostly into developing EDM music http://edm.com/ that to which is closest to my emotion and complexity.

  4. Kendra Hepler

    This post caught my attention right away. I love listening to music, and pretty much always have my earbuds in when i’m not in class or otherwise preoccupied. It is interesting to note that our tastes in music may correlate with certain personality traits, although I see a big potential for outliers, since I personally know many people who listen to music that doesn’t fit their stereotype. I think your concerns about the third variables are very valid. I think that peoples’ tastes are largely affected by their surroundings, so it would be hard to find out exactly why we like certain types of music and not others. Thanks for the interesting post!

  5. pxw5127

    I found this blog super interesting. I never really thought about why we like the music we like until I saw this title. I was very curious about this blog. I really enjoyed this blog, it was well written and very informative. After reading this it, it is easy to see that personality and music taste are linked. I would consider myself empathetic, and I do indeed like mellow laid back music, like The Beatles. I can also link my friends personalities to their music tastes as well. It is very interesting that we have an age at which we start to develop our taste in music, and looking back, I began getting into music around the age of 14. After looking into this topic more, I found a quiz that asks you questions about your personality and taste in music. It then calculates your results and will tell you about your personality and characteristics. It was pretty spot on for me. You should check it out. I definitely agree now, after reading this blog, that we can sort of judge a person based on their taste in music to some extent. Obviously these findings are not true for everyone, but I think they are a pretty good indicator.

  6. Dean Giammarco

    This post got me thinking of what type of music I like and why I like it. I could say I am very well diverse listener. I would fit under the empathizing category and do enjoy country, rock, rap, pop, dance music, and scream here and there. The one music taste I don’t like is oldies rock. I contribute this dislike to my mom and dads constant oldies playlist to about everywhere we went in the family car. It was burned into my head and ow I can’t stand the music. I also find music that I enjoy listening to by the experiences and events that happened while listening to the music. These genres trigger great emotions and memories that make me enjoy it even more.

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