Does Your Favorite Genre Reveal Something About Your Personality?

Our favorite bands and solo artists tell the rest of the world something about us, but it goes beyond individuality and personal preference.  Studies have shown a connection between music preferences and personality.

A multi-year study of 36,518 people, found not only a connection to personality, but that people become protective, even defensive, of their favorite genre.  This is because study participants were able to make accurate assumptions about others’ musical tastes based on a list of 10 favorite songs.

“… people define themselves through music and use it as a means to relate to other people,” Verywell Mind explains.  “A criticism about their music feels like a criticism of them.”

Here’s what the study found:

Rock and Metal

Fans of hard rock and metal are introverted, creative and gentle but often have low self-esteem.  Dr. Adrian North, the music psychologist who conducted the three-year study, called metal fans “quite delicate things” and said they were “basically the same” as classical music fans.

Classic rock fans are at ease with themselves but are self-centered.  They also are hard workers.

Punk rock fans are intense, energetic, but not very empathetic.

Indie rock fans are introverted, intellectual, open to new experiences, and creative, but have low self-esteem, are passive and anxious, and less hard working and gentle than other rock fans.

Pop

Fans of pop are outgoing and sociable, have a high self-esteem, and are hard working, but also tend to be more nervous and less creative.

Classical

Classical fans are introverted, creative and intelligent with a high self-esteem.  They also tend to be affluent and skew older demographically.

Rap and Hip Hop

Rap and hip hop fans are extroverted with a high self-esteem.  They also are more impulsive and more willing to take risks.

Country

Country fans are extroverted, empathetic, unpretentious and hard working, but they also are politically conservative and less open to new experiences.

Jazz, Blues And Soul

Fans of jazz, blues and soul are extroverted, at ease with themselves, reflective, open-minded, creative, and intelligent with a high self-esteem.  They are politically liberal.

Cassandra, the main character in The Rock Star’s Wife series, is a metalhead as am I.  Her sister, Vanessa, enjoyed pop artists in high school.  How about you?

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Do you see a connection between music preferences and personality in your life?  Leave a comment below.  Comments close after 90 days.

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Here’s the 4-1-1

This blog is a companion piece to The Rock Star’s Wife, a series about sex, family, and rock & roll.  The series has elements of chick lit, romance and erotica and is best compared to The Vagina Monologues for its frank talk of sex and its consequences.  The series follows Cassandra from her teenage years into her 40s as she navigates relationships (both romantic and platonic) — all with music playing a prominent roll.

Book three, Rock Star Romance, debuts February 2024:  Cassandra swore off men to recover from an amicable, but heart wrenching, breakup.  Nathaniel endured a nasty, gut wrenching breakup and hasn’t dated since.  When they meet, sparks ignite.   Will they mend each other’s broken hearts?

Cassandra needs your help getting her story out.  Join the street team to help.