Your music, your personality
Robair @ Mon Mar 29, 2004 2:40 pm
$1:
What's your music collection like?
Studies find it can indicate personality
By Wyatt Buchanan
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Groundbreaking research has found that a person's record collection might help predict which of five personality categories he or she belongs to.
Music preference also might reveal individual traits such as political ideology, intelligence and physical attractiveness.
Similarly, how that music is organized -- alphabetized on shelves, separated by genre or scattered on the floor -- is a reflection of personality, another study shows.
So the question becomes, when you bring your date home and he or she inspects your music collection, what's that person really seeing?
The studies indicate a music collection and how it's organized might tell where an owner fits in a group of personality categories called the "Big Five": extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness.
In Tony Radovich's Seattle apartment, racks of compact discs and stacks of records form a central part of the living room. With that arrangement, Radovich is telling you something, says Robert Hogan, a psychologist and personality expert.
First, the artifact quality of his collection and the fact that it's an important part of his living space indicates he thinks of himself as a real expert in a type of music.
Radovich's collection, heavy on groundbreaking electronica albums, says he is likely to be a liberal extrovert who is athletic and physically attractive, adds Hogan.
Also, he is likely to be "blirtatious," a psychologist-coined word that means Radovich says what he thinks or feels as soon as it comes to his mind.
"Yeah, right on," Radovich, 43, a self-employed student and a former club DJ, said when told of that evaluation.
What about other music collections?
A penchant for country or pop music means you're likely to be athletic, politically conservative and not prone to depression.
If heavy metal and rock 'n' roll are more your bag, you are likely to be intelligent and have good verbal cognitive ability.
And how about those CDs? Are they piled on the floor, with the most recently listened-to recordings on top? If so, you probably have an artistic bent.
The opposite -- religiously following a strict organizational formula -- is a sign of an obsessive-compulsive personality.
Researchers such as Hogan know that people express their personalities, beliefs and insecurities through everything they do, from clothing to speech to diet. But until recently, scant research has linked personality with music, a significant form of self-expression.
While researchers have found correlations, they caution that a record collection doesn't reveal everything about a person.
"There's no way you can make a firm determination (of personality) on the basis of any one thing," said Sam Gosling, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas and a lead researcher on two recent studies of music, personal space and personality.
"But I would say if you're trying to size somebody up, depending on the trait you want to know about, these (findings) are a good way to line those up," he said.
Take Zach Scheiner, 27, a University of Washington graduate student studying neurobiology.
His CDs are out of their cases and filed in several books. The disc-filled volumes are on the floor of his living room, tucked beneath the television stand. Music is separated by genre, with rock being the largest.
While each artist's albums are grouped together, the contents of the books are not alphabetized, and Scheiner relies on his memory to find the music he wants.
"For me it's easy, but for other people it would be impossible to find anything," Scheiner said.
That organization, or lack of it, is a good personality clue, Gosling said.
"He's less high on conscientiousness. He's probably not really low, but somewhat less reliable for things like having spare change," Gosling said.
Scheiner's music taste pegs him as intelligent, possibly athletic and puts him in the "openness" personality category, meaning he seeks the thrill of new experiences, like when he set out in his van on a four-month solitary exploration of the United States and Canada.
The five main personality categories are broad terms that can be reflected in traits such as personal goals and relationship roles. They also can reveal small things, like where you might go for dinner.
By day, Laura Graven works as an assistant for a cat veterinarian. At night, she heads home to where she and her fiance share a "record room," with music contents that fill shelves on two walls. The collection consists largely of rock and pop albums.
The CDs are organized by genre, with the pop and rock section taking up most of the space, and compilations, jazz, reggae and miscellaneous albums filling the rest. Within genres, the albums are alphabetized by artist.
"I think (she) is quite high on openness to new experience," Gosling said. "I expect her, when deciding where to go for a meal, to go to the new Middle Eastern restaurant with belly dancers rather than Denny's."
Graven also is likely to be an organized and reliable person, the kind who doesn't get parking tickets and shows up on time for movies, he said.
The couple's vinyl albums are organized the same way as the CDs, but they have yet to combine their collections -- hers is on the top two shelves, his is on the bottom.
"I don't know what that says," Gosling said.
The study of music and personality, which used students at the University of Texas as test subjects, was published in June in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The students took a series of tests of their personality, self-views and cognitive ability. Researchers then compared the test results to inventories of the students' music preferences.
The other study, published in March 2002, measured links between personality and the "behavioral residue" of a person's office space and bedroom.
As with the music study, occupants of the offices and rooms were evaluated based on the "Big Five" personality categories, and researchers compared results with self- and peer-reports of the occupants.Music preference and personality
Classical, jazz, blues, folk: reflective and complex (openness, politically liberal, intelligent, not athletic, verbal cognitive ability).
Alternative, rock, heavy metal: intense and rebellious (openness, athletic, intelligent, verbal cognitive ability).
Country, pop, religious, soundtracks: upbeat and conventional (extrovert, agreeable, conscientious, politically conservative, physically attractive, wealthy, athletic, unlikely to have verbal cognitive ability).
Rap, hip-hop, soul, funk, electronica, dance: energetic and rhythmic (extrovert, politically liberal, physically attractive, athletic, "blirtatious").
Personality and personal music and space
Based on the "Big Five" personality categories:
Extroversion: many and varied CDs; decorated, cluttered house; distinctive, cluttered, stylish office space.
Agreeableness: homogenous CDs; colorful, clean, inviting bedroom; office space in high-traffic area.
Conscientiousness: organized and homogenous CDs; modern, comfortable, organized bedroom; organized, formal office (makes good use of space).
Emotional stability: no significant CD classification; fresh (versus stale), well-lit bedroom; ordinary, undecorated office.
Openness: many and varied CDs; distinctive, decorated, cluttered bedroom; distinctive, stylish office.
Studies find it can indicate personality
By Wyatt Buchanan
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Groundbreaking research has found that a person's record collection might help predict which of five personality categories he or she belongs to.
Music preference also might reveal individual traits such as political ideology, intelligence and physical attractiveness.
Similarly, how that music is organized -- alphabetized on shelves, separated by genre or scattered on the floor -- is a reflection of personality, another study shows.
So the question becomes, when you bring your date home and he or she inspects your music collection, what's that person really seeing?
The studies indicate a music collection and how it's organized might tell where an owner fits in a group of personality categories called the "Big Five": extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness.
In Tony Radovich's Seattle apartment, racks of compact discs and stacks of records form a central part of the living room. With that arrangement, Radovich is telling you something, says Robert Hogan, a psychologist and personality expert.
First, the artifact quality of his collection and the fact that it's an important part of his living space indicates he thinks of himself as a real expert in a type of music.
Radovich's collection, heavy on groundbreaking electronica albums, says he is likely to be a liberal extrovert who is athletic and physically attractive, adds Hogan.
Also, he is likely to be "blirtatious," a psychologist-coined word that means Radovich says what he thinks or feels as soon as it comes to his mind.
"Yeah, right on," Radovich, 43, a self-employed student and a former club DJ, said when told of that evaluation.
What about other music collections?
A penchant for country or pop music means you're likely to be athletic, politically conservative and not prone to depression.
If heavy metal and rock 'n' roll are more your bag, you are likely to be intelligent and have good verbal cognitive ability.
And how about those CDs? Are they piled on the floor, with the most recently listened-to recordings on top? If so, you probably have an artistic bent.
The opposite -- religiously following a strict organizational formula -- is a sign of an obsessive-compulsive personality.
Researchers such as Hogan know that people express their personalities, beliefs and insecurities through everything they do, from clothing to speech to diet. But until recently, scant research has linked personality with music, a significant form of self-expression.
While researchers have found correlations, they caution that a record collection doesn't reveal everything about a person.
"There's no way you can make a firm determination (of personality) on the basis of any one thing," said Sam Gosling, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas and a lead researcher on two recent studies of music, personal space and personality.
"But I would say if you're trying to size somebody up, depending on the trait you want to know about, these (findings) are a good way to line those up," he said.
Take Zach Scheiner, 27, a University of Washington graduate student studying neurobiology.
His CDs are out of their cases and filed in several books. The disc-filled volumes are on the floor of his living room, tucked beneath the television stand. Music is separated by genre, with rock being the largest.
While each artist's albums are grouped together, the contents of the books are not alphabetized, and Scheiner relies on his memory to find the music he wants.
"For me it's easy, but for other people it would be impossible to find anything," Scheiner said.
That organization, or lack of it, is a good personality clue, Gosling said.
"He's less high on conscientiousness. He's probably not really low, but somewhat less reliable for things like having spare change," Gosling said.
Scheiner's music taste pegs him as intelligent, possibly athletic and puts him in the "openness" personality category, meaning he seeks the thrill of new experiences, like when he set out in his van on a four-month solitary exploration of the United States and Canada.
The five main personality categories are broad terms that can be reflected in traits such as personal goals and relationship roles. They also can reveal small things, like where you might go for dinner.
By day, Laura Graven works as an assistant for a cat veterinarian. At night, she heads home to where she and her fiance share a "record room," with music contents that fill shelves on two walls. The collection consists largely of rock and pop albums.
The CDs are organized by genre, with the pop and rock section taking up most of the space, and compilations, jazz, reggae and miscellaneous albums filling the rest. Within genres, the albums are alphabetized by artist.
"I think (she) is quite high on openness to new experience," Gosling said. "I expect her, when deciding where to go for a meal, to go to the new Middle Eastern restaurant with belly dancers rather than Denny's."
Graven also is likely to be an organized and reliable person, the kind who doesn't get parking tickets and shows up on time for movies, he said.
The couple's vinyl albums are organized the same way as the CDs, but they have yet to combine their collections -- hers is on the top two shelves, his is on the bottom.
"I don't know what that says," Gosling said.
The study of music and personality, which used students at the University of Texas as test subjects, was published in June in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The students took a series of tests of their personality, self-views and cognitive ability. Researchers then compared the test results to inventories of the students' music preferences.
The other study, published in March 2002, measured links between personality and the "behavioral residue" of a person's office space and bedroom.
As with the music study, occupants of the offices and rooms were evaluated based on the "Big Five" personality categories, and researchers compared results with self- and peer-reports of the occupants.Music preference and personality
Classical, jazz, blues, folk: reflective and complex (openness, politically liberal, intelligent, not athletic, verbal cognitive ability).
Alternative, rock, heavy metal: intense and rebellious (openness, athletic, intelligent, verbal cognitive ability).
Country, pop, religious, soundtracks: upbeat and conventional (extrovert, agreeable, conscientious, politically conservative, physically attractive, wealthy, athletic, unlikely to have verbal cognitive ability).
Rap, hip-hop, soul, funk, electronica, dance: energetic and rhythmic (extrovert, politically liberal, physically attractive, athletic, "blirtatious").
Personality and personal music and space
Based on the "Big Five" personality categories:
Extroversion: many and varied CDs; decorated, cluttered house; distinctive, cluttered, stylish office space.
Agreeableness: homogenous CDs; colorful, clean, inviting bedroom; office space in high-traffic area.
Conscientiousness: organized and homogenous CDs; modern, comfortable, organized bedroom; organized, formal office (makes good use of space).
Emotional stability: no significant CD classification; fresh (versus stale), well-lit bedroom; ordinary, undecorated office.
Openness: many and varied CDs; distinctive, decorated, cluttered bedroom; distinctive, stylish office.
And once again, I find I am just one big contradiction.
Indelible @ Tue Mar 30, 2004 12:41 am
me too.
my cd collection includes everything from metal and rock to jazz, techno, classical, world (i have some tribal sounding australian albums, really cool!), rap and hip hop.
jazz makes up teh bulk of my music collection.
basically i like every form of music except for the pop shit....i can't stand brittney and those types. ugh!
my cds are meticulously organized by genre and then with compilations first and after that by artist/band, not alphabetical, but by the one i like most to the one i like least, and if i have several by the same artist/band it goes the same way, most to least favourite album.
RoyalHighlander @ Tue Mar 30, 2004 1:12 am
Robair Robair:
$1:
And once again, I find I am just one big contradiction.
Welcome to the club buddy
stickshift @ Tue Mar 30, 2004 10:04 am
Heh... So I'm an obsessive compulsive who keeps his CDs alphabetized, but I'm really bad about putting them back on the shelf after I've listened to them... what does that mean?? *lol*
Kace @ Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:55 pm
meh..mine are all over the place...i have no sence of organization..and my collection is like The Sex Pistols, The Ataris, The Distillers, Yellowcard, Hot Hot Heat, Good Chalotte...plus some mix cds with like manson and nirvana
AdamNF @ Thu Apr 01, 2004 4:04 pm
Welcome Kace.
I don't own any CD's. Well i didn't buy any, i always just download and burn. Though i don't burn a lot of CD's becasue i use my PC to listen to all my music.
This music thing is coming on the heals of this
Goaler27 @ Thu Apr 01, 2004 4:57 pm
When I was single (almost ten years ago) I used to buy min. 3 cd's every two weeks, my colection was huge. I bought so many because of location. the radio stations in kelowna are the shitts. One rock station around called the "The Lizard", say no more.
My music selection was a massive range from heavy metal including Slayer and Sepatula. down to Bjork and Sade, Rap to trance and drum and bass. Keoki to Run and The Besties and then my favorite everything from Radiohead.
No shitty Country, was the only exception.
They were organized by purchase date , but now I listen to them rarely, because I am closer to bigger cities and more selections of a variety different radio stations including talk radio.
Not saying that i dont listen to as much, music, It is a must for me it is on when I am up. which seems to be all the time. (damn job) I Download and play music on my computer, burn a few cd's, for the times i need them.
I look at my CD's some times which are packed in a trunk in my bedroom, the kids seem to play with them too much when they are out and I dont want them scratched. If they were closer at hand I think that I would play them more, but the wife doesnt like Primus. Why. Big brown Beaver, is a very kid friendly song.
Music is life.
WarHawk @ Thu Apr 01, 2004 10:22 pm
I don't listen to music much anymore. Meh.
Johnnybgoodaaaaa @ Thu Apr 01, 2004 10:48 pm
Hmm, figure I will get up in here with some of the groups I like, because I love music, although no one will probably care, I'll go ahead and list some....
The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Tool, Misfits, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Satriani, Weezer(blue album+pinkerton), Charles Mingus, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rage against the machine, Pantera, Joe Strummer, The Ramones, The Clash, PINK FLOYD, Radiohead, Dead Kennedys, Mr. Bungle, Velvet Underground, New order, Joy Division, The Smiths, Sublime, Nirvana, Pulp, Sonic Youth, Beck, Iggy Pop, The Stranglers, Metallica, GG Allin, Janes Addiction, Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Sneaker Pimps, Tear Garden, Cars, Blur, Best of the 60s/70s/80s soundtracks, King Crimson, Grandaddy, Steppenwolf, Traffic, Anything such as classical, such as Mozart and Beethoven....Hmm, I could go on even more listing stuff, but I dunno, I'm sure you people didn't want a list of bands, but I felt like doing it....
I basically like any music except rap, unless it's rap that has a flow and a cool beat and isn't all "drinking 40's, give me cash bitch" type stuff....I could even listen to some polka, and experimental music rules....
AdamNF @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 8:05 am
The Doors are the most over rated band in history, my friend it a HUGE doors fan but not me. I like some of thier music, but i HATE Jim Morison
Johnnybgoodaaaaa @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 11:17 am
AdamNF AdamNF:
The Doors are the most over rated band in history, my friend it a HUGE doors fan but not me. I like some of thier music, but i HATE Jim Morison
I don't think they are overrated. Songs like "break on through" "Light my fire" "The End" are classics. You aren't a big fan, so of course you would think they are overrated, but im a big fan and I think they rule. The later albums weren't as good though as the first couple, like Strange Days. Guess you've never tripped on acid or mushrooms, cause I will tell you that it is the best when you are tripping....
Kace @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 2:51 pm
WarHawk WarHawk:
I don't listen to music much anymore. Meh.
WHAT?!?!?!?!
[font=Tahoma] [/font] how do u know listen to music???? thats like a crime...believe me..its un-natural to not listn to music!!!!
Robair @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 2:56 pm
AdamNF AdamNF:
The Doors are the most over rated band in history, my friend it a HUGE doors fan but not me. I like some of thier music, but i HATE Jim Morison
You don't buy CD's, your musical opinion means squat.
Johnnybgoodaaaaa @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:12 pm
Robair Robair:
AdamNF AdamNF:
The Doors are the most over rated band in history, my friend it a HUGE doors fan but not me. I like some of thier music, but i HATE Jim Morison
You don't buy CD's, your musical opinion means squat.
Hmm, guess you'll not believe my opinion to mean anything either then, cause I don't buy cds, but I don't have 17$ for every cd I want, cause it would take so much money to get cds. Im on broke person, and I don't have money to buy cd, and only because of the file sharing networks was I able to hear more music.
AdamNF - I still don't get how the doors are overrated, cause they created good songs. Ive played guitar for a while, and I'll tell you that their songs are put together nicely and are pretty complex. I guess you need to get like 5 hits of acid and turn on the doors and you will understand why they aren't overrated. What's there to hate about jim morrison, cause he was just some crazy rockstar who took alot of acid and did crazy things. Oh well, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I strongly disagree...
AdamNF @ Fri Apr 02, 2004 3:31 pm
Jim Morison was a drunk and a loser. Not somone i idolize.