What Do Music Preferences Reveal About Personality?

Abstract

The present study is the first to examine the relationship between music preferences and personality among a sample of young Germans (N = 422, age range 21–26 years). We replicated the factor structure of the Short Test of Music Preferences (STOMP, Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003 ) by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The validity of the STOMP was also confirmed for the first time by rating soundclips. The relationship between the dimensions of personality (Big Five Inventory) and music preferences (STOMP and soundclips) was analyzed with a structural equation model (SEM). Gender differences were examined with multigroup analyses (MGA). Our findings corroborate earlier findings on the relationship between music preferences and personality: Individuals open to experience prefer reflective and complex music (e.g., classical) and intense and rebellious music (e.g., rock), whereas they dislike upbeat and conventional types of music (e.g., pop music). Extraverts, on the other hand, prefer upbeat and conventional and energetic and rhythmic types of music (e.g., rap/hip-hop). The results reveal some gender differences.