This Is Your Jam

You may not listen to arias in your free time, jam on a guitar, or even have a favorite artist. But if you enjoy music at all, the types that you like most may reflect something deeper about who you are. Music psychologist David M. Greenberg and colleagues recently uncovered new evidence that personal characteristics can predict musical preferences.

A label like “rock” or “pop” encompasses an enormous variety of sounds and cultural connotations. So, based on the perceptions of listeners, researchers distilled musical samples down to a few core ingredients: arousal (how intense or relaxed a piece is); valence (how positive or negative in mood); and depth (how complex or simple). In an online survey, the team assessed 30 personality traits in thousands of people and then asked them to rate a series of musical clips.

Some notable correlations emerged from the data: An angry disposition, for example, was associated with a liking for rousing music; trust was linked to enjoying gentler tunes. Here’s how other aspects of personality connect to musical taste. —Matt Huston