[Mudbugclub]

A study of more than 36,000 people from around the world concluded that musical tastes and personality type were closely related. The research, which was carried out by Professor Adrian North of Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh in the UK suggested classical music fans were shy, while heavy metal fans were gentle and at ease with themselves. Fans of Indie music had low self-esteem and were not hard working, fans of Rap music had high self-esteem and were outgoing. Country & Western fans were hardworking and outgoing, Reggae fans were creative but not hardworking, and fans of chart pop had high self-esteem, were not creative, but where hardworking and outgoing. So which one are you? From www.thisdayinmusic.com

 

[Calexico]

Low self-esteem and not hard working.  Funny how indie is the only one with all negatives.  Hipster hatin' has reached the scholars.  I guess classical could be interpreted as a negative too, depending on who you ask.

 

[ArmednInsane]

I really have no preference in music, I can listen to rap for a week then switch to jazz for a week, then pop for another week. I like them all. What does that says about me? :S

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've got a bunch of those genres on my playlist. I think it is a little too general.

 

[R_burke]

Yeah I have over 6,000 CDs and a lot of different styles, guess I'm schizoid although I prefer to think of myself as a complicated individual

 

[tru blu]

Hmmm…I wonder if this all means that the cat who did the study listens to "chart pop"? I mean, it's possible to be both "hard working" and an idiot, no?

 

[majestic12]

It sounds about as reliable and detailed as a horoscope.  In the right circumstances, I'm extremely outgoing and willing to work hard, while in others it is just the opposite.  I could perceive myself to be either way if I really wanted to, regardless  of my taste in music. 

 

[khbaur330162]

I think this could work, but more thought needs to go into it. Something like Pandora where you tell a program what you like and what you don't like, but it'd have to breakdown even further and delve into lyrical content, as well as if you identify with the lyrics, or just dig the tunes. Lyrics are more important than the genre, imo. Just 'cause I like Radiodread doesn't mean I'm creative, or lazy. And just because I like The Roots - How I Got Over doesn't mean I'm outgoing, or have high self-esteem.
 
Interesting idea, though. I think talking to individuals about their musical tastes can impart some knowledge of general personality/character traits, although you could argue this isn't even close to 100% "musically" derived.
 
Aimed at some people who already posted, just because you own an album doesn't mean you listen to it. I own some metal albums, but I don't listen to it. I own the Tool discography and think mostly it's crap... I think this is talking about what genre you most listen to, and/or enjoy.

 

[KingStyles]

Out of those categories I listen to chart pop, rap , and classical. That means I am a shy guy who is also outgoing. Analysis is flawed.

 

[daigo]

List is a bit narrow minded, considering I listen to modern rock, heavy metal, indie rock, classical, and jazz depending on the mood.  Maybe that's it.  I'm all over the place and moody... 

 

[desktophifi]

Im into rock and metal, that means im gentle and ease with myself...thats right! + im very outgoing. 

 

[R_burke]

 
Quote:

 
Aimed at some people who already posted, just because you own an album doesn't mean you listen to it. I own some metal albums, but I don't listen to it. I own the Tool discography and think mostly it's crap... I think this is talking about what genre you most listen to, and/or enjoy.

 
Odd sentiment (at least to me)  I am one of the "already posted", and I wouldn't think about owning music I don't listen to.  Granted with the number of CDs I have (6,000+) it might be a long time between listens, and occasionally on the second or third listen I might put it into my trade in pile, but I wouldn't listen to something think it's crap and then keep it just to own it.
 
BTW I regularly listen to Americana, Progressive, Jazz and Blues in the same listening session

 

 

[Henry Flower]

All those who are queueing up to post, 'I like several kinds of music, so this is a nonsense study by an idiot': do try to stop and think before posting.
 
Behind the media flim-flam, this seems to be a perfectly good psychological study, which has found correlations (NOT one-to-one, but significant and interesting) between tastes and personality.   Identifying tendencies is a large part of how things are done in the social sciences, and the fact that they don't always hold true in every case does not invalidate these studies.

 

[Stn.]

My favorite genre is rap, which should mean I am outgoing and confident, which is half true. This may be because my second favorite is Indie

 

[Cianyx]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7598549.stm
 
Here's a link if you want to read more. This demonstrates to me a severely lacking in understanding in music tastes. For the most part, human personality remains relatively consistent through a person's life. It is not likely that a person might say, wake up and start being a ****. Music tastes, however, changes quite a bit throughout your life. Most of the time, if you're truly a music fan, you wouldn't be confined to just a single genre. 
 
Looking at the genres they classify their music, shows to me a lack in their knowledge of music as well. A lot of the terms they use are quite vague and genres. I personally believe a strong correlation does indeed exist (which is what most people already assume anyway), but this study wasn't executed well and proved nothing.