Based on their meta-analysis, Schäfer and Mehlhorn argue that the weak relationships identified indicate that personality is a poor predictor of musical taste. The present research challenged this by measuring personality aspects rather than the Big Five domains and also political orientation. A sample of 157 university students aged 17 to 55 years ( M = 24.60, SD = 7.63) completed measures of musical taste (Short Test of Musical Preference [STOMP-R]), personality (Big Five Aspects Scale [BFAS]), and political orientation (International Personality Item Pool [IPIP] Liberalism). Responses to the STOMP-R produced four factors, labeled Intense, Rhythmic, Established, and Mainstream music. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that, in comparison to domains ( R2 range = .12–.23, p < .05), aspects of personality were better predictors of musical taste for three of four musical dimensions ( R2 range = .20–.28, p < .05). Both the aspect and domain models included political orientation. Conflicting correlational relationships within domains were responsible for weaker relationships at the domain level. Aspects of intellect, openness, assertiveness, compassion, politeness, and also political orientation were unique predictors of musical taste across the four dimensions. Personality aspects and political orientation were superior predictors of musical taste in comparison to personality domains. Future research should investigate these aspect-level relationships in more diverse samples.

Research regarding how people choose their long-term romantic partners is extensive, but the understanding of the psychological processes behind these choices, and predicting who people choose, is elusive. This review attempts to examine potential reasons for this elusive nature by first outlining the current state of the literature and then highlighting issues within the current paradigm. First among these issues is a focus on singular perspectives and little attempt to integrate these perspectives with others. Second, many studies focus on increasingly complex designs to explore the predictive utility of trait preferences, attempts which have had only limited success. Third, novel findings appear to be unintegrated with established findings, leaving the potential combination of these ideas unrealized. Finally, long-term romantic partner selection is a complex psychological phenomenon, but current theory and research methodologies are not sufficiently addressing this complexity. This review concludes with suggestions for future research direction, including a focus on the psychology behind the partner selection process and the potential of qualitative enquiry to reveal novel pathways behind these psychological processes. There is a need for an integrative framework that permits the coexistence of established and novel ideas, and multiple perspectives, from both current and future research paradigms.