Music through the ages: Trends in musical engagement and preferences from adolescence through middle adulthood.

Abstract

Are there developmental trends in how individuals experience and engage with music? Data from 2 large cross-sectional studies involving more than a quarter of a million individuals were used to investigate age differences in musical attitudes and preferences from adolescence through middle age. Study 1 investigated age trends in musical engagement. Results indicated that (a) the degree of importance attributed to music declines with age but that adults still consider music important, (b) young people listen to music significantly more often than do middle-aged adults, and (c) young people listen to music in a wide variety of contexts, whereas adults listen to music primarily in private contexts. Study 2 examined age trends in musical preferences. Results indicated that (a) musical preferences can be conceptualized in terms of a 5-dimensional age-invariant model, (b) certain music-preference dimensions decrease with age (e.g., Intense, Contemporary), whereas preferences for other music dimensions increase with age (e.g., Unpretentious, Sophisticated), and (c) age trends in musical preferences are closely associated with personality. Normative age trends in musical preferences corresponded with developmental changes in psychosocial development, personality, and auditory perception. Overall, the findings suggest that musical preferences are subject to a variety of developmental influences throughout the life span.

The relationship between musical preferences and Type D personality

“…Studies have reported that females are more likely to prefer Chart Pop and Pop, whereas males are more likely to prefer Blues and Jazz (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2013;Colley, 2008); however, no gender differences were observed in the preference of these genres in our study.…”

“…The STOMP-R is a 21-item self-report measure assessing the liking for 21 musical genres by using a seven-point rating scale (1 = dislike, 7 = like; Bonneville- Roussy et al, 2013). Although the original STOMP-R comprises 23 items or genres, two of them (soundtracks and oldies) were removed in this study because the interpretation might be influenced by age (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2013).…”

“…In particular, the role of personality traits in shaping musical preferences has received the most attention in the music psychology literature (Bonneville-Roussy, Rentfrow, Xu, & Potter, 2013;Delsing, Bogt, Engels, & Meeus, 2008;Getz, Marks, & Roy, 2012;Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). However, studies conducted in the field of music psychology have primarily focused on the five-factor model (FFM) or Big Five personality traits (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2013;Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003) and additional studies on other personality traits affecting musical preferences are required.Compared with the FFM, Type D personality might be a novel personality trait studied in the field of music psychology and initially applied in clinical settings (Denollet, Sys, & Brutsaert, 1995). According to Denollet, Type D personality has a propensity towards distress and is defined as a combination of negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI); individuals with a tendency to experience negative emotions (e.g.…”

Can Music Increase Empathy? Interpreting Musical Experience Through the Empathizing–Systemizing (E-S) Theory: Implications for Autism

“…Early personality psychologists such as Cattell and colleagues argued that musical preferences are manifestations of non-conscious aspects of personality, which provide a window into understanding the unconscious mind (Cattell & Anderson, 1953;Cattell & Saunders, 1954). However today, researchers (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011;Bonneville-Roussy, Rentfrow, Xu, & Potter, 2013) have adopted an approach aligned with interactionist theories (Buss, 1987;Swann, Rentfrow, & Guinn, 2002), positing that people seek out music and musical environments that reflect and reinforce more explicit and observable characteristics and traits. The correlations between musical preferences and psychological constructs such as personality traits (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003), values (Boer et al, 2011) and age demographics (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2013) have been studied, and convergence across many studies from varied geographical regions (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003;George, Stickle, Rachid, & Wopnford, 2007;Delsing, ter Bogt, Engels, & Meeus, 2008;Zweigenhaft, 2008;Brown, 2012;Dunn, de Ruyter, & Bouwhuis, 2012;Langmeyer, Guglhör, & Tarnai, 2012) has provided clear evidence that these constructs are linked in a similar fashion.…”

“…Early personality psychologists such as Cattell and colleagues argued that musical preferences are manifestations of non-conscious aspects of personality, which provide a window into understanding the unconscious mind (Cattell & Anderson, 1953;Cattell & Saunders, 1954). However today, researchers (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011;Bonneville-Roussy, Rentfrow, Xu, & Potter, 2013) have adopted an approach aligned with interactionist theories (Buss, 1987;Swann, Rentfrow, & Guinn, 2002), positing that people seek out music and musical environments that reflect and reinforce more explicit and observable Empirical Musicology Review Vol. 10, No.…”