Personality traits in musicians

Abstract

Performing music is a complex creative activity which in addition to professional skills requires phantasy, a sense of aesthetics, cognitive involvement, intellectual curiosity, perceptual sensitivity, mental flexibility, but also discipline, motor precision and speed, attention endurance, emotional expression and communication. Many of these characteristics are also reflected in personality traits such as Openness, Extraversion, Conscientiousness and to some degree Neuroticism. Previous research has investigated the differences between personality traits amongst musicians, but there are few studies that compare personality characteristics between musicians and non-musicians. participants and procedure Using the Ten-Item Personality Measure (TIPI) the present study investigated Big Five personality traits in a sample of musicians (n = 509) compared to non-musicians (n = 201). results Controlled for gender and age, the findings demonstrated that musicians had significantly higher scores on Openness and lower scores on Conscientiousness compared with non-musicians. There were no significant differences between the groups in Extraversion, Agreeableness and Emotional Stability-Neuroticism. The differences were larger for Openness than for Conscientiousness. conclusions Musicians seem to differ from non-musicians in two traits: somewhat lower scores on Conscientiousness, and considerably higher scores in Openness to experience. Thus, Openness seems to be the most typical personality trait for musicians. There were no significant differences in Extraversion, Agreeableness or Emotional Stability (Neuroticism) between the two groups. These results suggest that musicians are more creative and openminded than nonmusicians.

The HEXACO personality profile of musicians

“…Using this approach, Rose et al (2019) reported that musicians have significantly higher levels of Openness to Experience than nonmusicians, and those who have participated in formal education have higher levels of Conscientiousness as well. In a somewhat controversial way, Gjermunds et al (2020) also supported the previous findings in the case of Openness to Experience, while according to the results the nonmusicians were more conscientious than musicians. Comparing rock musicians and nonmusicians, Gillespie and Myors (2000) found higher level of Neuroticism and Openness to Experience in the case of the musician's group, with a significantly lower level of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.…”

Extra-Curricular Activities and Well-Being: Results From a Survey of Undergraduate University Students During COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions

“…Thus, we investigated how personality, as measured by the TIPI, related to anxiety levels and which extra-curricular activities individuals chose to participate in during the pandemic. As per Bunevicius et al (2008), we expected the trait of high emotional stability as measured by the TIPI to relate to lower anxiety scores on the STAI-S. We also expected that students who scored higher on the openness trait on the TIPI would engage more in creative activities such as music and art (Kaufman et al, 2016;Gjermunds et al, 2020).…”

“…A metasynthesis conducted by Strickhouser et al ( 2017 ) suggested that personality predicts overall health and well-being. In addition, several studies indicate that personality predicts which activities people choose to engage in (Wolfradt and Pretz, 2001 ; Aaron et al, 2011 ; Gil De Zuniga et al, 2017 ; Gjermunds et al, 2020 ). Thus, we investigated how personality, as measured by the TIPI, related to anxiety levels and which extra-curricular activities individuals chose to participate in during the pandemic.…”

Psychological counseling services in music schools in Poland: History and current status

“…They also scored high, however, on measures of general intelligence, motivation, and concentration on musical tasks. Manturzewska's findings were not all confirmed by subsequent research on selected groups of music school students, however; for example, there was no evidence that they are highly neurotic (Chruszczewski, 2009;Gjermunds et al, 2020;Sękowski, 1989). Nevertheless, there seems to be a consensus among researchers that the achievements of music school students are determined not only by their musical abilities but also by a range of psychological factors and their social environment.…”

“…In summarizing the structure of the music education system in Poland, it is worth noting that children who start learning to play an instrument when they are 6 or 7 years old may spend 17–18 years in training. Music education has a significant impact on people’s lives because of the changes it brings about not only in their musical ability and competence to perform but also in aspects of their psychology (e.g., personality traits: Gjermunds et al, 2020; Kemp, 2009; Sękowski, 1989) and neurobiology (e.g., brain structures, as revealed by research using neuro-imaging techniques: Olszewska et al, 2021; Schlaug, 2006, 2009), which differentiate student and professional musicians from nonmusicians.…”