Music & Mates: The Role of Music Preferences in Mate Selection
What is the process by which unacquainted strangers become acquainted and possibly romantically involved? Without doubt, becoming romantically involved can be a long and arduous process. At the broadest level it comes down to what and how much people know about each other. However when narrowed down, could music preferences be the root of romantic relationships? If getting to know people better includes getting to know more about them, and music is the most commonly talked about subject for new acquaintances (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006), is it not possible that music plays a major part in mate selection?
“Previous research has shown many cues that individuals use to frame a picture of what someone else is like. Studies have shown, for example, that physical appearance is one of those cues (Kenny, Horner, Kashy & Chu, 1992), non-verbal behavior (Borkeanu, Mauer, Riemann, Spinath, & Angleitner, 2004: Paulhus & Bruce,1992) and clothing (burroughs, Drews, & Hallman,1991).” Most recently music preferences have been shown to display interpersonal characteristics ( Rentfrow and Gosling).
In a research article by Rentfrow and Gosling (2006), one specific question was addressed for guiding the study. What do people talk about as they become acquainted? The focus of the investigation was on acquaintance patterns during conversation. It is hypothesized that music will be the most commonly talked about topic among strangers getting acquainted. The sample consisted of sixty University of Texas at Austin undergraduate students. Fifty five percent of them were women and the average age was 18.4 years. The results in this study supported the hypothesis that music was the most common topic of discussion among strangers getting acquainted. During the first week of testing, 58% of the participants talked about music (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). Music was among the most commonly discussed topics all six weeks. The difference between subjects discussed was significant at the .05 level. As the weeks went on, talk about all of the preferences gradually decreased (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). However, once in the first five weeks it was not the most commonly discussed. Rentfrow and Gosling said, “In a context where individuals were completely free to discuss absolutely anything that they considered relevant to the task of getting acquainted, the majority talked about music.” The results provide evidence that music preferences play a dominant role in getting acquainted.
These results confirm the hypothesis that music is one of the most commonly discussed topics for new acquaintances. One limitation to the study is that it was conducted online. It may be possible that some factor of being online caused people to speak about music more often than they normally would. Also if the study were done face to face the results may have been different.
The topic of interpersonal traits is discussed in relation to music preference. In a research article by Rentfrow and Gosling (2006) a few question were addressed. First what interpersonal information do music preferences convey and second, is the information that music preferences convey about personality accurate? It is hypothesized that observers of those conversations will be able to accurately form impressions on the basis of the targets music preferences. Also the music preferences were related to the person’s personality and that those conversations convey a clear interpretable message about his or her personality. The focus of the study is to investigate how much, if anything, music preferences are able to accurately display about ones personality. The participants were seventy-four University of Texas undergraduate students, with 40% being women and with a mean age of 18.9. They participated for partial fulfillment of a psychology course requirement.
The results indicate that observer’s impressions were positively correlated for the BFI traits, values, and affect (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). It supported the hypothesis that observers will be able to accurately form impressions on the basis of the targets music preferences and that the music preferences were related to the targets personality.
The BFI for openness had the highest accuracy, while values of imagination and a world of beauty were high as well. However, the values were lowest for ambition, negative affect and the value of self-respect (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). Rentfrow and Gosling found that music preferences provide more information about participants agreeableness, emotional stability, and openness and less information about participants extraversion and conscientiousness than past zero-acquaintance research. One limitation of the study was that it dealt only with younger people. As people get older music becomes less relevant (LeBlanc as read in Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). It is possible that younger people are more concerned with music than older people.
The topic of music preference and mate selection is addressed by testing factors related to music preference. In the research article by Rentfrow and Gosling (2006) they investigated preferences that are related to music preferences and stereotypes.
The purpose of this study was to examine the content and uniqueness of stereotypes associated with the fans of various genres of music. It focused mainy on the content of stereotypes placed on others based solely on the genre of music they listen to; more specifically, psychological characteristics as well as drug and alcohol preferences. It is theorized that individuals will associate different psychological characteristics with the fans of various music genres. The sample size consisted of 206 University of Texas at Austin undergraduate students that volunteered in exchange for partial fulfillment of an introductory psychology course requirement. Of the 206, fifty eight percent were women. The age ranged from 18 to 27 with a mean of 18.9.
The results indicate several general and even some specific conclusions. The judges agreed more about the content of some stereotypes than others (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). Judges results showed most agreeability about the content of the religious, classical and rock music stereotypes. The least agreeability came with the content of pop, blues and soundtrack stereotypes (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). There was considerable agreement about the personality characteristics of all the music prototypes except soundtracks. The data shows that classical and religious music prototypes were similar, while rap and rock were similar as well. Classical and religious music types were both high in agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness and low in extraversion. Rap and rock listeners are thought to be low in agreeableness conscientiousness and emotional stability (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). However, rock listeners are thought to be more emotionally stable than those that listen to rap. The alcohol and drug differences reveal shocking differences between the music stereotypes. Rock and rap fans are believed to drink more beer than wine or cocktails and classical music fans are though to drink more wine than anything else. Again, rock and rap fans are believed to abuse any and all types of drugs. One limitation of the study is that the observers were college students. College students in general may have completely-skewed opinions than the rest of the general population. Also there was no clear definition of the types of music associated with each genre. For example, people may have different opinions of what is considered rap and classical.
The topic of music preference is discussed in relation to the accuracy of stereotypes. Rentfrow and Gosling (2006) predicted that, “the convergence between a participant’s personality and the stereotypical personality associated with a music genre would predict the extent to which the participant actually likes that music genre.” For example, if a participants profile matches that stereotypical personality associated with rap, then they would expect the person to express a preference for rap music. The goal of this study was to test the validity of music stereotypes mentioned in the aforementioned study (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). The sample was comprised of 87 University of Texas at Austin undergraduates who volunteered in exchange for partial fulfillment of an introductory psychology course requirement. Of those that participated, approximately 60% were women and the age ranged from 17 to 40 with the mean at 18.9.
The results indicate music stereotypes vary in their degree of validity. Stereotypes with the highest validity were religious, country, classical and jazz music genres. The stereotypes associated with pop, rap, and soul were not valid. Only religious and jazz music show some validity for all of the constructs. Whereas classical music stereotype is only valid for values, and the heavy metal stereotype is valid for personality traits (Rentfrow and Gosling). After analyzing all stereotypes, it is safe to say the stereotypes offer a glimpse of truth. One limitation of this study is that it cannot be generalized onto a larger population, because there was no random assignment and also because it deals mainly with young people.
Finally, the topic of music preferences is discussed in relation to the individual. In a research article by Rentfrow and Gosling (2003), a study investigates music preference and the individual experience. Three questions that were addressed are relevant to the topic of this paper. How much importance do individuals place on music? How much do people believe music preferences say about themselves? How much do people believe music preferences reveal about their own and others personalities? The study was comprised of 74 University of Texas at Austin undergraduates who volunteered in exchange for partial fulfillment of an introductory psychology course requirement during the spring semester of 2001. The sample was 40.5% women and 59.5% men.
The results indicate that music was the most important of all the domains examined (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). The data supported the hypothesis that music is an important part of people’s lives. The participant’s music preferences were at least as important as or more important than all other domains. According to Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) music preferences were believed to reveal a considerable amount of information about participant’s personal qualities. Participants believed their music preferences expressed their personality traits just as much if not more so than the other domains. Participants also believed that music preferences revealed more about a person than book or magazine preferences (Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003).
When all the data is put together it suggests that music preference plays an integral role in getting acquainted, forming interpersonal perceptions of others and also forming-semi accurate opinions of a persons personality traits and values (Rentfrow and Gosling 2006). It can be assumed from these five literature reviews that music preference influences self-expression, self-presentation and even how a person is perceived. It is important to find out what else music preferences may affect in everyday life. It was shown that music was the most talked about topic when strangers first become acquainted. It was also shown that music preferences could be a non-verbal indicator of a person’s personality. With that said, it is possible that music plays a part in mate selection. The following research was conducted based on the literature reviewed in this section of the paper.
Methods
ParticipantsThe sample was comprised of 72 California Lutheran University undergraduate students. They all volunteered and were offered no compensation for their participation. The participants were haphazardly selected, from four undergraduate classes at CLU. The classes were History, Biology, Math and Research Methods Of those indicated 64.6% were women and 31.2% were men. The age of the participants ranged from 18-24 (M=20.33 SD=1.477).
Procedure
Research sessions were run in groups of 2-20 people in small classrooms. Upon arrival, they were introduced to the study they were participating in, “Music & Mates”. There was no random assignment to the groups. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire packet with measures designed to assess their music background, preferences in mate selection and self-esteem. All students were informed both verbally and in writing that their participation was voluntary, they could quit at any time, and that their data would be kept confidential. Students were given an unspecified amount of time to complete the questionnaires that were then collected when every participant was finished. After all participants were finished, they were debriefed. The questionnaire took about 10 minutes on average to administer.
Instruments
Self-Esteem was assessed using the Single Item Self-Esteem inventory (SISE). The SISE is a single item measure of self-esteem. The single item is rated on a five-point scale. The scale ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Participants indicated the extent to which the statement, “I have high self-esteem” was characteristic of themselves. Music preferences were assessed with the Short test of Musical Preferences (STOMP; Rentfrow and Gosling, 2003). The STOMP is a 14-item scale assessing preferences in music genres. It assesses four broad music-preference dimensions, using a 1 (strongly dislike) to 7 (strongly like) rating scale; participants indicated the extent to which they liked each of 14 different music genres (alternative, blues, classical, country, electronic, folk, heavy metal, jazz, pop, rap, religious, rock, soul and sound tracks). Music background was assessed using an instrument designed by the researcher. It assessed their music preferences, how often they listened to music, how often they viewed music television channels, which form of media they used to listen to music (ipod, radio, cd, itunes, other) and whether or not they would date someone with opposite music taste or someone that disliked the music they listened to. The questions were assessed using a rating scale of 1 (don’t care at all) to 5 (absolute requirement), and Yes or No. The remaining questions for the music background were face-value questions. For instance, “Which genre of music do you listen to most?” (Rap, R&B, Country, Pop, Hardcore Rock, Alternative and other). The questions for mate selection were selected from a previous study conducted by David Buss. They used a 5-point scale from 1 (very unattractive) to 5 (very attractive).
Results
This study hypothesized that music preferences would affect mate selection. The study also hypothesized that there would be differences in mate selection based on genre. It is also hypothesized that significant differences in self-esteem would be present based on differences in music preferences. Approximately 14% of the participants indicated they would not date someone with opposite music preferences as them. Approximately 27% of participants said they would not date someone that disliked the music they liked. Participants that listen to R&B music the most find tattoos significantly more attractive than participants that listen primarily to Pop music. P=.008. Participants that listen to primarily Rap music had significantly higher self-esteem than, participants that listened primarily to Alternative. There were no other significant differences based on music preferences. Participants that listen primarily to Pop had the lowest average for Sexy, Luxury Car, Fit Body, More Money, House, Wealth and Tattoos. Participants that listened to Rap primarily had the highest mean for Sexy, Luxury Car, Fit Body and Power.Discussion
The first hypothesis was that music plays a role in mate selection. Roughly twenty-seven percent of participants said that they would not date someone that disliked the kind of music they listened to. That decision was based solely on the other person’s music preferences, no other information was revealed. Music does play a part in mate selection. Rentfrow and Gosling (2006) found that people consider music preferences to be an accurate indicator of personality traits and also a vehicle of self-expression. Disliking a person’s music preferences is equivalent to disliking their personality. That is an explanation for a participant not wanting to date a person that disliked their music preferences. The second hypothesis was interested in finding out if there were any significant differences in mate selection based on music preference. There was only one significant difference in mate selection based on music preferences, and that was between R&B and Pop. Participants that listen to R&B primarily found tattoos to be significantly more attractive than those participants that listened to pop. According to the data, participants that listen to Pop music show the lowest average or least amount of interest in their potential mate having a sexy body, or driving a luxury car, making more money than them, having an expensive house, being wealthy and having tattoos. For Pop music fans, those things were the least important. While, participants that listen to Rap primarily had the highest mean for Sexy, Luxury Car, Fit Body and Power. Which meant that those participants thought it was really important that their future spouse be sexy, drive a luxury car, have a fit body and be powerful. Participants that listened to Rap primarily also had the highest level of self-esteem. The last hypothesis was that there would be significant differences in self-esteem based on the genre of music the participant listened to the most. Between the genres there were only significant differences with regards to self-esteem between Rap and Alternative music. Rap listeners were significantly more self confident than those participants that listen to Alternative.Conclusion
Though only two significant differences were displayed, all three hypotheses were supported and shown to be accurate. Music preference does play a role in mate selection, there were also significant differences between group choices for mate selection based on genre of music, and there was a significant difference in self-esteem based on music preference. It is now clear that music plays a role in mate selection, however it cannot be concluded that music is the only variable accounted for when choosing a mate.
Strengths and Limitations
The results of this study are enhanced by a few strengths of its design. Foremost was the usage of more than one music preference inventory. The STOMP inventory was interested in the current music preferences of the participants. The STOMP inventory used multiple samples, methods and geographic regions. The analyses of music preferences of over 3500 individuals converged to create the four music preference dimensions that were utilized. While the inventory developed by the researcher was interested in current preferences as well as music listened to in the past. The music background inventory assessed how often participants listened to music and which form of media they most commonly used. This allowed the researcher to account for any significant differences between groups, as well as within groups.
This study encountered many limitations. One of which is a small sample size. The sample size was 72 instead of the obligatory 180, which would have been necessary for the data to be relevant. Because this sample size was so small the results cannot be generalized onto the population. The sample also did not target a specific group within the population of men and women; therefore the study cannot be generalized in that sense either. The inventory developed by the researcher has not been tested and likely produced irrelevant data. The participants in this study were selected haphazardly, giving us no random assignment and did not give everyone in our population a fair chance to participate. Researchers only gave this study to their friend and or family members. It may be possible that the friends and family of the researchers are all biased in a certain direction.
Additional Directions for future research
The analyses described here raise several additional questions for future research. Since there are links between self-esteem and mate selection, there may also be a link between music preferences and self-esteem. An additional hypothesis should be added on to any future replications of the study; the mate selection choices will be more significantly different based on the amount of time that a participant actually listens to their favorite music genre. For instance, if significant differences are found in mate selection choices, based on music preference, the level of significance will vary within the genre based on the amount of time that a person spends listening to that particular type of music. So, if differences are found between Pop and Rap, the strength of the significance will vary based on the amount of time each spends listening to that genre. More research should be conducted to explain the missing link between mate selection and music. Future research should also include members of the homosexual community. Everyone at some point in their life listens to music including that particular community, and it would be interesting to see if the results were drastically changed. Another direction for this study would be to obtain more participants.
References
Gosling, S.D., Ko, S.J., Mannarelli, T. and Morris, M.E. (2002) ‘A Room with a Cue:
Judgements of Personality Based on Offices and Bedrooms’, Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology82: 379–98.
Gosling, S.D., Rentfrow, P.J. and Swann, W.B., Jr. (2003) ‘A Very Brief Measure of the
Big Five Personality Domains’, Journal of Research in Personality37: 504–28.
Harlow, L.L., Mulaik, S.A. and Steiger, J.H. (eds) (1997) What If There Were No
Significance Tests?New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Rentfrow, P.J. and Gosling, S.D. (2003) ‘The Do-Re-Mi’s of Everyday Life: The
Structure and Personality Correlates of Music Preferences’, Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology84: 1236–56.
Rentfrow, P.J. and Gosling, S.D. (2006) ‘Message in a Ballad: The Role of Music
Preferences in Interpersonal Perception’, Psychological Science17: 236–42.
Rentfrow P. J. & Gosling S. D. (2003). Norms for the Short Test of Music Preferences. Unpublished data, University of Texas at Austin
Sloboda, J. A. (1985). The musical mind: The cognitive psychology of
- music. New York: Oxford University Press. Todd, N. P. M. (1999). Motion in music: A neurobiological perspective.
You should have just scanned a pic of your poster
ReplyDelete