"You are what you listen to" : the relationship between personality, perceived creativity and musical preference
Authors
Toal-Lennon, Mark
Issue Date
2013
Degree
BA (Hons) in Psychology
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality, perceived creativity and musical preference. The guiding research questions included an exploration of the strongest contributors to the development of musical preference, specifically concerning the personality dimension scales of psychoticism and extraversion, perceptions of creativity as well as musical expertise/training. Through the use of online questionnaires, an un-biased, self-selecting sample of 165 participants was used; both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. Analysis of the data revealed that perceived creative capacity predicted a preference for reflective & complex music , however it did not for upbeat & conventional music. Music professionals were found to display significantly higher levels of perceived creative capacity as well as preference for reflective & complex music than non-music professionals. No significant relationship was found between personality dimensions and musical preference. The findings partly supported and partly contradicted previous research.