Music, Why do we like, What we like, When we like it?

[xoxoxoBruce]

I don't feel I'm alone when I default to, I don't know much about music but I know what I like. Hear a new song and like it, have to hear it a couple times, or hated it. I've found once I decide I rarely change my mind, but that could just be cussedness, as Granny would say. The thing that puzzles me is I listen to certain music for certain moods, but no matter what my mood when thumbs up or down a new piece, when I want to listen later may not match the decision mood. So there must be more to my decision making than I'm aware of. Que music You're traveling through another dimension...

Well these guy at PLOS-one think they've got it figured out.

Abstract
Why do we like the music we do? Research has shown that musical preferences and personality are linked, yet little is known about other influences on preferences such as cognitive styles. To address this gap, we investigated how individual differences in musical preferences are explained by the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory.

Study 1 examined the links between empathy and musical preferences across four samples. By reporting their preferential reactions to musical stimuli, samples 1 and 2 (Ns = 2,178 and 891) indicated their preferences for music from 26 different genres, and samples 3 and 4 (Ns = 747 and 320) indicated their preferences for music from only a single genre (rock or jazz).

Results across samples showed that empathy levels are linked to preferences even within genres and account for significant proportions of variance in preferences over and above personality traits for various music-preference dimensions.

Study 2 (N = 353) replicated and extended these findings by investigating how musical preferences are differentiated by E-S cognitive styles (i.e., ‘brain types’).
Those who are type E (bias towards empathizing) preferred music on the Mellow dimension (R&B/soul, adult contemporary, soft rock genres).
Type S (bias towards systemizing) who preferred music on the Intense dimension (punk, heavy metal, and hard rock).

Analyses of fine-grained psychological and sonic attributes in the music revealed that type E individuals preferred music that featured low arousal (gentle, warm, and sensual attributes), negative valence (depressing and sad), and emotional depth (poetic, relaxing, and thoughtful),
Type S preferred music that featured high arousal (strong, tense, and thrilling), and aspects of positive valence (animated) and cerebral depth (complexity).

The application of these findings for clinicians, interventions, and those on the autism spectrum (largely type S or extreme type S) are discussed.

And they have 8x10 charts with a paragraph on the back.
Table 1. Correlations Between the Empathy Quotient and Musical Preferences.
Table 2. Incremental Changes in Multiple Correlations of Music-Preference Dimensions with Personality and EQ as Simultaneous Predictors.


Fig 1. Mean Preferences for the MUSIC Dimensions by Cognitive ‘Brain Type’.


Fig 2. Mean Preferences for Psychological Attributes by Cognitive ‘Brain Type’.


Fig 3. Mean Preferences for Sonic Attributes by Cognitive ‘Brain Type’.

Sigh, guess I'll leave it to Rod Sirling, but I thought some of you smarties might gain some understanding of why the sky is blue.

[Clodfobble]

Very cool study, thanks for finding it. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part I am type S all the way.

[xoxoxoBruce]

A Ned Flanders themed metal band, you can hear here.