Musical Preferences Predict Personality: Evidence From Active Listening and Facebook Likes

TLDR

Research over the past decade has shown that musical preferences convey personality traits, but prior studies relied mainly on self‑reported genre preferences, limiting external validity. The study investigates whether personality traits are reflected in behavioral manifestations of musical preferences. The authors conducted two large‑scale online studies with demographically diverse participants to examine this question. In two large online studies (N = 22,252 and N = 21,929), reactions to unfamiliar music excerpts and Facebook Likes for musical artists predicted personality traits—especially openness and extraversion—beyond demographics, demonstrating robust external validity of the music–personality link.

Abstract

Research over the past decade has shown that various personality traits are communicated through musical preferences. One limitation of that research is external validity, as most studies have assessed individual differences in musical preferences using self-reports of music-genre preferences. Are personality traits communicated through behavioral manifestations of musical preferences? We addressed this question in two large-scale online studies with demographically diverse populations. Study 1 ( N = 22,252) shows that reactions to unfamiliar musical excerpts predicted individual differences in personality-most notably, openness and extraversion-above and beyond demographic characteristics. Moreover, these personality traits were differentially associated with particular music-preference dimensions. The results from Study 2 ( N = 21,929) replicated and extended these findings by showing that an active measure of naturally occurring behavior, Facebook Likes for musical artists, also predicted individual differences in personality. In general, our findings establish the robustness and external validity of the links between musical preferences and personality.