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Preferred Music Genre: The Influence of Major Personality Factors
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by Lindsay G. Higdon and Eric C. Stephens - University of the Cumberlands
Personality traits and musical preferences were obtained and analyzed using the IPIP Five Factor Inventory from Buchanan (2001) and questions regarding preferred musical characteristics similar to those used in a study by Schwartz (2004). The goal was to see if certain types of people (in regard to personality) prefer certain types of music. In addition, Sensation Seeking as defined by Zuckerman (1979) was used as another facet of personality and as a second independent variable. There were 170 students surveyed. Significant main effects were found for Sensation Seeking and Openness to experience, meaning that participants higher in these characteristics tended to prefer harder forms of music.