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Musical Preferences are Linked to Cognitive Styles.
David M Greenberg1, Simon Baron-Cohen2, David J Stillwell3
1Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|July 23, 2015
Summary
Musical taste is linked to cognitive styles. Individuals biased towards empathizing (type E) prefer mellow music, while those biased towards systemizing (type S) prefer intense music, revealing new insights into music preference.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Musicology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Musical preferences are known to correlate with personality traits.
- However, the influence of cognitive styles on music preference remains underexplored.
- The empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory offers a framework to investigate these influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between individual differences in musical preferences and cognitive styles, specifically the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory.
- To determine if empathy and systemizing cognitive styles predict music preferences.
- To explore the psychological and sonic attributes associated with music preferences across different cognitive styles.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Four samples (N=4,195 total) reported preferences for 26 music genres or specific genres (rock/jazz).
- Study 2: A sample (N=353) identified as empathizing (type E) or systemizing (type S) based on cognitive style.
- Analysis of music attributes (arousal, valence, depth) linked to E-S cognitive styles.
Main Results:
- Empathy levels significantly predict music preferences across genres and over personality traits.
- Type E individuals (empathizing bias) preferred mellow music (R&B, soft rock).
- Type S individuals (systemizing bias) preferred intense music (punk, heavy metal), characterized by higher arousal and complexity.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive styles, particularly empathizing-systemizing (E-S) differences, significantly explain variations in musical preferences.
- Type E preference is linked to low arousal, negative valence, and emotional depth in music.
- Type S preference is linked to high arousal, positive valence, and cerebral depth, with implications for autism spectrum disorder interventions.
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