Does your taste in music reveal information about your personality?
Research conducted by psychologists Jason Rentfrow and Sam Gosling suggests that knowing the type of music you listen to can actually lead to surprisingly accurate predictions
about your personality.
For example, researchers found
that people could make accurate
judgments about an individual's
levels of extraversion, creativity
and open-mindedness after
listening to ten of their favorite
songs. Extraverts tend to seek out
songs with heavy bass lines, while
those who enjoy more complex
styles such as jazz and classical
music tend to be more creative and
have higher IQ-scores.
Another study conducted by
researchers at Heriot-Watt
University looked at more than
36,000 participants from all over
the world. Participants were asked
to rate more than 104 different
musical styles in addition to
offering information about aspects
of their personality. The following
are just some of the personality
traits linked to certain musical
styles.

Pop
Do you prefer to listen to the top
40 hits? Do the latest tracks from
Rhianna, Selena Gomez and Flo
Rida make up your workout mix? If
so, chances are that you also tend
to be extraverted, honest and
conventional. While pop music
lovers are hard-working and have
high self-esteem, researchers
suggests that they tend to be less
creative and more uneasy.
Rap and Hip/Hop
Are Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre more
your style? In spite of the
stereotype that rap lovers are more
aggressive or violent, researchers
have actually found no such link.
Rap fans do tend to have high self-
esteem and are usually outgoing.

Country
Would you rather watch CMT
instead of MTV? Country music fans
are typically hardworking,
conventional and outgoing. While
country songs are often centered
on heartbreak, people who
gravitate towards this genre tend to
be very emotionally stable.
Rock / Heavy Metal
Despite the sometimes aggressive
image that rock music and heavy
metal project, researchers found
that fans of this style of music are
usually quite gentle. They tend to
be creative, but are often
introverted and may suffer from
low self-esteem.

Indie
Do you love seeking out obscure
bands and indie artists? Fans of the
indie genre are typically
introverted, intellectual and
creative. According to researchers,
they also tend to be less hard-
working and less gentle. Passivity,
anxiousness and low self-esteem
are other common personality
characteristics.

Dance
Do you love the fast-paced rhythms
of dance music? According to
researchers, people who prefer
dance music are usually outgoing
and assertive.

Classical
Classical music lovers are typically
more introverted, but are also at
ease with themselves and the world
around them. They are creative and
have a good sense of self-esteem.
Jazz, Blues and Soul
People who enjoy jazz, blues or
soul music were found to be more
extraverted with high self-esteem.
They also tend to be very creative,
intelligent and at ease.
According to researcher Adrian
North of Heriot-Watt University in
Edinburgh, UK, the reason people
sometimes feel defensive about
their taste in music might be
related to how much it relates to
attitudes and personality. "People
do actually define themselves
through music and relate to other
people through it but we haven’t
known in detail how music is
connected to identity," he
explained.
The next time you are putting
together a playlist to listen to
during your commute or workout,
consider how your personality
might be reflected in your song
choices.

http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/music-and-personality.htm