By Joanna Aramini

When you throw on your favorite jams, what do you listen to? Do you find yourself swaying to Taylor Swift, or jamming out to Beyoncé? Believe it or not, the kind of music you listen to reveals a lot about your true personality.

If you find yourself listening to the latest tracks from Selena Gomez and Flo Rida, like most pop music lovers, you tend to be hard-working and have a high self-esteem, but also tend to be less creative and more uneasy.

Do you often find yourself rapping along with Snoop Dog or Dr. Dre? Unlike what most people think, rap music and aggression scientifically have no link. Rap lovers usually have a high self-esteem and an outgoing personality.

If you’re a huge country fan, you’re very likely to be emotionally stable, although many country songs are centered on heartbreaks.  Country lovers are typically hardworking and outgoing.

If you’d much rather listen to rock and heavy metal, this usually means you struggle with low self-esteem, but at the same time are creative and gentle.

So, why is it that our personality is able to shine through our music tastes? According to Professor Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University, “People do actually define themselves through music and relate to other people through it.” The reason behind this is that people usually define their musical identity by wearing particular clothing or using certain slang words. So, it is no surprise that individuals music tastes rub off on their personality.

Sources:

North, A. C. and Hargreaves, D. J. (2008). The social and applied psychology of music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
North, A. C., Desborough, L., and Skarstein, L. (2005). Musical preference, deviance, and attitudes towards celebrities. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1903-1914.

“The Psychology of Musical Preferences.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.

“What Does Your Taste In Music Reveal About Your Personality?” About. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.