What really matters is what you like, not what you are like...Books, records, films — these things matter., - Rob, from the book/movie High Fidelity
There are a number of dating sites founded on the principle that, when it comes to attraction, similarity matters.
Whether it’s based in your religion (e.g., jdate.com) or your computer
preferences (e.g., cupidtino.com), online dating sites seem tuned in to
the fact that sharing similar interests with a partner is a necessary
component of a successful match. I recently stumbled upon a site called tastebuds.fm,
which states “we've always been interested in the idea that music taste
can say a lot about a person and that for some people it is an
important factor when choosing a potential partner.” With the
Grammy's just around the corner, I figured it was time to think about
the importance of music in relationship initiation.
Although I can’t say that tastebuds.fm is more (or less) effective
than other methods in helping people find love, their approach is based
on an interesting assumption: If music does communicate something about a
person, then it’s possible that knowing about a potential partner’s
taste in music could be helpful in gauging whether they are a good match
for you. Can you learn about someone’s personality from their music preferences?
Research by personality psychologists Peter J. Rentfrow and Sam
Gosling has addressed whether musical preferences actually do say
anything about people’s personalities. First, their data indicates that
music is an important part of people’s lives and individuals believe
music says a great deal about themselves and others.1 Second, it’s one of the first things that young people talk about when getting to know one another.2
Rentfrow and Gosling have also identified four general dimensions that
describe different music preferences. Which of these genres of music do
you like best?
_____ (1) reflective and complex (e.g., jazz)
_____ (2) intense and rebellious (e.g., rock and metal)
_____ (3) upbeat and conventional (e.g., country and pop)
_____ (4) energetic and rhythmic (e.g., rap and electronica/house).
See below for what these preferences might say about your personality.
When examining these musical preferences in conjunction with personality characteristics (e.g., the Big Five) and other individual difference dimensions, a series of interesting findings emerge.1
- Reflective/complex: People who like reflective and complex music tend to be more open to experience, have better verbal skills, believe they are intelligent, tend to be politically liberal, and are less athletic.
- Intense/rebellious: The personality traits associated with preferences for intense and rebellious music were similar to reflective/complex, except that these folks were more athletic and extraverted.
- Upbeat/conventional: People who like upbeat and conventional music tended to be more extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, less open to new experiences, and were more politically conservative. They also believed they were wealthier, physically attractive, more athletic, less intelligent, and had poorer verbal skills.
- Energetic/rhythmic: Finally, people who like energetic and rhythmic music tended to be talkative, extraverted, and agreeable. They also report being physically attractive, athletic, and politically liberal.
So, although I haven’t seen any data that indicates tastebuds.fm
provides better matches than other online dating services, it wouldn’t
surprise me if it is better than pairings without much basis (i.e., that
hot guy/gal you met at the bar). Music certainly does say something
meaningful about our personalities, and IF similarity on these
personality characteristics is important to attraction and relationship
development (note that I said “IF” here), then the folks at tastebuds.fm
might be on to something.
