Music Preference and Music Preference and Relationship Relationship SatisfactionSatisfaction

Kory Sims

Expressions of PersonalityExpressions of Personality

Music preference

Attitudes toward relationships.

Personality & Music PreferencePersonality & Music Preference

Music has different “badge” functions for different groups of people. (North And Hargreaves,1999)

Music preference is “a manifestation of more explicit personality traits” (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003)

Personality & RelationshipsPersonality & Relationships

An “individuals traits and dispositions are not only maintained and validated within personal relationships; they are created there as well” (Blumstein & Kollock, 1988).

Assumptions:– Music and personality are reflective of each other.– Relationships are influenced by personality and vice versa.

What Makes a Satisfying What Makes a Satisfying Relationship?Relationship?

Commitment (Rusbult and Bunnk, 1993)

Intimacy (Berscheid and Reis, 1998)

Theoretical ModelTheoretical Model

Music Preference

Attitudes Toward Relationships - commitment

Relationship Satisfaction

Musical PreferenceMusical Preference

Hard Musical Forms:– Rap– Heavy Metal– Hard Rock

Soft Musical Forms:– Christian– Country– Classical– Pop– Soft Rock

HypothesisHypothesis

Individuals who prefer Hard Musical Forms will be lower in commitment and less satisfied with their relationships.

Individuals preferring Soft Musical Forms will be higher in commitment and relationship satisfaction.

MethodMethod

57 participants from a small Midwestern College.

Age ranged from 18-22

17 Males & 40 Females

84% affiliated

56% currently involved romantically

Participants

MeasuresMeasures

The Commitment Inventory (Stanley & Markman, 1992)– 60 questions– Includes 10 subscales (all significantly reliable)– Alpha = .84– Example: “I want to grow old with my partner.”

Commitment SubscalesCommitment Subscales

Constraint Commitment (a = .70)– Morality of Divorce (a = .94)– Availability of Partners (a = .82)– Social Pressure (a = .92)– Structural Investments (a = .82)

Dedication Commitment (a = .78)– Relationship agenda (a = .94)– Meta-Commitment (a = .79)– Couple Identity (a = .90)– Primacy of Relationship (a = .87)– Satisfaction with Sacrifice (a = .84)– Alternative Monitoring (a = .89)

Relationship AssessmentRelationship Assessment

Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) – Adapted from Hendrick (1988):– A seven item questionnaire – Alpha = .90– Example: “How well do your partners usually meet your

needs?”

ResultsResults

Reliability analysis of groupings:– Hard Musical Forms: Alpha = .58

– Soft Musical Forms: Alpha = .33

Commitment & SatisfactionCommitment & Satisfaction

The Commitment Inventory & Relationship Assessment Scale – r = .628, p<.001

Consistent with past research

Music Preference & CommitmentMusic Preference & Commitment

Country & Constraint Commitment– .305, p<.05

Christian & Constraint Commitment– .357, p<.05

Heavy Metal & Constraint Commitment– -.264, p<.05

Surprising FindingsSurprising Findings

Soft Rock & Structural Investments– -.281, p<.05

Soft Rock & Primacy of Relationships– -.365, p<.o5

Men Vs WomenMen Vs Women

Music and the Sexes:– Preference for Pop: t = -5.695, df = 55, p = .00

Men: mean = 4.059 Women: mean = 5.800

– Preference for Hard Rock: t = 2.935, df = 55, p= .05 Men: mean = 5.177 Women: mean = 3.725

– Preference for Heavy Metal: t = 2.502, df = 55, p=.015 Men: mean = 3.765 Women: mean = 2.375

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DiscussionDiscussion

Hypothesis was not significant– Scales were significant

Country & Christian correlated with Constraint Commitment

Heavy Metal correlated negatively with Constraint Commitment

Was a difference between males and females and music preference

LimitationsLimitations

Small uniformed sample– 70% of sample was women– 84% affiliated– Categories

Larger selection

Not a relationship between categories?

Future ResearchFuture Research

Same categories with a much larger and diverse sample.

Inclusion of other types of music:– Alternative– Gospel– International– Punk

Difference between sexes

Intensity

Any Questions?Any Questions?