Wk 5 - Individual Differences in Musical Taste

Question 1

what is the typical format of psychological research in musical taste

Answer 1

Ps played excerpts of music from a variety of genres

Asked to rate music on Likert-type scales

Ratings correlated with some other (usually personality trait) variable

Aim to recover some kind of relationship between musical features (usually of genres) and personal characteristics

Question 2

psychological research on musical taste - personality traits

Answer 2

To see whether big five is predictive of music taste

To see if fast or smoothing music maps onto personality traits

We like music that reflects or compliments our personality

Question 3

Rentfrow & Gosling (2003)

Answer 3

Examined liking for 14 genres in US students

genres clustered into four broad factors

Reflective & Complex
Intense & Rebellious
Upbeat & Conventional
Energetic & Rhythmic

Question 4

genres in Reflective & Complex

Answer 4

(classical, jazz, folk, blues)

Question 5

genres in Intense & Rebellious

Answer 5

(rock, alternative, heavy metal)

Question 6

genres in Upbeat & Conventional

Answer 6

(country, pop, soundtracks/themesongs, religious)

Question 7

genres in Energetic & Rhythmic

Answer 7

(rap, soul/funk, dance/electronica)

Question 8

Rentfrow et al (2011)

Answer 8

Follow up study with slightly more diverse (US) sample

Reduced 26 initial genres/subgenres to 5 broad factors:

Mellow
Unpretentious
Sophisticated
Intense
Contemporary

Question 9

Mellow

Answer 9

(smooth and relaxing)

Question 10

Unpretentious

Answer 10

(various singer/songwriter styles)

Question 11

Sophisticated

Answer 11

(complex)

Question 12

Intense

Answer 12

(loud and energetic)

Question 13

Contemporary

Answer 13

(rhythmic)

Question 14

Delsing et al (2008)

Answer 14

Dutch study

Big 5 correlated with teenagers’ preferences for musical excerpts, reduced to 4 factors

.38 correlation of openness in elite music (classical/jazz) - robust finding

Question 15

Cleridou & Furnham (2014) - preference and personality

Answer 15

similar study to Delsing et al but with adults and including art and architecture

Question 16

Music preferences and age

Answer 16

potentially less impressionable or don’t devote much time to new things when older. Tend to sick with what we liked when we were younger. Less influenced by peers at older age

Question 17

Holbrook & Schindler (1989) - top hits

Answer 17

looked at the liking of the top hits from 1932 to 1986

found that their preferred music was popular around 23.5 years old

earlier and later music disliked in comparison

Question 18

Finnas (1989)

Answer 18

peer influence strong at ages 12-14

ratings of classical music is lower when announcing to peers compared to privately

Question 19

what is Bordieu’s habitus

Answer 19

habits, skills, dispositions that people acquire through socialisation

cultural environment important

Question 20

social influences on musical taste

Answer 20

‘taste’ bound up historically with broader social (class) and cultural factors

tradition of ‘highbrow’ (big foreheads, clever as more brains) versus ‘middlebrow’ and ‘lowbrow’

accumulation of cultural capital - social assets of a person (onus on you to know about it or give the impression that you know)

Question 21

family example of habitus

Answer 21

Kanneh-Mason family

all 7 siblings play either piano, violin or cello or a combination

grew up listening to all varieties of music - play music at home a lot e.g. bob marley, musicals, Mozart

went to state school in Nottingham that integrated music into the curriculum

Kadiatu (Mum) has nuture view, not born with it - have the thirst and love and want to do something

Question 22

‘open-eardness’

Answer 22

Hargreaves (1982)
- tolerance towards unconventional music styles
- declines with age

younger children show “less evidence of acculturation to normative standards of good taste”

Question 23

Omnivorous consumption

Answer 23

taste in everything

people might consider a wider variety of genres, but don’t consume in a similar way

omnivorousness better understood as expertise: M-C ppl simply familiar with wider range

Question 24

Peterson & Kern (1996) Highbrows

Answer 24

highbrows have become more omnivorous over time

influenced by changes in social structure, values, art-world dynamics & general conflict

Question 25

why is there a fixation on genre

Answer 25

how well-defined are they how well do they accommodate any given piece of music

Question 26

Greasley et al (2013) Records

Answer 26

'talk me through your record collection’ Song lyrics as important (p.213) Huge variations in knowledge (even in relation to own collection) - no cultural capital - but they like the sound Clear evidence of ‘omnivorous’ consumption

Question 27

Pitts (2012) role in nuturing musicians

Answer 27

immensely powerful role that music teachers and other potential role models can play in nurturing open-minded, active musicians

Question 28

affective consumption as 'technology of the self'

Answer 28

- attempt to fashion the self - form of self-improvement - need to sustain an identity (Beer, 2008) - consumption tends to begin in childhood and extend to adulthood, so part of life project

Question 29

historical precedents

Answer 29

Foucault (1988): technology of the self – devices for developing personal identity Originally, form of cultivating ‘correct’ behaviour – becoming a better person in eyes of God, church, etc. Then more introspective: personal letters, then diaries Today, collecting, fandom etc. fulfil some of these functions In modern society, perhaps it is a way for us to become a better consumer?

Question 30

Giles et al (2007) 3 important aspects of collecting

Answer 30

Records as ‘sacred objects’ Records as facet of the self Music as sensory/emotional experience

Question 31

move to Digital formats

Answer 31

Digital musical devices from mid-00s (iPod etc) Shift from physical collection to MP3 storage using music more as a sensory thing – liking the sound or affective power compared to artist and their repertoire

Question 32

Youtube (other digital music media)

Answer 32

Authentic, user-appropriated (still/lyrics/illustrated), or derivative (cover/dance/parody) 25% of all were live performances, but 38% were ‘user-appropriated’ (mostly lyrics) Authentic videos most viewed, but derivative ones most commented on

Question 33

streaming services

Answer 33

affordances are 'explorable' and archivable' spotify - way of discovering the self music less associated with personal (historical) time: changing meaning of music Still associated with performances of the self, e.g. on social media (Zhao et al, 2008)