Musical Preferences according to the MUSIC Model: Relationships with Uses of Music and Personality Traits

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether the five-factor structure of the MUSIC model (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011) including dimensions that reflect preferences for Mellow, Unpretentious, Sophisticated, Intense and Contemporary music replicates in a Croatian sample. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine the replicability of the three-factor structure of the Uses of Music Inventory (UMI, Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007) including emotional, cognitive and background uses of music. Relationships between music preferences, uses of music and personality traits were investigated. In the first part of the study, in a sample of 457 participants (74.2 % female, Mage = 20.27 years) we administered the Uses of Music Inventory and the Big Five Inventory (BFI, Benet-Martinez & John, 1998). In the second part of the study, participants judged their liking of 25 excerpts of music (Rentfrow et al., 2011). The results showed the replicability of the five-factor MUSIC model when 21 excerpts of music are included in the analysis. The results showed the replicability of the three-factor structure of the Uses of music inventory, too. Relationships between music preferences, as well as between uses of music and personality traits were mainly confirmed. Personality traits explained music preference variances above age and gender, with openness to experience and extraversion being significant predictors. Uses of music additionally explained preferences for Mellow, Intense and Contemporary music only. Higher levels of emotional use of music and lower levels of cognitive use of music predicted increased preferences for Mellow music. Higher levels of cognitive use of music predicted increased preferences for Intense music. Lower levels of cognitive use of music and higher levels of emotional and background uses of music predicted preferences for Contemporary music.