there is overwhelming anecdotal and empirical evidence for individual differences in musical preferences. However, little is known about what drives those preferences. Are people drawn to particular musical genres (e.g., rap, jazz) or to certain musical properties (e.g., lively, loud)? Recent findings suggest that musical preferences can be conceptualized in terms of five orthogonal dimensions: Mellow, Unpretentious, Sophisticated, Intense, and Contemporary (conveniently, MUSIC). The aim of the present research is to replicate and extend that work by empirically examining the hypothesis that musical preferences are based on preferences for particular musical properties and psychological attributes as opposed to musical genres. Findings from Study 1 replicated the five-factor MUSIC structure using musical excerpts from a variety of genres and subgenres and revealed musical attributes that differentiate each factor. Results from Studies 2 and 3 show that the MUSIC structure is recoverable using musical pieces from only the jazz and rock genres, respectively. Taken together, the current work provides strong evidence that preferences for music are determined by specific musical attributes and that the MUSIC model is a robust framework for conceptualizing and measuring such preferences.
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December 2012
Research Article|
December 01 2012
The Song Remains the Same: A Replication and Extension of the MUSIC Model
Peter J. Rentfrow,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Peter J. Rentfrow, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom. E-mail: pjr39@cam.ac.uk
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Lewis R. Goldberg,
Lewis R. Goldberg
Oregon Research Institute
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David J. Stillwell,
David J. Stillwell
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Michal Kosinski,
Michal Kosinski
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Samuel D. Gosling,
Samuel D. Gosling
University of Texas at Austin
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Daniel J. Levitin
Daniel J. Levitin
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Peter J. Rentfrow, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom. E-mail: pjr39@cam.ac.uk
Music Perception (2012) 30 (2): 161–185.
Article history
Received:
September 28 2011
Accepted:
March 20 2012
Citation
Peter J. Rentfrow, Lewis R. Goldberg, David J. Stillwell, Michal Kosinski, Samuel D. Gosling, Daniel J. Levitin; The Song Remains the Same: A Replication and Extension of the MUSIC Model. Music Perception 1 December 2012; 30 (2): 161–185. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2012.30.2.161
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