Contents
Heavy metal fans and classical music lovers have a lot more in common than you might think. Psychologist Todd Kashdan talks about what our musical tastes say about us and how our favorite music helps fight fear, anger and anxiety.
Modern man lives to music. Hundreds of magazines, thousands of blogs, dozens of TV shows are devoted to music. However, there is very little research on where our musical tastes come from and how they affect our thoughts, feelings and behavior. Of course, there are works about music therapy, but I mean something else: how to comprehend the source of your musical preferences and use them to influence your own mood? The situation with research is all the more surprising because “listening to music” is one of the main types of leisure, most prefer it to cinema, reading books and magazines, television, shopping and gastronomic pleasures. Psychologists should definitely think about this topic.
But not everything is so sad – there are still extensive studies on music. So, in the course of studying the musical tastes of more than 5000 people, musical genres were divided into five large categories and each was assigned one of the main personality traits: openness to experiment, consciousness, extraversion, compliance, neuroticism.
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1. Complex music (classical, avant-garde). Instrumental, multifaceted, inspiring, intelligent. classical orchestras.
2. Intense music (angry voice and hard guitar). Sharp, loud, aggressive sound. Punk rock and heavy metal.
If you are a lover of complex or intense music, then you are open to experiment: curious, creative, attuned to new perspectives, adhere to liberal views. An important nuance: those who prefer complex music are soft in social interactions, while fans of intense music tend to dominate and have an impulsive style of behavior. In other words, punk rock and heavy metal fans are the least conscious – they are spontaneous, disorganized, they lack restraint.
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3. Unpretentious (country rock, bluegrass). Relaxing, romantic, even sad. Sweet, simple, neo- and mainstream country.
If you like unpretentious music, you are extremely compliant and kind, disciplined. You have little extraversion, you are a conservative in politics, incurious, not very creative, do not like to delve into feelings and dream in vain.
4. Mature (acid jazz and cool down). Romance, sometimes a bit of sadness. R&B, soul and soft rock. If you are immersed in mature music, you are completely open to experiment.
5. Modern. Electronic sounds predominate, and in different genres, from rap to electronics. Contemporary music lovers are not prone to extraversion and compliance, adhere to liberal views and try not to draw attention to themselves.
Before choosing which song to listen to, we first listen to ourselves: what emotions prevail in us. It is important not to make a mistake – knowing that music can affect our mood and state, it is worth using it as a tool in the fight against fear, anger and sadness. For example, it is good to listen to intense music before going to the gym to pump muscles or to a meeting where you may have to come into conflict. Unpretentious, on the contrary, is suitable if the tension has passed and it is time to come to your senses – it will fill you with peace.
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Music is important to most of us, so approach it wisely so you can help yourself and those around you. Music accompanies us almost constantly, at least while we are awake. You can quickly lift your mood with it – none of the legal stimulants work so quickly. Choose the right music in the exact proportion for each specific situation. If it has already become the background of our existence, then let it bring joy – both now and in the future.
* Todd B. Kashdan, professor of psychology at George Mason University (USA). Author of The upside of your dark side: Why being your whole self – not just your “good” self – drives success and fulfillment (Hudson Press, 2014).