To date, not much is known about how the functions of music relate to music preference. This article examines the basic hypothesis that the strength of preference for a given kind of music depends on the degree to which that kind of music serves the needs of the listener; that is, how well the respective functions of music are fulfilled. Study 1, a pilot study, identified the best-known musical styles of the participants, yielding 25 styles that were known by at least 10 percent of them. Study 2 used these 25 styles and found that rock, pop and classical music were liked most. A factor analysis yielded six distinct dimensions of music preference. People showed great variation in the strength of preference for their favourite music. This is explained by the impact of different functions of music. The potential of music to express people's identity and values and to bring them together was most closely related to the strength of preference. However, the reasons for liking a particular style are not congruent with the functions that people ascribe to their favourite music in general. A theoretical model of the development of music preferences is suggested.
Adler, M. (1985). Stardom and talent. American Economic Review, 75, 208-212.
2.
Arnett, J.J. (1991). Adolescents and heavy metal music: From the mouths of metalheads. Youth Society, 23, 76-98.
3.
Arnett, J.J. (1992). Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective. Developmental Review, 12, 339-373.
4.
Arnett, J.J. (1995). Adolescents' uses of media for self-socialisation . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(5), 519-533.
5.
Baacke, D. (1993). Jugendkulturen und Musik (Youth cultures and music) . In H. Bruhn, R. Oerter, & H. Rösing (Eds.), Musikpsychologie. Ein Handbuch (pp. 228-237). Reinbek: Rowohlt.
6.
Baldemair, A. (2003). Rausch, Trance und Ekstase - erläutert am Beispiel der Techno-Tanz-Bewegung unter Berücksichtigung körpereigener, psychoaktiver Substanzen (Intoxication, trance and ecstasy - illustrated by the example of the Techno-Dance community regarding psychotropic substances of the human body). Risflecting. Retrieved 10 January 2005, from: http://www.risflecting.at/pdf/literaturanalyse_tanz.pdf
7.
Behne, K.-E. (1986). Hörertypologie. Zur Psychologie des jugendlichen Musikgeschmacks (Typologies of listeners: On the psychology of adolescent musical taste). Regensburg: Bosse .
8.
Behne, K.-E. (1997). The development of `Musikerleben' in adolescence: How and why young people listen to music. In I. Deliège and J. Sloboda (Eds.), Perception and cognition of music (pp. 143-159). Hove: Psychology Press.
9.
Blood, A.J., & Zatorre, R.J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 98, 11818-11823.
10.
Bogt, T., Raaijmaker, Q., Vollebergh, W., Wel, F.V., & Sikkema, P. (2003). Youngsters and their musical taste: Musical styles and taste groups. Netherlands' Journal of Social Sciences , 39(1), 35-52.
11.
Burge, M., Goldblat, C., & Lester, D. (2002). Music preferences and suicidality: A comment on Stack. Death Studies, 26, 501-504.
12.
Cattell, R.B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245-276.
13.
Christenson, P.G., & Peterson, J.B. (1988). Genre and gender in the structure of music preferences. Communication Research, 15, 282-301.
14.
Denski, S.W. (1992). Music, musicians, and communication: The personal voice in a common language. In J. Lull (Ed.), Popular music and communication (pp. 33-48). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
Finnäs, L. (1989). How can musical preferences be modified? A research review. Council for Research in Music Education, 102, 1-59.
16.
Gabrielsson, A. (1991). Experiencing music. Canadian Journal of Research in Music Education33(Special ISME research edition), 21-26.
17.
Gabrielsson, A. (2001). Emotions in strong experiences with music. In P. N. Juslin and J. O. Sloboda (Eds.), Music and emotion (pp. 431-449). New York: Oxford University Press.
18.
Georgi, R. von, Grant, P., Georgi, S. von, & Gebhardt, S. (Eds.). (2006). Personality, emotion and the use of music in everyday life: Measurement, theory and neurophysiological aspects of a missing link. Tönning : Der Andere Verlag.
19.
Hakanen, E.A. (1995). Emotional use of music by AfricanAmerican adolescents. The Howard Journal of Communications, 5(3), 214-222.
20.
Hargreaves, D.J., & North, A.C. (1997). The social psychology of music. In D. J. Hargreaves and A. C. North (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Music (pp. 1-21). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
21.
Holbrook, M.B., & Schindler, R.M. (1989). Some exploratory findings on the development of musical tastes. Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 119-124.
22.
Iwanaga, M., & Moroki, Y. (1999). Subjective and physiological responses to music stimuli controlled over activity and preference. Journal of Music Therapy, 36, 26-38.
23.
Juslin, P.N., & Laukka, P. (2004). Expression, perception, and induction of musical emotions: A review and a questionnaire study of everyday listening. Journal of New Music Research, 33, 217-238.
24.
Juslin, P. N., & Sloboda, J. A. (Eds.). (2001). Music and emotion . New York: Oxford University Press .
25.
Kleinen, G. (1994). Die psychologische Wirklichkeit der Musik (The psychological reality of music). Kassel: Gustav Bosse.
26.
Larson, R. (1995). Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents' private use of media. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(5), 535-550.
27.
Lewis, G.H. (1992). Who do you love? The dimensions of musical taste . In J. Lull (Ed.), Popular Music and Communication (pp. 1-31). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
28.
Lull, J. (1992). Popular music and communication: An introduction . In J. Lull (Ed.), Popular music and communication (pp. 1-31). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist , 41(9), 954-969.
30.
McDermott, J., & Hauser, M. (2005). The origins of music: Innateness, uniqueness, and evolution. Music Perception, 23, 29-59.
31.
McNamara, L., & Ballard, M.E. (1999). Resting arousal, sensation seeking, and music preference. Genetic, Social & General Psychology Monographs , 125(3), 229-250.
32.
Mende, A. (1991). Musik und Alter. Ergebnisse zum Stellenwert von Musik im biographischen Lebensverlauf (Music and age: Results on the significance of music throughout biography). Rundfunk und Fernsehen, 39, 381-392.
North, A.C., & Hargreaves, D.J. (1997). Liking for musical styles . Musicae Scientiae, 1, 109-128.
35.
North, A.C., & Hargreaves, D.J. (1999). Music and adolescent identity . Music Education Research, 1, 75-92.
36.
Peretz, I., Gaudreau, D., & Bonnel, A.-M. (1998). Exposure effects on music preference and recognition . Memory & Cognition, 26, 884-902.
37.
Reiss, S. (2004). Multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation: The theory of 16 basic desires. Review of General Psychology, 8, 179-193.
38.
Rentfrow, P.J., & Gosling, S.D. (2003). The do re mi's of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1236-1256.
39.
Rentfrow, P.J., & Gosling, S.D. (2006). Message in a ballad: The role of music preferences in interpersonal perception. Psychological Science, 17(3), 236-242.
40.
Rill, B. (2006). Rave, communitas, and embodied idealism. Music Therapy Today7, 648-661.
41.
Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R.L. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research: Methods and data analysis (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
42.
Saarikallio, S., & Erkkilä, J. (2007). The role of music in adolescents' mood regulation . Psychology of Music, 35, 88-109.
43.
Salganik, M.J., Dodds, P.S., & Watts, D.J. (2006). Experimental study of inequality and unpredictability in an artificial cultural market. Science, 311, 854-856.
44.
Schramm, H., & Wirth, W. (2006). Medien und Emotionen: Bestandsaufnahme eines vernachlässigten Forschungsfeldes aus medienpsychologischer Perspektive (Media and emotions: Survey of a neglected subject from the perspective of media psychology), Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, 54, 25-55.
45.
Schwartz, K.D., & Fouts, G.T. (2003). Music preferences, personality style, and developmental issues of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(3), 205-213.
46.
Sloboda, J.A., O'Neill, S.A., & Ivaldi, A. (2001). Functions of music in everyday life: An exploratory study using the Experience Sampling Method. Musicae Scientiae , 5, 9-32.
47.
Steele, J.R., & Brown, J.D. (1995). Adolescent room culture: Studying the media in the context of everyday life. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 24(5), 551-576.
48.
Tekman, H.G., & Hortacsu, N. (2002). Aspects of stylistic knowledge: What are different styles like and why do we listen to them? Psychology of Music , 30: 28-47.
49.
Thompson, R.L., & Larson, R. (1995). Social context and the subjective experience of different types of rock music. Journal of Youth & Adolescence , 24(6), 731.
50.
Trehub, S., Schellenberg, G., & Hill, D. (1997). The origins of music perception and cognition: A developmental perspective. In I. Deliège and J. A. Sloboda (Eds.), Perception and cognition of music (pp. 103-127). Hove: Psychology Press.
51.
Umemoto, T. (1997). Developmental approaches to music cognition and behaviour. In I. Deliège and J. Sloboda (Eds.), Perception and Cognition of Music (pp. 129-141). Hove: Psychology Press.
52.
Waterman, M. (1996). Emotional responses to music: Implicit and explicit effects in listeners and performers. Psychology of Music, 24, 53-67.
53.
White, A. (1985). Meaning and effects of listening to popular music: Implications for counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development , 64, 65-69.
54.
Zillmann, D. (1988). Mood management: Using entertainment to full advantage . In L. Donohew, H. E. Sypher, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Communication, Social Cognition, and Affect (pp. 147-171). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
