Generic Style Music Preferences of Fifth-Grade Students

The primary intent of this study was to find fifth-graders' most preferred generic music style and identify the critical competitors of that style, if any existed. A short listening test was developed to measure preference for different generic styles of music. Ambient sound was employed as a reference point to anchor the response scale. The test was administered to 278 students of varying socioeconomic status and ethnic background in 11 fifth-grade classrooms in the greater St. Louis area. Test reliability was evaluated in terms of stability of preference responses over time. Naturalistic behavioral observation was employed during test administration to secure a rough confirmation or denial of the truthfulness of student preference responses. Easy-listening pop music was the most preferred generic style and five other generic styles earned preference ratings that would qualify them as critical competitors. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on preference responses and four factors were obtained and interpreted in an oblique solution.