Music Preference and Personality

A recent study looked at personality types based on music preferences, and created two broad categories: the empath, and the systemizer. The following songs exemplify each category:

Empath:

  • Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
  • Come away with me – Norah Jones
  • All of me – Billie Holliday
  • Crazy little thing called love – Queen

Systemizer:

  • Concerto in C – Antonio Vivaldi
  • Etude Opus 65 No 3 — Alexander Scriabin
  • God save the Queen – The Sex Pistols
  • Enter Sandman – Metallica

Needless to say, most of us are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. I am definitely both an empath who really cares and a sytemizer who looks for patterns. This type of research may have many useful applications though, including understanding conditions like autism, and compiling better playlists for people to enjoy.