Relationship between Music Preference and Personality Type

Music is universally omnipresent and in contemporary society, music is so pervasive that it is absolutely unavoidable. The deliberate access of FM radios in cars, iPods, smart phones and speaker systems has made music potentially ubiquitous to the individual. It is believed that the average person to listens to music 10 to 15 percent of the day. And importantly this percentage is approximately equal to the time spent watching television or reading books, and about half the time spent in daily conversation (Rentfrow& Gosling, 2003, p.1236, Zentner, Grandjean,& Scherer, 2008, p.494, Mehl& Pennebaker 2003, p.866). Research shows people to prefer music consistent with their personalities (Rentfrow& McDonald, 2010, p.680-1), and many believe music preferences provide information about the personalities of themselves and others (Rentfrow& Gosling, 2003, p.1250, Rentfrow& Gosling, 2006, p.236-241). Because of the omnipresence of music, the amount of time and money spent consuming music, and its role in communicating ones personal image, it deserves to be well studied in combination with personality and individual preferences (Rentfrow,& Gosling, 2003, p.1236).