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Bonneville-Roussy, A., Rentfrow, P. J., Xu, M. K., & Potter, J. (2013, July 29). Music Through
the Ages: Trends in Musical Engagement and Preferences From Adolescence Through Middle
Adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:
10.1037/a0033770
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2013 American Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 105, No. 9, 000 0022-3514/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0033770
Are there developmental trends in how individuals experience and engage with music? Data from 2 large
cross-sectional studies involving more than a quarter of a million individuals were used to investigate age
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
differences in musical attitudes and preferences from adolescence through middle age. Study 1 investi-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
gated age trends in musical engagement. Results indicated that (a) the degree of importance attributed to
music declines with age but that adults still consider music important, (b) young people listen to music
significantly more often than do middle-aged adults, and (c) young people listen to music in a wide
variety of contexts, whereas adults listen to music primarily in private contexts. Study 2 examined age
trends in musical preferences. Results indicated that (a) musical preferences can be conceptualized in
terms of a 5-dimensional age-invariant model, (b) certain music-preference dimensions decrease with age
(e.g., Intense, Contemporary), whereas preferences for other music dimensions increase with age (e.g.,
Unpretentious, Sophisticated), and (c) age trends in musical preferences are closely associated with
personality. Normative age trends in musical preferences corresponded with developmental changes in
psychosocial development, personality, and auditory perception. Overall, the findings suggest that
musical preferences are subject to a variety of developmental influences throughout the life span.
Keywords: musical preferences, age differences, personality, life span development, exploratory
structural equation modeling
Are there age differences in the ways in which individuals Musical Engagement, Preferences, and Age
experience and engage with music? Anecdotally, it seems obvious
Considerable evidence indicates that musical engagement and
that young people invest more time and effort listening to music
preferences have a psychological basis. The theoretical framework
compared with adults. However, despite growing interest in the
guiding much of the research in this area is that music reflects and
social-personality psychology of music (Rentfrow, 2012), we
reinforces peoples psychological, biological, and social needs
know next to nothing about age trends in musical engagement or (Rentfrow, 2012). Because practically all of the research in this
preferences. The objective of the current project was to fill that area has relied only on young people, it is impossible to know
void by broadening our understanding of the role music plays whether music serves similar functions throughout the life span.
across the life span. To achieve that objective, we examined age Are there age differences in musical engagement and preferences?
differences in musical engagement and preferences in two large
cross-sectional samples covering adolescence through middle Musical Engagement
adulthood.
Music is a vehicle for self-discovery, self-regulation, and self-
expression for most young people. Studies consistently show that
young people place significantly more importance on music than
on clothing, films, books, magazines, computer games, TV, and
sports (e.g., Lonsdale & North, 2011; North, Hargreaves, & Har-
greaves, 2004; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Young people report
Arielle Bonneville-Roussy, The Psychometrics Centre, Department of listening to music for arousal and emotion regulation, social net-
Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Peter working, and self-expression (North et al., 2004; Rentfrow &
J. Rentfrow, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Man K. Gosling, 2003). They also report listening to music frequently and
Xu, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge; Jeff Potter, Atof in various settings, including public, private, social, and solitary
Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts. (North et al., 2004).
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities
It is not clear whether music continues to play an important role
Research Council of Canada and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust for
Arielle Bonneville-Roussy. We are grateful to David Boyle for providing
throughout the life span. Only two studies have examined musical
access to the data used in Study 1. engagement in relation to age, and the results were not entirely
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Peter J. consistent. Lonsdale and North (2011) reported that people over 30
Rentfrow, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing regard music as less important compared with adolescents,
Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom. E-mail: pjr39@cam.ac.uk whereas Laukka (2007) observed that adults 65 considered music
1
2 BONNEVILLE-ROUSSY, RENTFROW, XU, AND POTTER
more important now than at any previous time in their lives. The best friends were significantly more similar than were preferences
results from both studies also indicated that middle-aged and older among random strangers.
adults use music for purposes of arousal and emotion regulation. Research in this area has established a firm psychological basis
In summary, research on musical attitudes and age clearly to understand musical preferences. However, most of the studies
indicates that music is very important during adolescence, but it is are only with young people, so we do not know whether the same
unclear whether it remains as important in adulthood. Thus, if we psychological characteristics are related to musical preferences or
are to develop a thorough and complete understanding of the role whether the magnitude of those associations generalizes to adults.
music plays throughout life, we need to investigate musical atti-
tudes and beliefs from adolescence through adulthood. Age
There have been very few investigations of age differences in
Musical Preferences musical preferences. Of the handful of studies conducted, there
The past decade has witnessed considerable interest in questions appears to be consensus for the hypothesis that musical prefer-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
to believe that preferences might change throughout adulthood. Measures. Four items were used to assess music consump-
Indeed, adolescence through adulthood is marked by significant tion. Participants were asked to estimate separately for the average
changes that impact personality, identity, and social development. weekday and for the average weekend the number of hours they
Considering that people seek out styles of music that reinforce spent listening to music that you have chosen/bought and lis-
their personalities, reflect their social identities, and enhance their tening to music that may be on in the background. The sum of the
relationships, it stands to reason that the music they choose to four items was taken as a measure of music consumption (Cron-
listen to might change as well. bachs .78).
A single item was used to assess musical importance. Partici-
Overview of the Current Research pants were asked to choose one statement from a list of five that
best reflected their attitude toward music. In decreasing order of
The overarching aim of this work was to establish a foundation importance, the statements were as follows: Music means a lot to
on which to develop and test hypotheses about the development of me, and is a passion of mine; Music is important to me, but not
musical preferences. The theoretical framework guiding our inves- necessarily more important than other hobbies or interests; I like
tigation was informed by interactionist theories positing that indi-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
at age 13 to 15% at 65, whereas the proportion of participants who Effectively investigating age differences in musical preferences
thought that music was as important as other hobbies remained requires a robust framework for conceptualizing and measuring
fairly stable, from 38% at age 13 to 35% at 65. An increased preferences. The MUSIC model (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin,
proportion of participants stated that music did not feature heavily 2011) offers a potentially useful framework for conceptualizing
in their life, between 19% at age 13 and 42% at 65. Less than 10% musical preferences, but all the current evidence supporting the
of participants of all ages thought that music was not important or model has relied exclusively on young people. As a result, it is not
had no particular interest for them. Overall, these results indicate known whether the same music-preference dimensions generalize
that younger participants are more passionate about music com- across age. Thus, if we are to make meaningful comparisons of
pared with older participants but that music is generally quite musical preferences across age, it is crucial to first determine
important to people of all ages. whether the structure of musical preferences is age invariant.
Music-listening contexts. The relationships between age and
the frequency of music listening in different contexts were as- Study Overview
sessed using Pearsons correlations. All correlation coefficients
Aims. The first aim of the project was to determine whether
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
data from individuals over the Internet, there is the possibility that Personality was assessed using the Ten-Item Personality Inven-
respondents may complete a survey multiple times. Repeat re- tory (TIPI; Gosling, Rentfrow, & Swann, 2003). The TIPI assesses
sponding has the potential to produce unreliable and misleading each of the Big Five domains with only two items and has strong
results, so it was necessary to remove data from potential repeat convergent and discriminant validity with longer measures of the
responders. Several criteria were used to eliminate repeat respond- personality domains. In the current study, respondents were asked
ers. We removed participants who indicated that they had filled out to report the degree to which they agreed with each item using a
the questionnaire more than once. In addition, the questionnaires 7-point rating scale with endpoints at 1 (Disagree) and 7 (Agree).
that were answered from the same IP address within less than 1 hr Analytic strategy. The analyses were designed to address two
and those from the same IP address that matched on several goals. First, we wanted to determine whether the MUSIC model
demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity) were also was invariant across age. Second, we wanted to map age trends in
eliminated. Finally, participants with spurious patterns of re- preferences and examine the impact of personality on those trends.
sponses were removed from the database (e.g., those who re- Those goals were accomplished within an SEM framework. All
sponded to all the survey items with 1s or 2s). analyses were conducted in Mplus 7.0 software (Muthn &
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
for 254,825 participants. Of these participants, 147,589 (57.9%) Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has traditionally been used
were female, and 107,236 (42.1%) were male. The average age of to evaluate the factor structure of an instrument. However, CFA
participants was 23.52 years and ranged from 12 to 65 years involves strict assumptions that are not easily met in psychological
(SD 10.06). In terms of education, of those who reported, 76,692 research. For instance, CFA assumes highly restrictive, zero load-
(32.5%) participants reported having less than a high school degree, ings for items that are nontarget loadings for factors. This in turn
19,021 (8.1%) had a high school diploma, 73,554 (31.2%) attended could inflate the associations between factors and bias the rela-
some college, 31,810 (13.5%) had a college degree, and 34,606 tionship between the factors and external covariates. ESEM, which
(14.7%) had a postgraduate diploma. Among those who indicated combines features of CFA and exploratory factor analysis (EFA),
their socioeconomic status, 26,770 (21.9%) participants identified overcomes this restriction by allowing loadings of nontarget items
themselves as working class, 23,728 (19.4%) identified as lower- to be estimated and thus provides less biased factor correlations
middle class, 47,482 (38.9%) identified as middle class, 20,638 (Morin, Marsh, & Nagengast, 2013). The main advantages of
(16.9%) identified as upper-middle class, and 3,546 (2.9%) identified ESEM over CFA are to integrate the less restrictive assumptions of
as upper class. Of those who indicated, 23,150 (9.3%) participants EFA with the benefits of SEM, such as the presence of goodness-
were Asian, 7,899 (3.2%) were Black or African, 12,352 (4.9%) were of-fit indices, the possibility of performing multigroup invariance
Hispanic or Latino, 189,595 (75.9%) were White, and 16,742 (6.7%) analysis, and the combination of regression and structural equa-
reported another ethnicity. tions in the same model (see Marsh et al., 2009; Marsh, Nagengast,
Procedure. Data were collected as part of an ongoing study & Morin, 2012).
of music preferences involving volunteers assessed over the We took advantage of ESEM to accomplish the goals of this
Internet (www.outofservice.com/music-personality-test/). The study. Specifically, to determine whether the MUSIC model is
website where the data were collected is noncommercial and invariant across age, we first assessed the structural validity of a
advertisement-free, and contains a variety of psychology mea- five-factor model of music preferences. Next, measurement invari-
sures. Potential respondents could find out about the site through ance was examined with three age groups (age 1219, age 20 39,
several channels, including search engines or unsolicited links on and age 40 65) under the ESEM analytic framework. We then
other websites. The data reported in the current research were followed the measurement invariance steps suggested by Brown
collected between 2003 and 2010. Respondents volunteered to (2006) by first testing for configural invariance, then weak (metric)
participate in the study by clicking on the music test icon and invariance, and finally strong invariance. Configural invariance
were then presented with a series of questions about their music serves to confirm the equivalence of the factor structure across
preferences, personalities, and demographics. After responding to groups, weak invariance ensures that the items within each factor
each item and submitting their responses, participants were pre- have comparable meanings across groups, and strong invariance
sented with a customized personality evaluation based on their warrants mean-level comparisons across groups. To confirm mea-
responses to the music survey. surement invariance, we used Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes
Measures. Music preferences were assessed using a revised (MIMIC) within ESEM. Using MIMIC, the covariates can be
version of the Short Test of Music Preferences (STOMP-R; Rent- regressed on both the latent factor and the items, thus allowing
frow & Gosling, 2003). The STOMP-R comprises 23 music further tests of intercept invariance. As a measurement invariance
genres: alternative, bluegrass, blues, classical, country, electronica/ method, MIMIC is advantageous compared with multiple-group
dance, folk, funk, gospel, heavy metal, international/world, jazz, analysis in that it preserves the continuous nature of the covariate
new age, oldies, opera, pop, punk, rap, reggae, religious, rock, instead of dividing a continuous variable into categories (Morin et
soul/R&B, and soundtracks. Respondents were asked to report al., 2013). Finally, to examine age trends in musical preferences
their degree of liking for each genre using a 7-point rating scale and to gauge the impact of personality on those trends, we re-
with endpoints at 1 (Dislike) and 7 (Like). Two items, soundtracks gressed age and its polynomial increments, along with gender,
and oldies, encompass music of many different styles and from personality, and their interactions on the music-preference dimen-
different time periods, and it is very likely that these items might sions, using SEM.
be interpreted differently by people of different ages. We thus We followed the recommendations of Marsh et al. (2009, 2012)
removed these two items from further analyses and relied only on to evaluate the goodness of fit of the models tested. Accordingly,
the remaining 21 genres. a model with acceptable fit should have a comparative fit index
6 BONNEVILLE-ROUSSY, RENTFROW, XU, AND POTTER
(CFI) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) .90, and models with ized factor loadings of the ESEM, quartimin rotation, are reported
excellent fit should have fit statistics .95. Additionally, the in Table 1.
root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) and standard- The next step in our analyses was to examine configural, weak,
ized root-mean-square residuals (SRMR) should be .08 for and strong invariance of the MUSIC factor structure between age
acceptable and .05 for excellent model fit. Standard evaluation groups. We first split the sample into three groups representing
of measurement invariance involves the comparison of chi-square Eriksons (1950) three primary life stages: adolescence (1219;
values (Brown, 2006), but chi-square measures are largely depen- n 118,605), young adulthood (20 39; n 112,343), and middle
dent on sample size and penalize large samples. Given the unchar- adulthood (40 65; n 23,877). We next performed a series of
acteristically large sample size used in this study, chi-square sta- increasingly restrictive models, starting with the configural model,
tistics are not presented. To compare the adequacy of a more then comparing the weak invariance model with the configural
restrictive model in measurement invariance, Chen (2007) recom- model, and then the strong invariance model with the weak invari-
mended that .010 in CFI or TLI, complemented by a change ance model.
of less than .015 in RMSEA or .030 in SRMR, reflects good model As can be seen in the first data row in Table 2, the assumption
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
fit. It is worth noting that because ESEM is a relatively new of configural invariance between age groups was met. Three of the
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
measurement approach, model-fit comparison for invariance four change indices of weak invariance were also within the
should be used as guidelines and not as strict thresholds. thresholds, indicating that metric invariance was also met, as
shown in the second data row. Strong invariance was then tested,
Results and Discussion but the differences between the models were above threshold, as
Age invariance of the MUSIC model. The first step in our shown in the third data row. Post hoc modification indices indi-
analyses was to examine the factor structure of musical prefer- cated that rap and funk music displayed small evidence of differ-
ences. Given previous evidence that individual differences in mu- ential item functioning across groups. When the intercepts of these
sical preferences can be characterized in terms of five factors, we two genres were freed, the general five-factor structure remained
performed an EFA using quartimin rotation within the ESEM unchanged. We found partial strong invariance when the intercepts
framework. We expected a priori that some residuals of the ob- of rap and punk were freely estimated, as shown in the last data
served music genres that share similar components would be row. To further assess intercept measurement invariance using
correlated (e.g., classical and opera, or jazz and blues). Failure to MIMIC, we regressed age, age quadratic (age2), and age cubic
take into account such correlated residuals can lead to bias in the (age3) on the MUSIC factors and the 21 items. This model fit the
factor correlations (Jreskog, 1979; Marsh & Hau, 1996), so using data well (CFI .950, TLI .912, RMSEA .048, SRMR
procedures consistent with other research (e.g., Marsh et al., 2013) .022). Post hoc examination of the modification index suggested
we allowed some residuals to correlate. The results with five latent that rap and punk music genres could be predicted by the age
factors provided satisfactory to excellent fits to our data (CFI covariates, indicating potential noninvariance in item intercepts.
.968, TLI .937, RMSEA .045, SRMR .018). The standard- The addition of direct paths between age, age2, and age3, and rap
Table 1
Exploratory Structural Equation Model With Quartimin Rotation of 21 Music Genres
Table 2
Multiple-Group Invariance of Age
and funk did not lead to a significant increase in model fits (CFI sions on music preferences. All in all, 27 regression paths per
.957, TLI .921, RMSEA .046, SRMR .019). This indicated MUSIC dimension were examined (nine main effects and 18
that the items intercepts were invariant across age measured as a moderation effects), for a total of 135 paths.
continuous variable, providing further support for strong measure- For this series of analyses, factor scores for the MUSIC prefer-
ment invariance. ence dimensions were computed and then standardized to a mean
Taken together, tests of measurement invariance using multiple- of zero and a standard deviation of one to facilitate comparison,
group ESEM showed support for age invariance of musical pref- gender was contrast-coded (0 males, 1 females), and the
erences. The results from the analyses yield a factor structure that personality variables were standardized. The large sample size
resembles the MUSIC model reported in Rentfrow, Goldberg, and provided sufficient statistical power to detect small effects, but to
Levitin (2011), Rentfrow et al. (2012), and Rentfrow, Goldberg, avoid accepting regression effects that are unlikely to be replicated
and Zilca (2011). The factor loadings in the first data column of using smaller samples, we only focus on regression paths with
Table 1 show large loadings for electronica/dance, world, and new |.10|. These paths represent the unique contribution of the inde-
age, styles that are perceived as relaxing, unaggressive, and atmo- pendent variables on the MUSIC factors and are far more conser-
spheric, qualities consistent with the Mellow preference dimen- vative than Pearson correlations. To test the age-only model, all
sion. Genres with large loadings on the second factor were pop, 135 regression paths were specified, but only age and the higher
country, and religious, styles that typically have vocals and are order age polynomials were freely estimated; the other main ef-
perceived as uncomplicated, unaggressive, and simple, consistent fects and interactions were constrained to zero. The results indi-
with the Unpretentious dimension. The third factor included blues, cated that the age-only model did not fit the data well (CFI .735,
jazz, bluegrass, folk, classical, opera, and gospel, styles that gen- TLI .680, RMSEA .050, SRMR .026).
erally use acoustical instruments; are clear sounding; and are We next tested the main-effects model by allowing the age
perceived as intelligent, deep, inspiring, and complex, consistent variables, gender, and all five personality traits to be freely esti-
with the Sophisticated dimension. The fourth factor included rock, mated simultaneously. The results indicated that this model
punk, alternative, and heavy metal, genres characterized by electric, achieved an excellent fit (CFI .981, TLI .970, RMSEA
loud, and distorted instruments, and perceived as aggressive, tense, .015, SRMR .006).
and unromantic, consistent with the Intense dimension. And the fifth Finally, we tested the moderation effects model. Allowing the
factor included rap, soul/R&B, funk, and reggae, styles that are 135 paths to be freely estimated would yield a just-identified
percussive and electric and perceived as upbeat, danceable, and not model, with zero degrees of freedom. We relied on model modi-
sad, consistent with the Contemporary dimension. The current fication indices obtained from the main-effects model to assess the
factors clearly resemble the MUSIC model. Therefore, we labeled relevance of studying interaction effects on music preferences.
the factors in the current study accordingly. Given evidence for Comparatively large modification indices were found for the in-
partial strong invariance, the factor scores were saved and used to teractions between age and gender for the Intense music factor, so
examine age trends in musical preferences. we allowed the interaction terms of age, age2, and age3 with
Age trends in musical preferences and their relationships gender to be regressed on Intense. Including these terms, however,
with gender and personality. To investigate age trends in mu- did not yield fit statistics that were significantly better than the
sical preferences and to examine the impact of gender and person- main-effects model (CFI .985, TLI .976, RMSEA .014,
ality on those trends, we conducted a series of regression analyses SRMR .005). Furthermore, the expected path coefficients were
within the SEM framework by specifying regression paths be- below our regression coefficient benchmark (all s |.09|, SE
tween age, age2, age3, gender, and each of the Big Five personality .009).
traits, and their interactions. We first tested the age-only model to The aforementioned results provided confirmation that there are
see whether the age variables alone provide a good fit for age robust associations between musical preferences, age, gender, and
trends in the MUSIC factors. We next tested the main-effects personality. On the basis of these findings, and for the sake of
model to assess the simultaneous influence of age along with parsimony, we retained the main-effects model for all subsequent
gender and personality on music preferences. And finally, we analyses. Regression paths for the main-effects model with inter-
tested the moderation effects model to examine the interactive action terms fixed to zero are displayed in Table 3. Age trends in
effects of age and gender, and age and the five personality dimen- music preferences are graphed in Figure 1. The significant main
8 BONNEVILLE-ROUSSY, RENTFROW, XU, AND POTTER
Table 3 effects of personality with one standard deviation above and below
Standardized Coefficients of the Path Model of Age Trends, the mean for the MUSIC dimensions are plotted against age in
Gender, and Personality on MUSIC Preferences Figure 2.
Mellow. The results from our analyses supported a cubic
95% CI model for the Mellow music-preference factor. As can be seen in
Model Low High SE p Panel A of Figure 1, preferences for Mellow increased steeply
during adolescence. Early in young adulthood, preferences flat-
Mellow
Intercept .09 .10 .09 .003 .001
tened slightly and began to decrease from age 30 to the early 50s.
Age .16 .15 .16 .003 .001 Preferences for this dimension increased from late 50s through 65.
Age2 .44 .46 .43 .007 .001 Results presented in Table 3 and in Panel A of Figure 2 also
Age3 .31 .29 .32 .007 .001 indicated that Openness was positively related to preferences for
Gender .08 .07 .08 .002 .001 Mellow music, such that participants who were high in Openness
Extraversion .05 .06 .05 .002 .001
Agreeableness .03 .03 .03 .002 .001 scored approximately half of a standard deviation above those who
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Conscientiousness .03 .03 .02 .002 .001 were low in Openness. This difference remained constant as partici-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Emotional Stability .01 .00 .01 .002 .001 pants aged, with an effect size of d .57 (mean low Openness
Openness .19 .19 .20 .002 .001 .25, mean high Openness .23).
Unpretentious
Intercept .28 .29 .28 .003 .001
Unpretentious. The age trends in preferences for Unpreten-
Age .23 .22 .23 .003 .001 tious music are shown in Panel B of Figure 1, and fit a linear
Age2 .17 .18 .15 .007 .001 model. That is, preferences for Unpretentious music increased
Age3 .12 .11 .13 .007 .001 from adolescence to young adulthood and on through middle
Gender .24 .24 .25 .002 .001 adulthood. As shown in Table 3, women displayed stronger
Extraversion .10 .10 .11 .002 .001
Agreeableness .13 .12 .13 .002 .001 preferences for this factor compared with men (d .52; mean
Conscientiousness .11 .10 .11 .002 .001 men .24, mean women .17). Extraversion, Agreeable-
Emotional Stability .02 .02 .01 .002 .001 ness, and Conscientiousness were all positively related to pref-
Openness .09 .09 .08 .002 .001 erences for Unpretentious music, such that people high on those
Sophisticated
Intercept .05 .04 .05 .003 .001
traits scored approximately one third to one half a standard
Age .43 .42 .44 .003 .001 deviation higher in their preferences compared with people low
Age2 .43 .44 .41 .007 .001 on those traits. These personality differences are plotted in
Age3 .28 .27 .30 .007 .001 Panels B1B3 of Figure 2. They remained constant with age
Gender .04 .04 .04 .002 .001 (Extraversion d .32 [mean low Extraversion .15, mean
Extraversion .04 .05 .04 .002 .001
Agreeableness .04 .03 .04 .002 .001 high Extraversion .11], Agreeableness d .61 [mean low
Conscientiousness .05 .05 .05 .002 .001 Agreeableness .30, mean high Agreeableness .19], Con-
Emotional Stability .06 .05 .06 .002 .001 scientiousness d .53 [mean low Conscientiousness .20,
Openness .18 .17 .18 .002 .001 mean high Conscientiousness .23]).
Intense
Intercept .01 .01 .02 .003 .001
Sophisticated. As can be seen Panel C of Figure 1, the age
Age .12 .12 .11 .003 .001 trend for the Sophisticated factor was fit best by a quadratic
Age2 .02 .01 .04 .007 .003 model. Preferences for Sophisticated music increased sharply
Age3 .13 .14 .11 .007 .001 during adolescence to early young adulthood, where they con-
Gender .01 .01 .01 .002 .001 tinued to increase, but at a slower rate, until the 50s when they
Extraversion .02 .03 .02 .002 .001
Agreeableness .02 .03 .02 .002 .001 appeared to stabilize. As displayed in Table 3, and Panel C of
Conscientiousness .10 .11 .10 .002 .001 Figure 2, the results also revealed that preferences for Sophis-
Emotional Stability .02 .03 .02 .002 .001 ticated music were positively related to Openness, such that
Openness .15 .15 .16 .002 .001 participants who were high in Openness scored approximately
Contemporary
Intercept .08 .08 .07 .003 .001
one half of one standard deviation above those who scored low,
Age .10 .10 .11 .003 .001 with an effect size of d .49 (mean low Openness .25,
Age2 .22 .23 .20 .007 .001 mean high Openness .20).
Age3 .04 .03 .06 .007 .001 Intense. The trend plotted in Panel D of Figure 1 reveals that
Gender .06 .06 .07 .002 .001 preferences for the Intense music factor were fit best by a quadratic
Extraversion .19 .19 .20 .002 .001
Agreeableness .06 .06 .07 .002 .001 model. Preferences show rapid rise and then fall during adolescence,
Conscientiousness .02 .02 .02 .002 .001 with preferences for Intense music plateauing during young adulthood
Emotional Stability .01 .01 .02 .002 .001 and then decreasing sharply from late young adulthood through mid-
Openness .02 .01 .02 .002 .001 dle adulthood. As shown in Table 3, and Panels D1 and D2 of Figure
Note. N 254,825. Age, personality, and the five MUSIC factors are 2, the results also revealed main effects of Conscientiousness and
standardized. Gender is dummy-coded: male 0, female 1. MUSIC Openness, such that participants who scored high in Conscientious-
Mellow, Unpretentious, Sophisticated, Intense, and Contemporary; CI ness liked intense music less than individuals low in this trait (d
confidence interval; Age2 age quadratic; Age3 age cubic. Estimates in
bold typeface exceed the effect-size benchmark of |.10|. All cell entries are
.43; mean low Conscientiousness .16, mean high Conscientious-
from the main-effects path model. ness .22), and those who scored high in Openness consistently
liked Intense music more than did participants who scored low (d
.45; mean low Openness .22, mean high Openness .17).
AGE TRENDS IN MUSICAL ENGAGEMENT AND PREFERENCES 9
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Figure 1. Mean Mellow, Unpretentious, Sophisticated, Intense, and Contemporary preference scores by age,
Study 2. Scores are standardized.
Contemporary. As displayed in Panel E in Figure 1, age trends a difference of just over half a standard deviation throughout adoles-
in preferences for Contemporary music were best fit by a quadratic cence and adulthood (d .63; mean low Extraversion .32, mean
model. The trend lines reveal a rise in preferences for Contemporary high Extraversion .23).
music during adolescence that stabilizes in early young adulthood, Effects of birth cohort on age trends in music preferences.
and then begins to decline steeply from late young adulthood through It is possible that birth-cohort effects are responsible for the age
middle adulthood. As can be seen at the bottom of Table 3, and Panel trends observed in the current study. Because the current study
E of Figure 2, a main effect of Extraversion was also observed, such included data collected over an 8-year period, we were able to
that participants who were more extraverted also displayed greater compare the preferences of participants who were the same age
preferences for the Contemporary dimension, which corresponded to (e.g., 35) when they originally completed the survey, but from
10 BONNEVILLE-ROUSSY, RENTFROW, XU, AND POTTER
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Figure 2. Main effects of age and personality traits on the Mellow, Unpretentious, Sophisticated, Intense, and
Contemporary preference scores, Study 2. Scores represent individuals high and low scores on the personality
traits (1 SD above and below the mean).
different birth cohorts (e.g., 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, General Discussion
1973, 1974, and 1975). To rule out possible cohort effects on
the relationships between age and music preferences, we re- The current research sought to fill a gap in the emerging
gressed age, age2, age3, and year of survey completion (i.e., literature on the social-personality psychology of music by
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010) on music investigating age differences in how people experience and
preferences and fixed all of the other regression paths to zero. engage with music. Two independent studies involving more
The model provided a poor fit of the data (CFI .736, TLI than a quarter million participants were conducted to examine
.671, RMSEA .050, SRMR .026), and the path coefficients age trends in musical engagement and preferences. Findings
for year of survey completion failed to reach our regression from the studies provide a solid foundation on which to develop
coefficient benchmark ( .075, SE .002). These findings and test hypotheses about the role music plays throughout life.
strongly suggest that pronounced cohort effects did not drive Below we summarize the results and propose hypotheses for
the age trends observed in the current study. future research.
AGE TRENDS IN MUSICAL ENGAGEMENT AND PREFERENCES 11
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This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
Figure 2. (continued)
Why Does Musical Engagement Decline With Age? porary music are most popular during young adulthood because
these styles of music reinforce desires for intimacy and also
Adolescence is a period marked by identity uncertainty and complement the settings where young people come together with
intense pressures to conform (Erikson, 1968; Harter, 1999; Hartup, the goal of establishing close relationships (i.e., house parties,
1989), and music plays an integral part in helping young people dance clubs, bars).
explore their identities and form relationships with peers (Delsing, By middle adulthood, the psychosocial stage that individuals
2008; ter Bogt, Keijsers, & Meeus, 2013). Indeed, adolescents use face is the challenge of developing a career, raising a family, and
music as an identity badge that serves as a symbolic representation maintaining friendships (Erikson, 1968; Hogan & Roberts, 2004).
of their values and beliefs (Frith, 1981). For example, by listening Preferences for Unpretentious and Sophisticated music were high-
to music with friends or in public, individuals are effectively est during this life stage. Both music dimensions are perceived as
making statements about their preferences, beliefs, and lifestyles positive and relaxing, but whereas Unpretentious is more simple
for others to hear (Tarrant et al., 2002). Although such statements and about themes of love and family, Sophisticated is more com-
are indirect, there is consistent evidence that music carries infor- plex and indicative of high culture (Rentfrow et al., 2012). Thus,
mation about the social and psychological characteristics of the
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
appealing for adults at a life stage where family life is the focus,
Yet, as individuals transition from adolescence to adulthood, and the aesthetic qualities of Sophisticated music may be appeal-
stable self-concepts are formed (Harter, 2003), the ability to resist ing among individuals preoccupied with the challenge of estab-
peer pressure increases (Steinberg & Monahan, 2007), and identity lishing social status and career success.
becomes invested in newly emerging social roles (e.g., spouse, Personality. Also stemming from a life span perspective of
parent, career professional). Raising a family and pursuing a career personality (McAdams & Olson, 2010), continuity and change in
provide adults with defining features of their identities. It seems particular traits appear to be expressed in musical preferences. Our
reasonable to suggest that the meaning derived from these roles results strongly suggest that there is a moderate association be-
diminishes the function that music serves in shaping identity and tween Extraversion and preferences for Contemporary music
offering fulfillment. The current findings suggest that adults may throughout the life span. This suggests that sociability, positive
not have as much psychologically invested in music as young affect, and enthusiasm are related to preferences for fun and
people, and instead listen to music for purposes of relaxation and sociable music throughout life. A comparatively small, but robust,
entertainment. In this way, adults may rely on music less as a association was observed between Agreeableness and preferences
means for identity development and more for purposes of emotion for Unpretentious. This is consistent with the hypothesis that
regulation or stimulation. individuals of all ages who possess traits associated with warmth
prefer music that is inoffensive and gentle sounding. Although the
Toward a Developmental Theory of Musical associations were comparatively small, Conscientiousness was
positively associated with preferences for Unpretentious but neg-
Preferences
atively related to Intense. Given that Intense has been associated
Although the current results are based entirely on cross- with disorderliness in past research (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levi-
sectional data, theory and research in developmental, personality, tin, 2011), it is not surprising that people of all ages who prefer
and biological psychology offers clues for understanding age dif- Intense music are comparatively low in conscientiousness. Finally,
ferences in musical preferences. We may thus draw on that re- Openness was moderately associated with Mellow, Sophisticated,
search and the current findings to lay a foundation for developing and Intense music from adolescence through to middle adulthood.
a theory of why musical preferences change with age. Research has shown that Sophisticated and Intense music are
Life span perspective. Eriksons (1950, 1968) psychosocial perceived as complex and that Mellow and Sophisticated are
stages of development provide a useful framework for understand- perceived as intelligent and thoughtful, psychological characteris-
ing age differences in musical preferences. The current results tics also associated with Openness (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levi-
indicated that preferences for the Intense music-preference dimen- tin, 2011; Rentfrow et al., 2012).
sion were highest among adolescents and then declined through In the same way that music reinforces dispositional personality
middle adulthood. This dimension is marked by loud and distorted traits, it is conceivable that normative changes in personality might
sounds and is perceived as aggressive, tense, and antiestablishment contribute to age differences in musical preferences. Several stud-
(Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011; Rentfrow et al., 2012). The ies indicate that Neuroticism is high and that Agreeableness and
psychosocial stage during adolescence is the challenge of devel- Conscientiousness are low during adolescence (e.g., Allemand et
oping a coherent identity. It thus seems reasonable to argue that the al., 2007; Roberts et al., 2006; Soto et al., 2011)a period marked
rebellious connotations of Intense music might be what adoles- by significant cognitive and biological changes that influence
cents find appealing as they struggle to establish a sense of emotional stability, impulse control, and aggression (Keating,
independence and autonomy. 2004; Kuhn, 2006; Tremblay, 1998). It is conceivable that these
In early adulthood, once self-identities have formed, time and changes contribute to a greater preference for fast and edgy music,
effort are invested in developing intimate bonds of love as it might reinforce or complement adolescents psychological
(Carstensen, 1992; Erikson, 1968). Our results indicated that the and physiological states. The normative increases in Agreeable-
Mellow and Contemporary dimensions were most popular during ness and Conscientiousness correspond with declining preferences
young adulthood. These preference dimensions are considered for Intense music and increasing preferences for Unpretentious
romantic, emotionally positive, and danceable (Rentfrow et al., music, suggesting that as people become more caring and dutiful
2012). Taken together, it is conceivable that Mellow and Contem- with age, their degree of preference for warm and reflective music
AGE TRENDS IN MUSICAL ENGAGEMENT AND PREFERENCES 13
also increases. There is also evidence that Openness increases as music preferences and, at the same time, reveal the relative impact
people age, suggesting that people become more imaginative and of such factors throughout the life span.
aesthetic (Soto et al., 2011), which appears to be reflected in A limitation of both studies was the fact that they relied solely
greater preferences for reflective, imaginative, and unconventional on self-report data. Given the current evidence that music is more
music. The current results are cross-sectional and cannot determine important among adolescents than adults, it is conceivable that
causality. Longitudinal research tracking personality and musical showing passion for music is more socially desirable for young
preferences will be necessary for rigorously testing these hypoth- people. If so, social desirability might have inflated young partic-
eses. ipants reports of how important music was to them. Social desir-
Biological maturation. Another explanation for age differences ability might have also affected young peoples self-reports of
in musical preferences arises from developmental changes in auditory which musical styles they most prefer. Future research that gathers
perception. There is evidence of developmental changes in auditory objective information about musical engagement and preferences
threshold levels and in specific hearing impairments among normally longitudinally would go a very long way in establishing the gen-
aging individuals that could influence the degree to which particular eralizability of the current results.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
musical styles are enjoyed. In terms of normative auditory devel- A potential limitation of Study 2 is that the data were collected
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
opment, as people age, they lose the capacity to hear high-pitched on the Internet. It is conceivable that older middle-aged adults who
and soft sounds, and show an increased risk for developing hearing volunteer to complete a survey online may be comparatively high
impairments (Brant & Fozard, 1990). For instance, people with in Openness or savvy with new technologies. To address the
hearing recruitment tend to show higher sensitivity to sound in- possibility of a selection bias, we used a procedure described by
tensity (Buus & Florentine, 2002). Another hearing problem that Soto et al. (2011) to examine age variance in Openness across age
can affect music preferences is hyperacusis, that is, a decreased groups. If there was a selection bias for the older participants, we
tolerance to certain sound frequencies (Anari, Axelsson, Eliasson, should expect less variance in Openness among the older middle-
& Magnusson, 1999). As a result of such changes, perceptions of aged participants (because the majority of them should be similarly
loudness increase more quickly as a function of objective sound high on this trait) than among the younger participants (because
intensity for people with hyperacusis compared to people with they comprise a more representative sample). We tested that hy-
normal hearing function (Hood & Poole, 1966). pothesis by computing the standard deviation ratio of openness
Research has shown that the aforementioned changes in hearing between the three comparison groups (1219 vs. 20 39; 1219 vs.
are relatively frequent and develop over time, most often taking 40 65; and 20 39 vs. 40 65) and did not find evidence of a bias
decades to fully implement (Agrawal, Platz, & Niparko, 2008; in openness. Of course these results do not entirely rule out any
Gordon-Salant, 2005). Thus, it is easy to understand why middle- selection bias, yet the size of our sample and the evidence of small
aged adults were less likely to prefer loud and distorted music than variability between groups suggest there is not a pronounced bias.
adolescents and young adults. For middle-aged people, the Intense We assessed music preferences using the STOMP-R, which
and Contemporary music dimensions, with their mostly large comprises music genre items. Recent research on the structure of
changes in volume or their generally high intensity, might be music preferences indicates that assessing individual differences in
literally painful to hear and thus intolerable (Leek, Molis, Kubli, & music preferences by measuring affective reactions to audio ex-
Tufts, 2008). Consistent with that hypothesis, research by Smith cerpts of actual music could shed more light on age differences in
(1989) indicated that age was negatively related to preferences for preferences (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011; Rentfrow et al.,
listening to music at a high intensity. Although older adults dis- 2012). Measuring affective reactions to auditory excerpts instead
played lower auditory threshold levels, they tended to listen to of genre preferences overcomes the potential limitation that par-
music at a lower volume than did younger participants, suggesting ticipants might be unfamiliar with the genre classifications. An-
that loud music might be uncomfortable for older adults. other advantage of examining age differences in preferences for
musical clips is that it allows for studying age trends in preferences
for musical attributes, as well as the impact of auditory thresholds
Limitations and Future Directions
on musical preferences. Such research has the potential to deepen
A limitation with all studies based on cross-sectional designs is our understanding of why particular music dimensions are pre-
that it is never clear whether the age differences observed were ferred more at certain periods of life.
driven by age effects, birth-cohort effects, or period effects (Lucas
& Donnellan, 2011). We took advantage of the multiyear design of
Conclusion
the current research to assess the degree to which cohort effects
might be responsible for the age differences observed in Study 2. In the current work, we examined age differences in musical
We did not detect pronounced cohort effects, though the results engagement and preferences. Our results are the first to compre-
should be interpreted with care due to the cross-sectional nature of hensively document the ways in which individuals experience and
this study, as the 8-year period may not be sufficient for detecting engage with music from adolescence through middle adulthood.
cohort effects. It is possible that less pronounced cohort effects We identified important age differences in the role music plays at
drive the current results. Indeed, given that musical styles evolve various periods in life; we obtained compelling evidence that
and new genres emerge over time, it is only reasonable to expect musical preferences develop throughout adulthood; and we spotted
birth cohort to have some effect of musical preferences. Longitu- normative trends in the styles of music individuals prefer at dif-
dinal studies that gather information about preferences, personal- ferent life stages and how they are related to personality. These
ity, life experiences, and social networks will be invaluable for results replicate and greatly extend our knowledge of the social
teasing apart the social and psychological factors that influence psychology of music by providing a crucial life span perspective
14 BONNEVILLE-ROUSSY, RENTFROW, XU, AND POTTER
that, until now, has been absent. At the same time, the current personality factors of those who listen. Psychomusicology, 19, 3256.
research highlights the real-world relevance of mainstream social- doi:10.1037/h0094035
personality, developmental, and biological psychology by illustrat- Gordon-Salant, S. (2005). Hearing loss and aging: New research findings
ing how basic concepts and theories in these fields can inform our and clinical implications. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and De-
understanding of a facet of everyday life that is important to people velopment, 42(Suppl. 2), 924. doi:10.1682/JRRD.2005.01.0006
Gosling, S., Rentfrow, P., & Swann, W. (2003). A very brief measure of
of all ages. It is only by broadening our research foci and adopting
the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality,
a multidisciplinary perspective that we will develop a thorough
37, 504 528. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00046-1
and complete understanding of the role of music through the ages. Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspec-
tive. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Harter, S. (2003). The development of self-representations during child-
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