Music Preferences & Personality Traits: Deductive Essay

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Introduction

Ever been asked why you are listening to a particular song? At that moment, people usually try to come up with the reasons. However, the answer will be, because I like it, and perhaps it could be the artist or because one wants the beat or how someone is feeling at that particular moment. It is essential to understand that individuals are exposed to a variety of music differently regardless of whether they choose to listen or not. Research has shown that personality could change and continues to improve even into old age (McAdams & Olson, 2010). Personality change is typically accompanied by personal differences in turn, in that people differ in patterns of change as they grow through adulthood (Robert & Mroczek, 2008; Allemand et al., 2008). It is due to these patterns of changes that could reflect a particular life experience, exposure to varying surrounding contexts as well as many processes that are adaptive and behaviors that individuals use in their everyday lives to maintain health and well-being. It is projected that people are exposed to music for nearly 20% of their daily life whereby much of the musical experience appears to be a mystery.

For example, why does some music make people dance while others bring tears, or does the music that an individual likes make another person agitated? It is evident that these differences in people are not just random but due to the personality of an individual. Therefore, music has the power to dictate an individual character in their everyday life, and so the paper will explore personality traits as how they are expressed in daily life, how personality is represented by integrating an individual performance on the personality test, and how music preference influences personality and traits expressed in everyday life.

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Personality as Expressed in Everday Life

Personality can be conceptualized from various perspectives that have different implications for individual daily life. For instance, listening to music preference influences the personality of a person (Rentfrow, 2017). In a similar report, McAdams provides a conceptual framework perspective in which personal traits can be understood. One of the views is the personality characteristic that defines how people as social actors usually behave on a social stage of life as well as surrounding personality traits such as social roles and skills. The second is the motivation agent which comprises personal goals, values, envisioned projects, and motives. Thirdly is an author who gives stories as an aspect of personality. The real world provides an excellent platform to assess how people behave in a social stage of life as social actors whereby their behavior changes over time. The state of how individuals act is fluctuating and dynamic over a given moment. The process of personality that is temporary and turns as a result of internal aspects like goals and motives, as well as an external situation like stress, is assumed to be a real-life situation. How people behave, think, and feel in a given case reflects their manifestation of personality (Fleeson et al. 2013). Therefore, for some to assess the process of personality one has to do intensive and numerous assessments repeatedly over a short period so that they can capture the dynamics of everyday life in the short period and fluctuation over an interval.

Expressing Personality by Integrating Personality Test

Personality is a trait that influences people's behavior across various situations, and the personality test is one of the most popular ways in which nature can be measured and administered whereby people's self-report is assessed concerning their traits — personality tests are crucial since it provides people with information that they might not have to know about themselves. Personality can be expressed through the personality test for job placement purposes. For instance, when a new member happens to join a particular company and is placed in one of the close-knit teams, the personality test is employed to determine which group one is suited for and will work best with them. Additionally, one can be able to understand their personality type by assessing the people they surround themselves with. It can be used to test the personality of team members, and they learn to know one another since it involves innate preferences that would be helpful for other team members to understand. Through personality tests in a team, there is an increase in team awareness in that every member is aware of functional as well as the more cohesive unit that provides a conducive atmosphere for the entire team to work together. Therefore, personality on a personal performance through personality test is expressed when a person for instance in an organization is conducive to working together since the character of their fellow teammates will be enhancing them and modeling them to be the better person.

Personality can be expressed during the hiring of employees whereby the employer will have to vet the employee so that they can find the most suited for the vacancy position following the personality of the employee. Many of the company usually employ the use of testing when hiring staff. This is because the personality test will not only provide a prospective team, but also analysis will provide characteristics of an individual who the employer will use to predict and understand the person better. Equally important, personally will be expressed in that by use of the testing the manager will be able to position the individual where they are best suited so that they can help in realizing the objectivity of the company, in the same position, the managers can at the same use the test to turn down an individual who they do not fit for that particular job. Clearly, personality can be expressed through hiring, the participation of a team where a thorough person is examined through personality tests to ascertain they are fit to be in a particular group of people.

Music Preference and Personality Trait

Music is the foundation of human experience as well as a process that exhibits cognitive abilities in a productive and generative way. The preference for music is a function since it promotes social well-being by making human contact and imagination possible. Songs are represented across all creatures though not at all times melodic to people's ears, but it still rich in semantically communicative function. So it is linked to both motivation and social contact of the human being. Music is an essential human experience intertwined with the basic need for humans which has led to neurobiological development. According to Rentflow and Gosling (2003), the authors suggest that music can be used to meet some requirements that move past the social context adding that the music an individual selects can also serve the same function. As an example, the author argues that a person who is high in openness to new experiences could favor the kind of music that strengthens and supports their perspective in becoming a creative and sophisticated individual. In a similar report, Qiu, Chen, Ramsay, and Lu (2019) argue that there was a positive relationship between openness to experience and the choice for complex, reflective, extreme, and rebellious music while at the same time was adversely related to generally upbeat music.

The authors add that openness was primarily related to the preference for extreme and rock types of music as Rentflow and Gosling (2003) revealed. In light of the above, it is clear that the choice of music that an individual will listen to has a significant influence on their personality and it can be expressed through daily activity that a person engages themselves with. Additionally, people usually look for specific kinds of music so that they can control and manage their emotional state. In particular, people with depression select the type of music that maintains and supports their gloomy and melancholic state of mind. Sensation seeking also seems to be positively associated with a fondness for extreme, edgy, punk, and rock kinds of music and adversely associated with religious music and soundtracks (Qiu et al., 2019). For example, Vella and Mills (2017) suggested a universal way of listening to music in the modern tradition, as it is theoretical that people could commonly listen to music as a means to control and manage their feelings in times of emotional distress. In case of a stressful period, utilization of music can exhibit a coping method that is changing to negativity, and so personality due to an increased level of negativity can also be used to predict uses for music that covaries with the emotional state of mind.

Depression and stress symptoms in the recent past have been speculated as connecting positively with the sensitive use of music and neuroticism personality. Concerning the above, it is evident that personality trait is expressed in everyday life through the choice of music one tends to listen to. Despite music being functional it also promotes the well-being of a person and so music sensibility is connected with the social instinct of a human being which is something that leads to a personality trait through relating to a particular genre of music (Vella and Mills 2017). Therefore, the fondness for specific kinds of music usually reveals crucial information concerning the aspect of personality. Physiological arousal is also associated with music preferences. Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) argue that a different study has also revealed a connection between preferences for music with a personality trait that emphasizes physiologically correlating with the choice of music. In their argument, the writers claim that a massive metal fan usually experiences higher resting encouragement as compared to an individual who listens to country music. Listening to heavy metal music has demonstrated an increase in the level of arousal of heavy metal individuals and even more of an increased level of arousal for individuals who enjoy country music. (Vella & Mills 2017). Research by Langmeyer, Guglhor-Rudan, and Tarnai (2012) further supports the reflection of an individual’s personality with the type of music they enjoy. The authors argue that people high in certain traits such as neuroticism are unlikely to listen to extreme or heavy metal types of music but favor cheerful and happy kinds of music like pop or country songs. Furthermore, Chamorro‐Premuzic, Swami, Furnham, and Maakip (2009) also support the concept that the emotional state is managed through the use of music such that people tend to listen to the kind of music that suits their current emotional state. As an example, someone who feels unhappy and sad listens to sad music whereas someone who feels happy would listen to upbeat music.

Furthermore, it is evident that inclinations for high arousal music such as rap, rock, heavy metal, and dance, they associated with antisocial personality, resting arousal, and sensation seeking and will influence a personality trait. Clearly, as mentioned, music preference and influence on personality traits can be expressed in everyday life through heavy metal and sensations that relate to a situation of an individual. Social identity has also demonstrated the connection between the choice of music and personality. The writers further support that individuals use music to identify themselves in a manner that will convey their frame of mind, their principles, and how they view themselves (Vella &Mills, 2017).

It is projected that in both rap and pop music fans, their choice of music is relevant to some extent to their self-view that is associated with a characteristic of their model music participants. This relationship is due to self-esteem in that people with high self-esteem are seen to have more resemblance to the model prototype as compared to those with low self-esteem. By the same token, similar reports in various cultures, age groups, and populations present support for the idea that the type of music significantly impacts how individuals view themselves as well as their self-esteem. Even though the research on music inclination and personality is done on the limited selection of both character and determination of music, it is imperative to understand that the favorite kind of music has a significant influence on nature (Vella & Mills, 2017).

My Personality Description

The personality test measured the Big Five personality factors; extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. The results of the personality test can be seen in Figure 1, which rates the big five personality factors on a scale of 1 to 5. The results indicate that there were low levels of extraversion, which includes traits like gregariousness and having a low sociable and talkative behavior and excitement seeking. The second factor displays a high level of agreeableness, specifically in traits such as modesty, morality, and sympathy. The third factor displays low levels of conscientiousness, focusing mainly on traits such as cautiousness, self-discipline, and orderliness. The fourth factor portrays high levels of neuroticism, with a high influence on traits such as self-consciousness, anxiety, and immoderation. The final factor exhibits average levels of openness specifically in adventurousness and artistic interests.

The type of music genres I highly enjoy listening to are pop, hip-hop, and rock music. My favorite artists include Camila Cabello, Selena Gomez, Skillet, Ariana Grande, and Imagine Dragon however there are many more. Some of my favorite songs include Same Old Love by Selena Gomez, Havana by Camila Cabello, Hero by Skillet, and Believer by Imagine Dragons.

Critical evaluation

The results in part b displays many differences and similarities with the research given and one explanation of this is that the results of the personality test online were not replicated through the same website or through any other different personality tests. It is possible that if the personality test was done again it could yield different results and alter the differences and similarities in personality with the research.

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Music Preferences & Personality Traits: Deductive Essay. (2023, November 27). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 12, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/connection-between-music-preferences-and-personality-traits-deductive-essay/
“Music Preferences & Personality Traits: Deductive Essay.” Edubirdie, 27 Nov. 2023, edubirdie.com/examples/connection-between-music-preferences-and-personality-traits-deductive-essay/
Music Preferences & Personality Traits: Deductive Essay. [online]. Available at: <https://edubirdie.com/examples/connection-between-music-preferences-and-personality-traits-deductive-essay/> [Accessed 12 Dec. 2024].
Music Preferences & Personality Traits: Deductive Essay [Internet]. Edubirdie. 2023 Nov 27 [cited 2024 Dec 12]. Available from: https://edubirdie.com/examples/connection-between-music-preferences-and-personality-traits-deductive-essay/
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