This study examined how student’s ratings of the Materials: It is possible that this reflects the general importance of music and musical experience-ability Participants in the study completed preference for complex music in that most country related to personality and a music preference. questionnaires that measured music preference, and rap/hip-hop music is simpler in nature. Results revealed that music importance was music importance, music experience, and various Interestingly, these participants also indicated that positively correlated with agreeableness, openness personality factors (big 5 factors, self-esteem, and Music they preferred music that is sad. to experience, and a preference for complex music. need for cognition). Music importance and music Experience/Ability Music experience-ability was positively correlated experience were measured by the Buchholz Music with openness to experience, need for cognition, Preference Scale, a 24 item questionnaire where the Music Music and a preference for complex music. These results participants would rate whether or not they agree Importance r = .290, p<.001 help us to further understand the role of music in with the statements on a scale of 1 to 7. The Importance our lives. questionnaire contained statements such as “Music Music Overall the results suggest that those who feel is a central part of who I am” and “I listen to music r = .290, Complex Music Experience/ r = .359, p<.001 that music plays an important role in their lives daily.” Participants also completed the STOMP p<.001 Preference Ability and/or who demonstrate an ability or experience questionnaire, where they indicated how much they playing music tend to be more open minded and liked or disliked 14 different genres of music on a Mood r = -.159, p=.026 exhibit a need to engage in more elaborative scale of 1 to 7. Congruence Complex Music r = .360, processing of information. More complex stimuli Procedure: Preference p<.001 often demand a higher level of cognitive resources, The participants provided informed consent Happy MP r = -.210, p=.003 Music is consistently an important component which it appears that these individuals possess. and then were given the collection of surveys. Once of life across cultures. However, there has been Why, however, do they like sad music? We suggest the study was concluded, the data were analyzed to Openness to little research on how this intimate subject is r = .243, p=.001 that this result is a reflection of the fact that songs look for relationships between music Mood r = .288, Experience related to personality. Music plays a role in the Enhancement p<.001 that are simpler in structure tend to be upbeat and experience/important, musical preferences, and Need for formation and maintenance of many close r = .154, p=.032 happy (e.g., pop music). It is possible that more personality traits. Cognition relationships (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006). The complex music may tend to reflect a more complex question remains: what aspects of personality drive r = .310, Reflective/ emotional landscape, including sadness, Agreeableness r = .387, p<.001 individuals’ preferences for different types of p<.001 Complex MP melancholy, angst, et cetera. Therefore, it is music? possible that the preference for sad music is an Music is a factor that people can identify Intense artifact of the preference for complex music. Openness to r = .210, r = .152, p=.034 themselves with and share their identity with Rebellious MP others. However from experience you have Experience p=.003 probably noticed that individual tastes in music The results revealed that music importance was Reflective/ r = .243, vary. Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) suggest that positively correlated with agreeableness (r = .310, Classical MP r = .422, p<.001 Complex MP p=.001 individual differences in personality may draw p<.001) and openness to experience (r = .210, different people to different types of music. Their p=.003). Also, participants who said that music was r = .211, Blues MP r = .277, p<.001 Blues MP research, however, did not account for an central to their lives preferred music that is more p=.003 individuals preferences for music based on the role complex in nature (r = .360, p<.001). More Jourdain R. (1997). Music, the brain, and ecstasy: r = .190, Country MP r = -.176, p=.013 How music captures our imagination. New York: music plays in one’s life. specifically, these individuals preferred blues (r = Folk MP This study examined how student’s ratings of .211, p=.003), folk (r = .190, p=.008), soul/funk (r = p=.008 William Morrow & Co. the importance of music and musical experience .189, p=.008), and jazz (r = .199, p=.005). Similar to r = .189, Folk MP r = .165, p=.021 ability related to personality and a music music importance, music experience-ability was Soul/Funk MP North, A.C., Hargreaves, D.J., & O’Neill, S.A. (2000). p=.008 The importance of music to adolescents. British preference. From here, we can note whether or not positively correlated with openness to experience (r Rap/ r = -.172, p=.016 Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 255-272. a person’s musical tastes vary in regards to the role = .243, p=.001); however, music experience-ability r = .199, Hip-hop MP Jazz MP music plays in their life. was also positively correlated with need for p=.005 Soul/ Rentfrow, P.J., & Gosling, S.D. (2003). The do re mi’s cognition (r = .154, p=.032). As with music r = .176, p=.014 importance, participants who rated highly in music Funk MP of everyday life: The structure and personality experience-ability also preferred complex music (r = correlates of music preferences. Journal of .359, p<.001), including blues(r = .277, p<.001), folk Jazz MP r = .299, p<.001 Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1236- (r = .165, p=.021), soul/funk (r =.176, p=.014), and 1256. jazz (r = .299, p<.001). In addition to these, however, participants who rated highly in music Rentfrow, P.J., & Gosling, S.D. (2006). Message in a Participants: experience-ability also demonstrated a preference ballad: The role of music preferences in Participants were 195 undergraduate students for classical music (r = .422, p<.001) and indicated a interpersonal perception. Psychological Science, at a small liberal arts college who completed the dislike for country music (r = -.176, p=.013) and 17(3), 236-242. study for partial credit of a psychology 101 course rap/hip-hop music (r = -.172, p=.016). It seems that requirement. those who take music seriously tend to dislike pop music.