Summary article Music through the ages: Trends in musical engagement and preferences from
adolescence through middle adulthood
Musical engagement, preferences, and age
•Considerable evidence indicates that musical engagement and preferences have a psychological
basis. The theoretical framework guiding much of the research in this area is that music reflects and
reinforces people’s psychological, biological, and social needs. Because practically all of the research
in this area has relied only on young people, it is impossible to know whether music serves similar
functions throughout the life span.
Musical engagement
•Music is a vehicle for self-discovery, self-regulation, and self-expression for most young people.
•Young people report listening to music for arousal and emotion regulation, social networking, and
self-expression.
•They also report listening to music frequently and in various settings, including public, private,
social, and solitary.
•it is unclear whether music remains as important in adulthood. Therefore, we need to investigate
musical attitudes and beliefs from adolescence through adulthood.
Musical preferences.
•There is a latent structure underlying musical preferences and preferences are linked to various
psychological characteristics. Studies on the structure of musical preferences strongly suggest that
individual differences in music-genre preferences can be conceptualized in terms of approximately
four to six music-preference dimensions.
•Research on the psychological correlates of musical preferences indicates that preferences are
associated with personality, values and cognitive abilities.
•There is also evidence that musical preferences are influenced by the social connotations associated
with music.
•In addition, studies of music preferences among adolescents suggest that individuals listen to
particular styles of music to be popular among peers and to enhance group affiliation.
Age
•There have been very few investigations of age differences in musical preferences. Of the handful of
studies conducted, there appears to be consensus for the hypothesis that musical preferences
crystallize in early adulthood and do not change from that point onward.
•An alternative perspective is that musical preferences vary throughout adulthood.
•Just as normative changes in personality occur throughout the life span, it seems reasonable to
expect normative changes might also occur in musical preferences.
•Explanations for personality change emphasize the impact of age-graded social roles, such as
marriage, family, and work, as well as psychosocial developmental challenges.
Overview of the current research
•The overarching aim of this work was to establish a foundation on which to develop and test
hypotheses about the development of musical preferences. The theoretical framework guiding the
investigation was informed by interactionist theories positing that individuals seek out environments
that meet their needs.
•They reasoned that individuals use music to satisfy and reinforce basic psychological needs. Thus,
they expected age differences in musical involvement to correspond to normative changes in
particular psychological processes.
adolescence through middle adulthood
Musical engagement, preferences, and age
•Considerable evidence indicates that musical engagement and preferences have a psychological
basis. The theoretical framework guiding much of the research in this area is that music reflects and
reinforces people’s psychological, biological, and social needs. Because practically all of the research
in this area has relied only on young people, it is impossible to know whether music serves similar
functions throughout the life span.
Musical engagement
•Music is a vehicle for self-discovery, self-regulation, and self-expression for most young people.
•Young people report listening to music for arousal and emotion regulation, social networking, and
self-expression.
•They also report listening to music frequently and in various settings, including public, private,
social, and solitary.
•it is unclear whether music remains as important in adulthood. Therefore, we need to investigate
musical attitudes and beliefs from adolescence through adulthood.
Musical preferences.
•There is a latent structure underlying musical preferences and preferences are linked to various
psychological characteristics. Studies on the structure of musical preferences strongly suggest that
individual differences in music-genre preferences can be conceptualized in terms of approximately
four to six music-preference dimensions.
•Research on the psychological correlates of musical preferences indicates that preferences are
associated with personality, values and cognitive abilities.
•There is also evidence that musical preferences are influenced by the social connotations associated
with music.
•In addition, studies of music preferences among adolescents suggest that individuals listen to
particular styles of music to be popular among peers and to enhance group affiliation.
Age
•There have been very few investigations of age differences in musical preferences. Of the handful of
studies conducted, there appears to be consensus for the hypothesis that musical preferences
crystallize in early adulthood and do not change from that point onward.
•An alternative perspective is that musical preferences vary throughout adulthood.
•Just as normative changes in personality occur throughout the life span, it seems reasonable to
expect normative changes might also occur in musical preferences.
•Explanations for personality change emphasize the impact of age-graded social roles, such as
marriage, family, and work, as well as psychosocial developmental challenges.
Overview of the current research
•The overarching aim of this work was to establish a foundation on which to develop and test
hypotheses about the development of musical preferences. The theoretical framework guiding the
investigation was informed by interactionist theories positing that individuals seek out environments
that meet their needs.
•They reasoned that individuals use music to satisfy and reinforce basic psychological needs. Thus,
they expected age differences in musical involvement to correspond to normative changes in
particular psychological processes.
