Music preference in adulthood: Why do we like the music we do?

A wide range of psychological approaches have been used in the study of music preferences and music in everyday life, yet none of these have successfully approached the complexities of meaning involved in people’s everyday use of music. Two studies were carried out which aimed to map individual levels of engagement with music; to tap into the content and quality of people’s emotional experi-ences with the music they prefer and why this valued; to investigate how technology affects the ways people engage with music; and to discover what it is about the specific characteristics of the music that is preferred. Qualitative methodology was used to ground the research in people’s experiences with music, to identify how they account for their listening behaviour, and to focus on what they per-ceive to be important in shaping their music preferences. 23 participants (aged 18-47) were interviewed and the tran-scripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Themes identified include the use of technology in music listening behaviour; changes and fluctuations in music preferences over time; the number of different styles people used; the complex and idiosyncratic ways in which people categorise and organise the music they own; and the way in which people use music as a form of ‘self-therapy ’ – especially for purposes of mood-regulation. Adults are consciously aware of the many ways in which they use and engage with music, and emphasise music as a meaningful and important personal and social undertaking. The research provides a rich soil from which to develop hypotheses about the na-ture of people’s engagement with music, and highlights important dimensions of preference for further investiga-tion