Does musical taste reflect one's intelligence?

Question

Obviously, it wouldn't be fair to assume that someone is stupid just because of their choice in music. But in my experience, the people I've met who are generally unintelligent seem to prefer the music of Britney Spears, Nickelback (who I must admit to kinda liking), or any rap or emo music. It has also been my experience that when I meet someone who impresses me with their intelligence, they like music such as Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, or Nirvana. Clearly there is music made for unique, intelligent, and artistic people...then there's music made for idiots who like what they're told. It just blows my mind that there are so many brilliant songs from The Beatles like "I Am The Walrus" or "Eleanor Rigby", but the people of today would rather listen to Justin Timberlake whisper and squeal like a girl into a mic while pre-recorded beats loop in the background. How does everyone else feel? Does taste reflect intelligence?

Answer 1

It is an interesting question, but I don't think it does. I do believe that some music is more artistically driven and perhaps, not to sound too pretentious, but challenging, and maybe there could be a correlation to show that certain types of music appeal to smarter people in general (I bet on average fans of classical music and maybe jazz have higher IQ's in general), but I don't believe the converse would be true. I think people like a lot of different types of music for a lot of different reasons. I would be very interested in seeing data on this. My wife is a sociology major and if there is one thing I've learned from talking about the subject with her is that with issues like this the hard data and what you might like to believe are definitely not necessarily the same thing. I'll admit that I tend to be kind of Pollyana about these sorts of things.
Personally, I think that I am reasonably smart and I probably like plenty of things that would be in your lesser intelligence categories, as well as bands like Radiohead and the Beatles.

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Also, don't forget this is an on average thing. Exceptions don't necessarily disprove rules. In fact there is the old phrase "the exception that proves the rule."

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Yeah J-5!
Anywys I was curus abot Niklbck tstng n i thnak it stupdr no makes u. i trid n im same smrtness

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Hi MachPen - Actually, it was the other way around. I was using his example of Radiohead being one of the smarter type bands, to say that I probably like both. Trust me, I would NEVER say that. The Beatles too, for that matter.

Hi Sookie, I'm actually way ahead of you on that. My science department (really just the best and brightest from my army of lackies) received a phone call about two hours ago with the green light.

Today is fun!

Answer 2

Without trying to sound like an indie-elitist or an overall music snob, I know where you are going with this. There certainly seems to be strong evidence of a correlation between certain artists and an individuals I.Q. However, I must confess that I don't have the official lab results, so whatever I think is somewhat speculative. Certainly listening to Nickelback over prolonged periods could result in diminished intelligence. But you are absolutely on to something. If I roll into someones crib and see Britney, Justin and Puddle of Mudd, that's a red flag. They would certainly be musically-retarded. I can't remember ever hearing about any Juggalos in Mensa. On the flip side, I haven't run into too many stupid people who are into Radiohead. No matter what the truth is, it's good for laughs to speculate on.

foreverscarlett23 - Correlation does not mean 100% in either direction. There will always be exceptions.

Prof - Jurassic 5 are real good and definitely hip-hop.

Sookie - I would never base it only on one CD but rather an entire collection. Everyone is entitled to a mulligan, maybe even two. :)

Answer 3

Interesting question.

I don't really think anyone can assume that. Music is a different experience for each person, and what one person takes from it may not the same as the next. I've known some pretty intelligent people who have liked Britney's dance beats, and some rather clueless ones who were really into NIN.

I can understand what you mean though, especially when you bring up the Beatles and compare them to Justin. It's no contest to me either.

But I do believe this - anyone who says they haven't, at least once, made a judgment call about someone based on what they listen to probably isn't being completely honest. I think everyone has done it at some point.

Edit: And I totally agree with Prof. Just like it's not fair to make blanket generalizations about a listener's intelligence, it's not fair to do that with all of hip-hop. Every genre has decent stuff if you keep your ears and mind open.

Edit (again): lovnrckets: that would be an interesting experiment. Give someone an IQ test, give them nothing to listen to but Nickelback, then retest.

Prof - LOL! You crack me up. :)

If you ran for Congress here in NY, you would definitely have my vote. If you make it to office you can make sure more funds are allocated for this kind of testing.

WOO-HOO - Prof gets things done! Let the testing begin!!!

Answer 4

This study is in no way reliable. There's no way in hell that rock fans have a higher IQ than metal fans concerning the personalities they typically have. And electronic music on top? Sure, some forms of it, but how are jazz and metal not up there either? Most metal fans I know are extremely intelligent who have a classicist taste and try to familiarize themselves with political science. This survey also doesn't take into account people who enjoy multiple genres and the fact that many genres which are deemed to be "lesser" don't have their more sophisticated artists presented. This survey just reeks of holes.

Answer 5

I'm not so sure. I'm as dumb as an ox, and I've got great taste in music :)

But you're right, a lot of the time it does seem like intelligent and/or creative people do tend to gravitate towards certain kinds of music, generally music with a bit more complexity than what you might see in the charts. Whether this is due to better taste arising from their intellect or just a coincidence I can't say. There is the possibility that someone's intelligence may stem from above average curiosity and inquisitiveness, a quality which may then drive them to seek out better music than what other people would be content with.

Edit:
Aww, thanks Mach... I think.... Wait, was that a compliment or an insult, I'm too dumb to tell, lol.

Answer 6

You probably (like the rest of us) are biased about what you define as intelligence. There is no completely agreed upon way for measuring if someone is intelligent or not, and some psychologists believe there are different kinds of intelligence. Anyway, I've known highly intelligent people who can't resist ABBA, and I've known what I'd call stupid people who like classical music. Musical taste alone does not predict intelligence. By the way, some intelligent people might question your taste in music. Musical snobbery is a much worse trait than being a little dim anyway.

Answer 7

Well, I'll tell you my taste in music, and you tell me what you think.

Classic Rock {including some Prog Rock}
some 80's Rock
Celtic
Folk
Acoustic
Jazz
Blues
Swing
World
Classical
some 'New Age'

I'm 25, by the way.


Edit :~

Mable, when I was at school, my peers thought my tastes in music were odd, because I didn't listen to the popular music of the time {which everyone else listened to}.

I would never 'invent' my musical tastes just to make people think I'm something I'm not. The music I listen to is the music I love.

I think I have a reasonably high intellegance ~ but that doesn't stop me having occasional 'stupid' moments!

Answer 8

I wouldn't say it's the music that they listen to that determines their intelligence but instead WHY they listen to it that makes them either smart or dumb to put it simply.

For example I have an uncharacteristic intelligence level as seen on standardized test scores (I'm in contension for admission to Ivy League schools) and I also have a natural ability for music. I listen to bands like the Rolling Stones, Santana, Green Day and others because of their songwriting where as someone else would just listen to Green Day just because their friend listens to it and they want to stay popular. Personally I couldn't care less what anyone else said about my musical tastes because I know that I have more musical experience than 500 random people you pull off the street and I'm only 16 here; I've done covers of Eric Johnson, GNR versions of songs, Pink Floyd and so on. As said other people just like music because that's just the popular thing of that moment that they live in.

Answer 9

Hmm...maybe not necessarily so. Some music that might seem minimalist to some people, is actually favored by people who might just also happen to have high I.Q.'s. Case in point: my cousin, who is considered a little genius (by Mensa standards) has ADHD (like many people with exceptionally high I.Q.'s do), and prefers ambient electronic music over anything with lyrics. Of course, you could be onto something here. I've also wondered, too, why it is that certain people have a stronger preference for songs with good lyrics, and why others simply prefer a song with a good, simple melody. I go for a well-balanced combination of the two. It depends.

Answer 10

By and large, no.

I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person, and my favorite band of all time is KISS. Lyrically, their music isn't much more than songs about partying and getting laid. Pretty simplistic stuff.

On the flipside of that, I love, love, love Dream Theater. Both musically and lyrically, they are the polar opposite of KISS. So much so that (and I've said this here before) I don't think most Americans can even *comprehend* Dream Theater.

I like to think that my somewhat broad musical taste reflects my diversity, not any semblance of intelligence.