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Cited by 1Personality Traits and PsychologyDiverse Music Education InsightsNeuroscience and Music Perception

The musician’s personality: Do personality traits vary according to ensemble membership?

Heydel, Zahava L, Smith, Randyl D, Grevstad, Nels·2023·Psychology of Music
DOI 10.1177/03057356221096779
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Abstract

Despite many decades’ worth of investigations into associations between music and personality, the empirical findings are quite scant and scattered. Perhaps, this is because musicians are a diverse group of people, with far-reaching musical interests and wide-ranging personalities. Little research, however, has investigated whether musicians’ choice of musical genre bears a relationship to their personalities. In this study, we explore the limited literature on the relationship between music ensemble membership and personality by investigating personality differences between jazz and classical ensemble musicians on the Big Five personality dimensions. Musicians ( N = 221) were recruited from college music ensembles, an introductory psychology course, a Facebook page, and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI), a validated self-report personality questionnaire, and analyses were conducted to compare the scores of jazz musicians to the scores of classical musicians. Significant differences emerged between jazz and classical musicians’ personalities, with gender playing a mediating role. These results may be beneficial for music educators and directors, as knowledge that specific personality traits predict music ensemble membership may help guide instruction techniques, communication, understanding between musicians of different musical genres, and general cooperation between music educators/directors and their ensembles.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This study examined whether Big Five personality traits differ by music ensemble membership (jazz, classical, both, other) among 221 self-identified musicians, with gender considered. It found significant neuroticism and openness differences and that low conscientiousness and low neuroticism predicted certain ensemble memberships.

Key findings

  • Neuroticism differed significantly by ensemble, F(3, 207) = 4.02, p = .008; musicians in both jazz and classical ensembles had lower neuroticism (M = 2.60) than musicians in other ensembles (M = 3.11, p adj = .005).
  • Openness showed a significant ensemble × gender interaction, F(5, 207) = 2.78, p = .019; males in classical ensembles scored lower in openness (M = 3.71) than males in other ensembles (M = 4.13, p adj = .046).
  • Low conscientiousness significantly predicted jazz ensemble membership relative to classical (Z = −2.35, p = .019).
  • Low neuroticism predicted jazz versus other ensemble membership (Z = −2.59, p = .010), both versus other (Z = −3.34, p = .001), and both versus classical (Z = −2.59, p = .010).

Methods

  • Recruited 221 self-identified musicians (137 men, 80 women, 2 nonbinary/gender queer, 2 unknown/prefer not to answer) from college music ensembles, an introductory psychology course, Facebook, and Amazon Mechanical Turk; ensemble groups were classical (n = 89), jazz (n = 43), both (n = 44), and other (n = 45).
  • Participants completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI), a 44-item self-report measure on a 5-point Likert-type scale, and reported ensemble type and gender identity.
  • Analyses used two-way ANOVA for each Big Five dimension with ensemble as factor and gender as blocking factor, followed by Tukey post hoc tests, plus multinomial logistic regression with ensemble type as response and the five personality scores as explanatory variables; analyses were conducted in R using the nnet package.

Limitations

  • The authors state that COVID-19 limited recruitment through college music directors, requiring expansion to introductory psychology, Facebook, and Amazon Mechanical Turk; they note possible dishonest responses from MTurk participants and no methodology to detect dishonesty.
  • The authors state that missing demographic data (e.g., race, ethnicity, age) prevented additional analyses and sample comparisons, and that the “other” ensemble group was very diverse and hard to interpret as a definable group.
  • Evident from the text: the design is cross-sectional and self-report, so causal direction between personality and ensemble membership cannot be established; gender is described in the abstract as “mediating” but was analyzed as a blocking factor/interaction rather than through formal mediation.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/03057356221096779

Cites

35 of 36 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

4 of 16 cited sources checked · 2 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 7

    Only one previous study has examined musician ensemble membership and personality.

    “To our knowledge, only one previous study that examined musician ensemble membership and personality.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Benedek et al., 2014 source

      The Results section ('Genre-related differences in personality'; page unavailable) compares personality across classical, jazz, and folk musicians. The Participants section groups musicians by their music-study genre, not by ensemble membership. The paper therefore supports the claim that a previous study examined musician groups and personality, but not the more specific claim about ensemble membership or the assertion that it was the only such study. (LLM, conf=0.85)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Findingown data
    § Abstract · p. 1

    Significant differences emerged between jazz and classical musicians' personalities.

    “Significant differences emerged between jazz and classical musicians' personalities, with gender playing a mediating role.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Discussion · p. 8

    Among males, classical ensemble musicians score lower in openness than male musicians in ensembles other than jazz and classical.

    “males who play in classical ensembles score lower in openness compared to men who play in ensembles other than jazz and classical.”
    • Also stated in: § Discussion · p. 11 · plain
      “Male classical musicians score lower in openness compared to male musicians who play in ensembles other than jazz and classical.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Personality differences based on music ensemble · p. 6

    Musicians who play in both jazz and classical ensembles have significantly lower neuroticism scores (M = 2.60) compared to musicians who play in other ensembles (M = 3.11).

    “More specifically , musicians who play in both jazz and classical ensembles have significantly lower neuroticism scores ( M = 2.60) compared to musicians who play in other ensembles ( M = 3.11).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data
    § Personality predicting ensemble membership · p. 6

    Conscientiousness is a significant predictor of music ensemble membership (Z = -2.35, p = .019).

    “The results revealed that conscientiousness ( Z = -2.35, p = .019) is a significant predictor of”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 21
  • May combine two claims. 11
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 10

    Benedek et al. (2014) found no significant difference in neuroticism between jazz, classical, and folk musicians, and did not examine neuroticism as a predictor.

    “Benedek et al. (2014) did not find a significant difference between jazz, classical, and folk musicians in terms of neuroticism, but they did not look at neuroticism as a predicting factor.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Benedek et al., 2014 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Musical activity and personality · p. 3

    Benedek et al. (2014) found that folk musicians are more extraverted than jazz and classical musicians and that folk and jazz musicians tend to be more open than classical musicians.

    “Benedek et al. (2014) found that folk musicians are more extraverted than jazz and classical musicians and that folk and jazz musicians tend to be more open than classical musicians.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Benedek et al. (2014) source

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Premisereasoning
    § Discussion · p. 9

    Classical musicians score lower in openness compared to jazz and folk musicians.

    “supports the finding that classical musicians score lower in openness compared to jazz and folk musicians.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Benedek et al., 2014 source

      The Results section reports that classical musicians tended to be less open to new experiences than jazz and folk musicians. The claim omits that qualification: the overall openness effect was only a trend (p = .06), and the comparisons with jazz (p = .06) and folk (p = .11) were not statistically significant. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data
    § Personality differences based on music ensemble · p. 6

    Males who play in classical ensembles have significantly lower openness scores (M = 3.71) compared to males who play in other ensembles (M = 4.13, p adj = 0.046), with no other significant differences.

    “In particular, the Tukey post hoc analysis on music ensembles by gender found significantly lower openness scores for males who play in classical ( M = 3.71) compared to males who play in other ensembles ( M = 4.13, p adj = 0.046), but no other significant differences.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data
    § Discussion · p. 10

    Low neuroticism may help someone be successful at performing in two ensembles and thus predict multiple ensemble membership.

    “Displaying low levels of neuroticism may help someone be successful at performing in two ensembles and thus predict multiple ensemble membership.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given
    § Abstract · p. 1

    The empirical findings on associations between music and personality are scant and scattered.

    “Despite many decades' worth of investigations into associations between music and personality, the empirical findings are quite scant and scattered.”
    • Also stated in: § Keywords · p. 1 · plain
      “Despite many decades' worth of investigations into associations between music and personality , the empirical findings are quite scant and scattered.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation
    § Abstract · p. 1

    The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a reliable and valid self-report personality questionnaire.

    “Participants completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI), a validated self-report personality questionnaire”
    • Also stated in: § Measures and procedure · p. 4 · plain
      “Finally , participants were asked to complete the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John et al., 1991), a reliable and valid self-report personality questionnaire.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites John et al., 1991

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 11

    Conscientiousness correlates with the communication skill of preciseness.

    “de Vries et al. (2013) found that conscientiousness correlates with the communication skill of preciseness.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites de Vries et al., 2013

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 10

    It is impossible to know if participants' answers were completely honest.

    “It is impossible to know if answers from participants were completely honest.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 9

    Women who choose classical music performance are breaking with conventionality and may require greater openness to experience than men in the genre to break through historical gender barriers.

    “Thus, women who choose this direction for their musical performances are already breaking with conventionality . They may require greater openness to experience (than men within this genre) simply to break through the invisible gender barriers that have historically excluded female musicians from the classical music domain.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisereasoning
    § Statistical methods · p. 4

    ANOVA with blocking results in a more precise hypothesis test than standard one-way ANOVA.

    “It results in a more precise hypothesis test than standard one-way ANOVA.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given
    § Statistical methods · p. 5

    The study assessed the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumptions required by multinomial logistic regression using Hausman-McFadden tests.

    “We assessed the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumptions (required by multinomial logistic regression) using Hausman-McFadden tests.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 9

    The classical music profession has been dominated by men for generations due to its high-status reputation and history of discrimination against women.

    “the overall gender differences in the classical music profession, which has been dominated by men for generations due to its high-status reputation and its history of discrimination against women (Schmutz, 2009).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schmutz, 2009 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data
    § Discussion · p. 7

    The other group of musicians is poorly defined based on the study's methods, which inhibits interpretation of results involving that group.

    “the participants who self-identified as playing in other music ensembles represent incredibly diverse musical experiences, making it hard to quantify them as their own definable group.”
    • Also stated in: § Discussion · p. 10 · plain
      “It is important to note again that the other group of musicians is poorly defined based on the study's methods and inhibits interpretation of this result.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 10

    Playing in two music ensembles requires a well-adjusted musician due to the adaptability required to play both styles effectively.

    “playing in two music ensembles requires a well-adjusted musician due to the adaptability that is required to play both styles effectively .”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 11

    Respect for differences is a necessary component of a respectful and healthy partnership.

    “Eckstein et al. (2014) describe how respect for differences is a necessary component of a respectful and healthy partnership.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Eckstein et al., 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 11

    Knowledge of how personality traits differ among ensemble musicians may facilitate more understanding between musicians and guide communication and cooperation between music directors and their ensembles.

    “In addition, knowledge of how personality traits differ among ensemble musicians may facilitate more understanding between musicians and guide communication and general cooperation between music directors and their ensembles.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 11

    The finding that ensemble members have specific personality factors can benefit music directors.

    “This finding can also benefit music directors.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data
    § Personality differences based on music ensemble · p. 6

    Plots of residuals showed no violations of the normality and equal-standard deviation assumptions required by the ANOVAs.

    “Plots of residuals showed no violations of the normality and equal-standard deviation assumptions (required by the ANOV As).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 10

    Musicians who display low levels of neuroticism may be helpful when playing with an ensemble in an improvised and flow-like state.

    “Musicians who display low levels of neuroticism may be helpful when playing with an ensemble in an improvised and flow-like state.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Both contemporary dancers and jazz musicians prioritize improvisation compared to ballet dancers and classical musicians, respectively.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 11

    Music directors who understand that their ensemble is more likely to comprise musicians with specific personality factors can use this knowledge to inform their rehearsal leadership.

    “Music directors who understand that the ensemble they are leading is more likely to be comprised of musicians with specific personality factors can use this knowledge to inform the way they lead rehearsals.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning
    § Discussion · p. 11

    Understanding differences in personality that may vary according to ensemble may lead to more unity between musicians.

    “Such understanding may lead to more unity between musicians.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 10

    The lies found by Suri et al. (2011) among online participants were about false reporting of numbers from an online die, which differs from the personal data collected in this study.

    “However, the lies that Suri et al. (2011) found among participants recruited online via Amazon Mechanical Turk were about false reporting of numbers generated from an online die, which is different than the more personal data collected for this study .”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Suri et al., 2011

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Discussion · p. 10

    Low neuroticism is associated with being calm, stable, and adjusted.

    “Scoring low in the personality factor of neuroticism is associated with qualities of being calm, stable, and adjusted (Feist, 1998).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Feist, 1998 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Premisenone given
    § Abstract · p. 1

    Little research has investigated whether musicians' choice of musical genre bears a relationship to their personalities.

    “Little research, however, has investigated whether musicians' choice of musical genre bears a relationship to their personalities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given
    § Statistical methods · p. 4

    The study assessed the normality and equal-standard deviation assumptions required by two-way ANOVA using plots of residuals after fitting the ANOVA models.

    “We assessed the normality and equal-standard deviation assumptions (required by two-way ANOVA) using plots of residuals after fitting the ANOV A models.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
26 of 26

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Higher education musicians who play in different ensembles presume stereotypes of each other centered around personality differences related to the style of music played.

    “In keeping with the Benedek et al. (2014) study, the first author of this article observed how higher education musicians who play in different ensembles appeared to presume stereotypes of each other.”
    “This author noticed how these stereotypes seemed to center around key personality differences that related to the style of music played.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Both contemporary dancers and jazz musicians prioritize improvisation compared to ballet dancers and classical musicians, respectively.

    “Both contemporary dancers and jazz musicians prioritize improvisation compared to the other styles of their craft (i.e., ballet and classical, respectively).”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The jazz genre is known for bold and improvisational qualities, which are opposite to careful, cautious, and controlled characteristics.

    “which are the opposite of the bold and improvisational qualities the jazz genre is known for.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Prior research in music and personality has not focused on multiple ensemble membership.

    “Prior research in music and personality has not focused on multiple ensemble membership either.”
4 of 4

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • ConsistentF(3, 207) = 4.02reported p = .008 · recomputed p = .008

    “F (3, 207) = 4.02, p = .008”

  • ConsistentF(5, 207) = 2.78reported p = .019 · recomputed p = .019

    “F (5, 207) = 2.78, p = .019”

  • Consistentz = -2.35reported p = .019 · recomputed p = .019

    “Z = -2.35, p = .019”

  • Consistentz = -2.59reported p = .01 · recomputed p = .010

    “Z = -2.59, p = .010”

  • Consistentz = -3.34reported p = .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “Z = -3.34, p = .001”

5 of 5

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kemp A. E. (1981a). Personality differences between the players of string, woodwind, brass and keyboard instruments, and singers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 66/67, 33–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40317663
  2. Suri S., 2011, Twenty-Fifth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence

Cited by

Still being checked.

Related

Authors
Heydel, Z. L., Smith, R. D., & Grevstad, N.
Affiliations
Metropolitan State University of Denver (US)
Corresponding author
Heydel, Zahava L
ORCID
Venue
Psychology of Music
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2022-06-06
Volume
51
Issue
2
Pages
495-507
ISSN
  • 0305-7356 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-3087
DOI
10.1177/03057356221096779
OpenAlex
W4281740035
Semantic Scholar
51645b807d8ca408c1331993f5be5dc2f312c678
Cited by
1
References
36
Citations by year
2024: 1
FWCI
0.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Psychology of Music (publishedVersion)
Funders
university of denver
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Music › Diverse Music Education Insights
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
Keywords
jazz musicians, classical musicians, Big Five personality traits, gender differences, music genres, music education

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