Why we love songs without lyrics

As we all know, everyone’s music taste is very unique and can tell a lot about their personality. But what if I told you that it could be linked with intelligence.

Račevska conducted a study to investigate the relationship between intelligence, uses of music and music preferences. The participants of this study were 467 Croatian high school students and this seems like a large amount. They used a large sample size to increase the chance of it being correct data. In a small sample of 4 people, one person lying in the questionnaire could mess up the whole data result however one person lying out of 467 wouldn’t do as much damage. They would then be seen as a small outlier. In the study, Račevska used many tests such as the nonverbal sequence test which essentially is where the candidate is tested on their ability to interpret visual information. This therefore tests their intelligence simultaneously.

Their findings were that intelligence tends to be a predictor of the preference for instrumental music, however not vocal instrumental music. He also found out that the way the participant listens to music and their personality affected their preference. Reflective, popular, sophisticated, intense and conservative are the different personality factors that Račevska discovered to test intelligence linked with music.

By Leah Camilleri