Personality traits correlate with characteristics of music-induced movement

Abstract

Individual factors such as personality are essential for understanding musical experiences and engagement with music. Personality has been shown to be related to musical preferences and experiences, but little is known about how it affects music-related movement. The current study examined whether personality traits were related to the way in which people moved spontaneously to music. Twenty young adults (7 males, and 13 females, mean age 24.0 years) were asked to move spontaneously to a 12 bar blues sequence, and their movements were tracked with an optical motion capture system. Movement was measured with 16 variables which assessed the amount and type of movements exhibited, such as speed or acceleration of different body parts. Participants also completed the Big Five personality inventory, and a questionnaire about their background in music and dance. A number of trends were found in relationships between personality traits and music-induced movement. Neurotiscism tended to be related to jerky and accelerated movement, while both openness to experience and agreeableness tended to be related to smoother movement. Extroversion and conscientiousness, meanwhile, were related to higher speed of movement. Moreover, having dancing as a hobby was significantly related to an increase in music-related movement, while women tended to move their hands significantly more than men.