The effect of social feedback on music preference

Abstract

Although much is known about musical preferences, they are still hard to explain and predict. Over the last two decades, scholars have suggested that the functions served by music should be considered when interpreting musical preferences. It is known that the degree of functionality and the strength of musical preferences are correlated. However, as correlation does not equal causation, the present study sought to clarify experimentally whether the degree of functionality really determines the strength of musical preferences. The potential of music to foster social relatedness was selected as one of the most basic functions of music and was at the basis of an experimental study. Participants indicated their favorite musical style and a favorite piece of music which they deemed capable of creating a strong social bond among devotees of that style. They were told that other devotees of the same style would subsequently be asked to rate – based on that piece – how much they would like to get to know the person who had named that piece and their degree of affinity for that person. False feedback was manipulated in two randomized groups: one group received very positive feedback from the other fans (suggesting high functionality of the piece) and the other received rather negative feedback (suggesting low functionality). At the end of the study, participants indicated how much they liked the piece they had named. As expected, participants in the high-functionality group gave higher preference ratings for their selected piece than participants in the low-functionality group. The results suggest that the degree of music’s functionality in everyday life is a determinant of musical preferences.