The association between introversion and the motives of using music among adolescents in the Netherlands

Abstract

Research has shown that listening to music can especially help adolescents to deal with problems and improve their mood. However, among adolescents there are differences in motives for listening to music in daily life due to personality. For instance, extraverts and introverts differ from each other and in the way they use music. This study looked at whether the personality trait introversion influences the motives for using music. In addition, it is investigated whether gender influences music use and whether it moderates the association between introversion and music use. Music use is subdivided into ‘emotional music use’ ( emotional regulation) and ‘background music use’(music as background stimulus) .The sample contained of 1079 female (70.7%) and male (29,3%) adolescents. The age range varied from 13 to 30 years (M= 20,3, SD= 3.61). A Linear Regression analysis was performed. As predicted results indicated that people that score high on introversion are more likely to use music as emotioanl regulation. Also, results indicated that people who scored low on introversion are more likely to use music as background stimulus. Furthermore, an effect of gender was found on music use but the results did not indicate that there was an moderating effect of gender on the relationship between introversion and music use. This study shows the importance of individual differences in music use, based on the personality trait introversion.