What we think a person's playlist says about them: Inferred stereotypes based on music preferences

Abstract

This study demonstrates that music can be a proxy for understanding activation of a variety of stereotypes. These stereotypes also align with stereotypes in particular contexts like the workplace. Consequently, this study shows that there may be methods beyond typical self-report measures that can highlight psychological constructs of interest in research. While these methods may not entirely replace self-report, they can support an effort toward research that uses mixed methods for collecting data on particular constructs. Future research should examine this phenomenon in samples of different age groups, with other psychological constructs, and with other kinds of data in different contexts.