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Evidence map

Music preference: what the evidence base looks like

12 publications, 6 of them trials and 2 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 4 min read 12 citations

What the evidence on music preference is made of Of 12 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 2 meta-analysis, 6 randomised trial, 1 review, 3 other. 2613meta-analysis (2)randomised trial (6)review (1)other (3)
12 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

There is a real trial literature here, but comparatively little synthesis. Individual trials can disagree, and without meta-analysis it is easy to find one that supports almost any position.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the music preference literature was published Publication years for the 12 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. Before 20156 papers2015-20193 papers2023 onwards2 papers2020-20221 papers
Still active. The most recent paper here is from 2024, so this is a field where an answer written today may not hold for long. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. A Systematic Review of Scientific Studies on the Effects of Music in People with Personality Disorders — Haslam R, Heiderscheit A, Himmerich H, 2022, systematic review
  2. This corrosion: A systematic review of the association between alternative subcultures and the risk of self-harm and suicide — Hughes MA, Knowles SF, Dhingra K et al., 2018, systematic review
  3. The impact of different music genres on pain tolerance: emphasizing the significance of individual music genre preferences — Van der Valk Bouman ES, Becker AS, Schaap J et al., 2024, randomised controlled trial
  4. Pain perception while listening to thrash heavy metal vs relaxing music at a heavy metal festival - the CoPainHell study - a factorial randomized non-blinded crossover trial — Welling AH, Nathansen AB, Pitter SELT et al., 2024, randomised controlled trial
  5. The influence of induced mood on music preference — Xue C, Li T, Yin S et al., 2018, randomised controlled trial
  6. Music decreases aortic stiffness and wave reflections — Vlachopoulos C, Aggelakas A, Ioakeimidis N et al., 2015, randomised controlled trial
  7. Relationship between exercise heart rate and music tempo preference — Karageorghis CI, Jones L, Low DC, 2006, randomised controlled trial
  8. Exposure effects on music preference and recognition — Peretz I, Gaudreau D, Bonnel AM, 1998, randomised controlled trial
  9. Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people? — Baker F, Bor W, 2008, review
  10. Music, substance use, and aggression — Chen MJ, Miller BA, Grube JW et al., 2006, journal article
How much research is there on music preference?
12 publications are indexed here, of which 6 are trials and 2 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2024. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. A Systematic Review of Scientific Studies on the Effects of Music in People with Personality Disorders Haslam R, Heiderscheit A, Himmerich H · International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 36497510Full text
  2. This corrosion: A systematic review of the association between alternative subcultures and the risk of self-harm and suicide Hughes MA, Knowles SF, Dhingra K, et al. · The British journal of clinical psychology · 2018 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 29577344
  3. The impact of different music genres on pain tolerance: emphasizing the significance of individual music genre preferences Van der Valk Bouman ES, Becker AS, Schaap J, et al. · Scientific reports · 2024 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 39294266Full text
  4. Pain perception while listening to thrash heavy metal vs relaxing music at a heavy metal festival - the CoPainHell study - a factorial randomized non-blinded crossover trial Welling AH, Nathansen AB, Pitter SELT, et al. · Scandinavian journal of pain · 2024 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 39707982
  5. The influence of induced mood on music preference Xue C, Li T, Yin S, et al. · Cognitive processing · 2018 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 30003367
  6. Music decreases aortic stiffness and wave reflections Vlachopoulos C, Aggelakas A, Ioakeimidis N, et al. · Atherosclerosis · 2015 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 25796036
  7. Relationship between exercise heart rate and music tempo preference Karageorghis CI, Jones L, Low DC · Research quarterly for exercise and sport · 2006 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 16898279
  8. Exposure effects on music preference and recognition Peretz I, Gaudreau D, Bonnel AM · Memory & cognition · 1998 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 9796224
  9. Can music preference indicate mental health status in young people? Baker F, Bor W · Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists · 2008 · Review DOIPubMed 18608148
  10. Music, substance use, and aggression Chen MJ, Miller BA, Grube JW, et al. · Journal of studies on alcohol · 2006 · Journal article DOIPubMed 16608146Full text
  11. Music preference and relaxation in Taiwanese elderly people Lai HL · Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.) · 2004 · Journal article DOIPubMed 15486546
  12. Music preference, depression, suicidal preoccupation, and personality: comment on Stack and Gundlach's papers Lester D, Whipple M · Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 1996 · Journal article PubMed 9173610