Could Our Musical Taste Be Linked To Social Class?

First Posted: Jun 04, 2015 08:24 AM EDT

New findings presented in the Canadian Review of Sociology ask if our tastes in music might be linked to social class.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that certain cultural attitudes can ultimately influence musical tastes.

"Breadth of taste is not linked to class. But class filters into specific likes and dislikes," Gerry Veenstra, study author and professor at UBC's Department of Sociology, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers conducted over 1,600 telephone interviews with adults in Vancouver and Toronto, asking them about their likes and dislikes of 21 musical genres.

Findings revealed that people who were less educated and/or poor preferred disco, country, golden oldies, easy listening, rap and heavy metal. On the other hand, better-educated and/or wealthier counterparts preferred classical, rock, opera, jazz, pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre.

Though wealth and education don't ultimately influence an individual's musical taste, according to researchers, based on the research, the study suggests that class and other factors, including gender, age, immigrant status and ethnicity can play a role in musical taste.

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TagsHealth, Human, Music, Tech, Brain, Class, Factors, Social Status, Taste, Preference