/Music Fashion – is your IQ Showing?

Music Fashion – is your IQ Showing?

So you’re wearing a band shirt. You’re letting the world know your music preference. It’s written all over your facebook profile, your myspace page, your school books, and maybe even tattooed on your arms. Fair enough, everyone likes a bit of their own music pride.

But are you revealing more to the world than you’re letting on?

According to a new study by a Phd student in America, your music preference tends to declare to the world what your IQ is.

It has been found in this study, that fans of such pop icons like Beyonce Knowles and Justin Timberlake tend to dip down lower on the IQ scale. Whereas fans of U2, Radiohead and Bob Dylan are leaning towards the higher end of the scale. The middle range has been reserved for those people listening to more classic rock, such as Queen, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley.

Fanatic Pop fans didn’t test well; the same goes for those who indulge in rap and hip hop music at a frequent level.

There are many theories for these reasons though. Pop music is widely consumed on a daily basis due to its high prevalence, as its the common music for the common people. The music is broadcast through radio, television, and is at every corner of the internet. Its availability is hard to hide from, therefore it appeals to a wider audience.

People who do not wish to think and actively search to enjoy their music tend to choose Pop as their genre of choice, which could also be the reason why their IQ may be statistically lower.

Pop music is also far more directed towards a teenage demographic – a demographic of which hasn’t learnt the minimum standard of knowledge, as well as still harnessing their developing brains. Unfortunately for those who aren’t in any of these categories, and lumped in with the Pop genre, you’re going to have to put up with an all new stereotype.

The middle ground seems to be affected by the ‘classics’. Older music, which is still popular among certain crowds attracts a more general crowd. With older people who enjoy the nostalgic effect, and the younger people who enjoy music of a nostalgic genre, there seems to be a mean within the statistical numbers, putting the classics into the middleground.

For more political and obscure music, the fans of which adapt a higher IQ. It has been theorised that this is due to the content, as well as the complexity of the music. While Radiohead are probably one of the most well known alternative bands currently, they also contain obscure lyrics, paired with different attributes to their own genre. While this does not conform to the mean of alternative music, it requires an open mind to adapt and enjoy its sound. For this reason, the IQ of the general listener of this genre, may be higher statistically.

The author of this Phd paper has suggested several times throughout his findings, that he simply conducted the research after listening to music and deciding who would actively listen to it and what demographic they would belong to.

So next time you go around posting your music preferences for the whole world to see – give a second thought to what stereotype you may be perpetuating through the acknowledgement of your IQ.

While naturally, these are just statistical averages that have been created through research for a purpose, not all statistics are going to apply to you.

Have a read of the students site on “Music Makes You Dumb” over here.