Photo: WENN
A new study by Cambridge University has claimed that fans of Queen, Jeff Buckley and Norah Jones are more empathetic than those who prefer punk and heavy metal.
Earlier in the year, a psychology journal published research claiming that metal fans were "significantly happier" and "better adjusted" - but it looks as though that happiness may well be at the expense of other people... if this new research is to be taken seriously that is.
Cambridge University recruited 4,000 participants to take part in a series of different tests, the results of which separated them into two categories: empathisers or systemisers. An empathiser is responsive to other people's emotions, while a systemiser analyses rules and patterns in order to make their decisions.
As NME reports, they also asked the participants to rate 50 short pieces of music in 26 different styles. They found that fans of Jeff Buckley, Queen and Norah Jones were highly likely to be empathisers, while fans of Metallica and Sex Pistols were systemisers. If you like both, we don't know what to tell you.
Doctoral student David Greenberg, who led the team, said, "Although people’s music choices fluctuate over time, we’ve discovered a person’s empathy levels and thinking style predicts what kind of music they like."
He continued, "In fact, their cognitive style – whether they’re strong on empathy or strong on systems – can be a better predictor of what music they like than their personality."
Metal fans won't be too bothered that they're not empathisers though - they're too busy being happy and well adjusted.
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