Not all music pleases

With a few exceptions, previous research into musical taste has focused on preferences for certain types of music. For the first time, the research team now explicitly concentrated on the rejection of music. In detailed interviews with 21 participants from five age groups, they asked about the specific reasons behind their individual musical rejections.

The researchers assigned the reasons for rejection to three categories: firstly, object-related reasons, such as composition or text, secondly, subject-related reasons, such as emotional effects or discrepancies with self-image, and thirdly, social reasons, which relate to the participants' own social environment and the taste judgments common there (in-group) or to other groups to which they do not feel they belong (out-group).

In addition to the reasons for rejecting certain types of music, respondents also described personal reactions that occur when they are confronted with the music they reject. These included emotional, physical and social reactions, ranging from leaving the room to breaking off social contacts.

While previous research results already show that musical rejections fulfill important social functions, the current study expands the reasons to include music-related and personal aspects. For example, musical rejections also serve to maintain a good mood, are part of identity expression or help with social demarcation. They therefore fulfill similar functions to musical preferences, although they are expressed less openly and more indirectly.

Original article:
https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungen-detail/article/ungeliebte-musik-was-steckt-dahinter.html