The tunes playing through your ear buds might make a big difference in personality definition.
Jason Rentfrow, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge in England, began research about five years ago to find out just how much.
"People generally believe that the music they listen to reflects the type of person they are and that they can find things out about other people from the music they like to listen to," he said.
His study, conducted at the University of Texas with psychology professor Sam Gosling, began with UT students' self-reported descriptions of their own personalities.
Rentfrow said the study found that those who enjoyed classical, jazz and folk music, for example, described themselves as curious, creative and artistic, and those who preferred dance, rap and soul music described themselves as extroverted and socially outgoing.
Rentfrow said he and Gosling also looked at people's online music collections through a downloading vehicle that allowed them to see what users were downloading throughout the country.
The data helped develop four dimensions of music preference:
He said one thing those tests showed is that people who describe themselves as extroverted tend to have more vocals in their top 10 list.
"People who are extroverted are very sociable and talkative and enjoy spending time with other people," Rentfrow said.
"Maybe people who are extroverted have a preference and feel comfortable with the human voice."
Rentfrow also said people often use music choice as a reflection of who they are, but he pointed out that it might not be the music that causes certain behavior.
"People who have aggressive tendencies might seek out heavy metal music because it satisfies some of their aggressive urges," he said.
"It may not be that listening to it causes it, but they already are."
Preston Neill, a UNC junior journalism major from Gastonia, said some of his friends' music choices are surprising.
"With some of my friends, when you talk to them and try to guess what music they're listening to, you get caught off guard," he said.
Neill said he also has some surprising tracks on his iPod such as the soundtrack to Disney's The Lion King and the full film The Little Mermaid.
Although Neill said those additions don't embarrass him, Rentfrow said sometimes adolescents are self-conscious about the music they like because it might not be socially desirable.
"They place a considerable amount of importance on music. Some groups define themselves, in many respects, by their music," he said.
Debate arises about whether listening to music during the day disconnects you from reality.
Despite the commonness of iPods and earphones on campus, Crystal Adams, a freshman chemistry major from Charlotte, said she doesn't feel disconnected from those around her.
"If you're going to talk to someone, you're going to talk to them either way," she said.
And Rentfrow said walking around listening to music might be a good conversation starter.
"In light of the work that we've done, it would appear as though such casual conversations might be one way to learn something about someone," he said.
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