University of Denver

Stereotypes of music
fans: do they exist
among students at
DU?

Alex Grencik
Introduction

When most people think about the term music, they tend to think about it as more of a

form of entertainment. However, previous studies done by researchers suggest that music is

much more than a form of entertainment; it’s a form of self-expression. Furthermore, it can even

tell other people about your personality, ultimately leading to stereotypes of certain music

genres. Music is arguably one of the most common modes of self-expression, surpassing the

clothes you wear and even the hobbies one chooses to pursue [ CITATION McD09 \l 1033 ].

A study done by Emily J. Paull and Wendy L. Morris done at McDaniel College focused

on a specific stereotype of punk rock fans. They researched to see whether or not punk rock fans

tended to have nonconformist views. Participants listened to the songs with nonconformist lyrics

performed by both popular (aka “mainstream” bands) and punk rock bands. They repeated the

process with neutral lyrics and again with conformist lyrics. The participants were then asked

which performer they preferred for each song to see whether they were a punk or mainstream

music fan. Questions followed up leading to conclusions based off of their answers to see if they

were conformists or not. Conclusions did not match up with the original hypothesis that punk

listeners tended to have nonconformist views.

Christine Reyna, Mark Brandt, and G. Tendayi Viki researched whether or not rap and

hip-hop music had a negative influence on its listeners. It found that rap conveys a negative

image among black Americans due to the raunchy lyrics downplaying women and also having

negative views on society. However, fallbacks on this study were that the researchers could not

fully control for the potential role of racism in participants so the data could have been slightly

skewed.
 A well done study done by Jennifer A. McDonald, Julian A. Oldmeadow, and Peter J.

Rentfrow discovered that there is a relationship between the type of music that one listens to and

what it psychologically tells about that person to others. This study was done in England, but

done with music styles that were popular in both England and the United States. The results

found that a majority of people agreed on the general stereotypes of different music fans.

The study laid out different genres of music and their fans, and placed out a rating scale.

Participants were then asked to rate on a scale of how likely they think a fan of that music is like.

Classical and jazz fans were both rated high on agreeableness and emotional stability, along with

high intelligence, and artistic ability. However, they were rated low on conscientiousness and

athletic ability. Rock and electronica fans were rated high on extraversion and openness. These

fans were also rated lower on conscientiousness and emotional stability. Pop and rap fans were

rated high on extraversion and emotional stability, and moderate on attractiveness and

intelligence.

This research is a good basis, but the questions gave the participants limited options to

answer. The purpose of my study is to see how students at the University of Denver view

different music fans.

Methods

I will set up an online survey given to 10 volunteers from the University of Denver. I

invited various students via Facebook and received 10 responses. This does introduce a

sampling bias. To help remove any more bias or “unfairness” I will word my questions similarly

to that of McDonald, Oldmeadow, and Rentfrow’s study. Instead of asking students, “What do

you think the stereotype for ‘X’ genre…” the question will be more of a fill in the blank. “Please

describe how ‘X’ genre tends…” as the study stated above did. However, to get a more
complete answer, I won’t limit the participant’s options. The questions relating to music fan

stereotypes will all be open-ended (please see the appendix for a complete list of the questions

asked). Unfortunately, when you leave participants to open-ended questions they may not give

you the most complete answers.

How do people come to these conclusions that music can in fact tell about one’s

psychological views on the world? I will collect and group the responses based on genre of

music and compare and contrast the results. Finally I will determine whether there is a general

consensus on different music fan stereotypes among the students at the University of Denver, or

possibly if their views could be based on too many external factors from back home leading to

different views.

My goal is to see what stereotypes the students at the University of Denver hold about

different genres of music, and ultimately if these stereotypes match up with those done by

previous studies.

Results

I received a total of 10 responses after sending out roughly 60 invites over the internet.

There were a wide variety of answers for each genre of music. However, what stayed most

constant throughout each genre, that is, what each participant tended to agree the most on for

each genre were race, gender, and social-class that would listen to that music. Please note that 7

out of 10 participants answered “YES” to the question, “According to a study done by Group

Processes & Intergroup Relations, music is one of the most common modes of self-expression

(even more so than the clothes you wear, hobbies you pursue, and movies you watch). Do you

agree with this statement?” and were not required to answer any of the questions, and still chose

to.
 Participants agreed the most on how they viewed classic rock fans. Classic rock fans

tended to be more laid back and mellow. These fans come from the older generations and are

usually middle to upper class standing. Only one participant disagreed with the other nine that

classic rock fans tended to be white. For the most part, this was the general consensus among

students at the University of Denver.

The next closest genre on agreeableness among the participants was punk “screamo”

music fans. Participants agreed that these fans tended to be white middle-class young adults who

tended to be more on the rebellious side. However, some students added more in-depth answers

that I could not compare with the other participants information, as they did not add in the detail.

For example, one participant believed that punk “screamo” listeners tended to be emotionally

unstable, used hard drugs regularly, and were uneducated. Because no one else provided further

information other than what they all agreed on, this is not enough information to establish as part

of the “screamo” fan stereotype.

Participants of this questionnaire had some varying opinions on how they viewed

listeners of death metal music. There was only one general consensus among participants

regarding these fans; they tended to be white, middle class, and “tough.” Several participants’

responses contradicted one-another’s. For example, one participant claimed that death metal

fans were easy going. Whereas another participant said that they tended to be secluded and very

dark. Due to these responses, one cannot come up with one general stereotype for these fans

other than race and social class (as you will see with the rest of the genres).

Again with rap and country music, participants agreed that listeners of rap tended to be

black and lower class or young white lower to middle class adults. Country listeners were

agreed to be usually white, “southern” (i.e., hillbilly/redneck) and not have a “typical” social
class. Participants had a variety of other views regarding listeners of country and rap. Both were

seen as uneducated by only one participant, but this was not enough to provide a general

consensus as how DU students view these genres.

Finally, alternative rock and electronica had the least amount of agreement among

participants. Answers for the typical alternative rock fan ranged from all ages and races, to white

and rich, to normal, to even “wrist-cutters.” Similar results for electronica listeners ranged from

white kids doing drugs, to all races, to “cultish.” With such a wide variety it is to be concluded

that there is no general consensus on how students view listeners of alternative rock and

electronica.

Discussion

According to this research and data, students at DU confirmed that there are some

stereotypes of different fans of different types of music. For example, “screamo” fans tended to

be white and rebellious, death metal fans tended to be tough, country fans tended to be white,

and rap listeners tended to be of middle and lower class. However, there were many

disagreements among students who volunteered to complete the survey. Also, students who

believed that music was not a form of self-expression still answered the questions regarding what

typical listeners tended to be like (so the information given may be biased and illegitimate).

Another issue with this survey was the sampling bias (it was what is considered a

convenience sample) and I did not have a sample large enough to represent the entire population

of DU. Also some data was thrown out because students chose to answer only part of the

questions or skip them completely. With more time and a better method of sampling this study

can be redone so that the results could be generalized to the population of students at the

University of Denver.
 Works Cited

Brandt, M., Reyna, C., & Tendayi, V. G. (2009). Blame It on Hip-Hop: Anti-Rap Attitudes as a
Proxy for Prejudice. Group Processes and Relations, 12(3), 361-380.
McDonald, J. A., Oldmeadow, J. A., & Rentfrow, P. J. (2009). You Are What You Listen To:
Young People's Stereotypes about Music Fans. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations,
12(3), 329-344.
Morris, W. L., & Paull, E. J. (2008). Stereotyping and Nonconformity:The Effects of Punk
Music on Social Behavior. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 13(4), 173-183.
 Appendix

Questionnaire Questions:

1. By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to
be used as part of aresearch exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class at the University
of Denver. Your participation is completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used
in a class project. While profile information maybe included in my writing project (i.e. your age,
gender, class standing, etc.), your name will NOT be used. If at any time you do not want to
answer a question, you do not have to. Check yes to say you have read the above statement.

Yes
No

2. According to a study done by Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, music is one of the
most common modes of self-expression (even more so than the clothes you wear, hobbies you
pursue, and movies you watch). Do you agree with this statement?

YES NO

3. Please describe what the typical listener of _____ tends to be like (i.e., social class, race,
personal qualities, emotional stableness, etc.):

Punk “Screamo”:
Classic Rock:
Death Metal:
Rap:
Country:
Alternative Rock:
Electronica:

4. What is your favorite kind of music? (Please list only up to two genres)

5. What do you think listening to this genre says about you as a person?