This study aimed to know the correlation between music preference and sensation seeking, testing models of mediation and moderation. The participants were 279 high school students, mean age of 17 years, equally distributed by gender, who answered the Musical Preference Scale, the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking and demographic questions. It was observed correlation of preferred musical styles alternative (positive, e.g., rock, electronic music) and conventional (negative, e.g., classical music, religious music) with the factor named as intensity of sensation seeking. It was also found that the correlations between novelty factor and the alternative and conventional styles were mediated by the seeking of intensity. We tested the moderation of novelty in the correlation between intensity and alternative music, which was not confirmed. These results were discussed based on the literature about the correlates of sensation seeking, suggesting studies that might contribute to understand its effects on music preference.
Preference; Music; Perception; Adolescents; Sensation; Choice Behavior
