Two key personality traits – openness-to-experience and conscientiousness – predict better than IQ who will take music lessons and continue for longer periods, according to a new study.
A team of researchers, led by Glenn Schellenberg at the University of Toronto Mississaug, also found that when personality traits and demographic factors are considered, the link between cognitive ability and music training disappears.
In separate groups of 167 10-12-year-olds and 118 university undergraduates, the researchers looked at how individual differences in cognitive ability and personality predict who takes up music lessons and for how long.
They found that pre-existing differences in personality could explain why musically trained children have substantially higher IQs and perform better in school than other children.