What Your Music Taste Says About Your Attachment Style

If someone’s favorite song is “Hotline Bling” by Drake, you may have to call them on their cellphone… all the time.

It should come as no surprise that people tend to listen to songs that reflect what they’re going through at any given time. You could guess, for example, that someone who has Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” on repeat is likely fresh from a break-up and doing quite well, all things considered. 

A new study might explain just why that’s the case. In the study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, researchers from the University of Toronto found that the lyrics of people’s favorite songs tend to correspond with their attachment styles. According to Ravin Alaei, one of the study’s authors, that means people’s favorite songs about relationships not only mirror and validate their current thoughts and feelings, but also reveal patterns present across many of their relationships. 

According to the researchers, participants with a secure attachment style liked songs like “I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher, “At Last” by Etta James, and “I Love You” by the Plain White T’s. 

Those with an anxious attachment style liked songs including “Wrecking Ball”by Miley Cyrus, “Hotline Bling”by Drake, and “Every Breath You Take”by The Police. 

People with an avoidant attachment style listened to “No Scrubs”by TLC, “Take A Bow”by Rihanna, and “The Hills”by The Weeknd. 

Those with an anxious-avoidant attachment style played songs like “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, and “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxny8y/music-relationships-attachment-style-song