Was your ex who was completely obsessed with Eminem actually a psychopath? Probably not. But a recent study from New York University comparing people’s musical preferences with their scores on a personality test show that the two traits may be more closely linked than you’re comfortable believing.
Psychopaths listen to a lot of the same music as the rest of us. According to this new study, Blackstreet’s No Diggity and Eminem’s Lose Yourself top the list for psychopaths’ favorite songs. On the other hand, those with the least psychopathic tendencies tended to like the Knack’s “My Sharona” and Sia’s “Titanium,” The Guardian reported. However, psychologist Pascal Wallisch, who led the research, tells Newsweek that it’s not so much the genre of music that matters to psychopaths but rather the specific song.
“There is no strong association between any particular genre,” says Wallisch. “It’s about the songs. It may be the simulation in the song. We don’t know.”
Psychopaths seems to prefer certain types of songs. LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images
