The study of taste has undergone a profound historical transformation, from philosophical reflections on subjective judgement, through Marxist-inflected commentaries on the moulding of tastes in a capitalist society, to more contemporary empirical dissections of its origins and social structuring. Recent works have contended that dispositions of taste are socially constructed, mediated by one’s position in society. Focusing on musical taste, this work explores this notion in the Maltese context, asking: to what extent can musical taste be socially stratified, and how does omnivorousness (the number of genres liked) shape such patterns? Drawing on a survey of adults residing in Malta (n=249) it examines the interplay between genre preferences, structural determinants, formative and current exposures to music, motivations for listening, as well as cultural capital. A well-fitted general Structural Equation Model was then developed to assess the covariance structure between latent constructs (e.g, childhood exposure to music, cultural capital, appeal to classical music and opera) whilst also observing the predictive effects of demographic variables and musical omnivorousness on such factors. Results suggest that to some extent it is indeed possible to socially stratify a population with respect to musical tastes. Further, a well-fitted Multi-Group Structural Equation Model was also developed with the aim of comparing groups with low musical omnivorousness (listen to two or less genres) and high omnivorousness (listen to three or more genres). The results indicate significant differences in taste formations and tendencies across both groups.

Authors:
Timothy Vella, University of Malta, Malta

About the Presenter(s)
Timothy Vella, Manager I at MEYR, studies statistical modelling of social behaviour and taste. His current project uses SEM to analyse musical taste, exposures, motivations, and socio-demographic influences.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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