If you think about psychopaths, what are the first things that come to your mind? Probably anything farther than how a normal human would act. But did you know that you may have similar music tastes with psychopaths?
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Study Shows Which Songs Psychopaths Love Listening To
The Guardian reported in 2017 on a study done at New York University that revealed the music tastes of people with psychopathic tendencies. Researcher Pascal Wallisch helmed this study where they got 200 people to listen to 260 songs. They then cross-referenced that data with the listeners who had the highest psychopath scores.
You may only think about movie tropes like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, as the outlet points out. Wouldn't psychopaths love listening to classical music? Psychopaths in real life aren't like Batman's most popular villain, The Joker.
"They might be working right next to you, and they blend in," said Wallisch. "They may listen to the same stuff you love, which definitely makes me rethink my music choices.
Although the team behind this study stressed that these are "preliminary and unpublished" results, it's fascinating all the same. They used these tests to see if the psychopath's favored songs could predict the disorder. If any of these songs are your favorites, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
The Songs People With Psychopathic Tendencies Love Most
Two of the most popular songs loved amongst psychopaths were No Diggity by Blackstreet and Lose Yourself by Eminem. Both of these songs may make you want to bop your head or bust a move, but is it the same with psychopaths? Could psychopaths just love the rap music genre the most?
Although there were many other popular songs that psychopaths leaned toward, Wallisch didn't name the rest. This was due to his concern that it may "compromise any future screening test."
On the flip side, those with the lowest psychopath scores were fans of My Sharona by The Knack and Titanium by Sia. Titanium certainly has more of that heroic tune feel, while My Sharona feels much too upbeat for a psychopath's enjoyment.
If you love listening to No Diggity or Lose Yourself, I wouldn't worry yourself too much. According to the outlet, around 1% of the world's population meets the standards of a psychopath. It would be interesting to see a study like this redone in 2025 to see what newer songs psychopaths like listening to.
