Example

Example of Factor Analysis: Music Preferences

In an empirical study of music preferences, researchers Peter Rentfrow and Samuel Gosling had over 1,7001,700 university students rate their liking for 1414 different popular music genres. By submitting these variables to a factor analysis, they identified four distinct clusters. To demonstrate this, they organized the results in a table of factor loadings, where the numerical values showed the strength of each genre's correlation with the factors. Based on the highest factor loadings, the researchers interpreted and labeled the four underlying constructs: Reflective and Complex (e.g., highly loaded by blues and jazz), Intense and Rebellious (e.g., rock, heavy metal), Upbeat and Conventional (e.g., country, pop), and Energetic and Rhythmic (e.g., rap/hip-hop, electronica).

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Updated 2026-05-06

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU