Through the processes of concrete experience of the music during adolescence and, more recently, reflective observation about those experiences, I was able to proceed through the normative course of psychosocial development to arrive at the stage of abstract conceptualization. Abstract conceptualization is considered to be an advanced or executive level of functioning within Kolb’s schema of development and learning styles and skills acquisition (Boyatzis & Kolb 4). My varied musical preferences were the point of reference that allowed me to make this connection about the social acceptability of containing seeming contradictions, though again, I do not think I was entirely conscious of this fact at the time. It was only over time that I would arrive at the insight that Olsson articulated so well in his essay, “A Classic Updated” “… it is possible to find overlaps among seemingly contradictory positions ‘to allow a more inclusive position to be attained….’” (3). As Olsson concluded, our interior psychological landscape is as complex, if not far more so, than the “complexity of musical experiences” (3).

As an adult, I have continued to nurture an interest in a wide range of musical styles and genres. As I have become more conscious of the ways in which geography and history influence musical styles, instrument selection, and lyrical preoccupations, I have expanded my musical interests to include country and bluegrass music. Just as I was able to find distinct characteristics in different genres when I was an adolescent, I have been able to identify the reasons why these two genres are unique and why they appeal to me at this stage in my life. Now that I am in my late 30s, I suppose I am beginning to experience nostalgia for the places where I was born and where I have lived. Not surprisingly, the feelings country and bluegrass music evoke in me mirror the developmental stage at which I find myself at this point in my life. Again, reflecting upon the psychosocial framework for human development posited by Erikson and the insights about development offered by Kolb, the stage of early to middle adulthood is characterized by the solidification and reassertion of one’s identity.

My musical tastes have also expanded to include contemporary Christian music. As an adolescent, I would not have expected to like this particular genre of music. Although I was raised with specific religious values and attended church weekly, I did not consider my religion to be an integral part of my identity. In recent years, however, I have rediscovered this aspect of myself and my musical preferences have reflected and then incorporated this developmental experience. What I appreciate about contemporary Christian music is the musicians’ use of their talents in a purposeful way, and when I listen to this music, I am reminded to live my life with intention. Thus, over time, I see how music has not only served as a means of identification, but also as a call to action. Kolb might refer to this development as the active experimentation or application of insights gained through reflection. Kolb described active experimentation as the stage of human development at which individuals begin to demonstrate the capacity to take information that has been received passively and to utilize it in a manner that helps them make sense of their world and their place within it.

Thus far, I have identified and discussed the varied musical genres that have attracted my interest and which have reflected my interests and preoccupations, both conscious and unconscious, at various points in my developmental trajectory. While reflecting on my musical preferences is an interesting exercise, I have found it equally useful to consider the types of music with which I do not relate and which do not produce any insights, meaning, or cause to reflect or act for me. Two such genres are rap and hip-hop. These types of music hold little interest for me. The reason I avoid listening to rap and hip-hop is mainly because of the foul language and negative messages that characterize the lyrics of many songs in this particular genre. I recognize, then, how music becomes a vehicle for rejecting what we find objectionable, just as much as it is a way to identify ourselves, integrate our interests, and find a means for self-expression and social connection.

In this discussion, I have made an effort to analyze the trajectory of my personal psychological development through the lens of musical preferences. Although music forms the background noise that accompanies us through most of our days, few of us pause to consider how our personal musical preferences may reflect far more than our auditory tastes. Recent researchers have corroborated what we ourselves can recognize if we conduct personal inventories of our own musical preferences: music reveals a great deal about our psychological landscape, hinting at our ability to tolerate complexity and contradictions as much as our willingness to tolerate those objects, experiences, ideas, and people that we might prefer to reject. Many of these insights reside in the unconscious, both individual and collective. It is only by beginning to engage actively in critical reflection rather than passive reception, as described by Kolb in his theories of learning styles and the development of learning skills that we can begin to understand how our own preferences reflect our stages of psychosocial evolution and how they respond to the challenges and opportunities with which we are presented at various stages in the developmental trajectory, as described so clearly by Erikson and other classical psychoanalysts.

I have found this exercise of applying Kolb’s life learning theory to be very useful. In the process of writing this, I have arrived at new insights about myself that can help me to be a more conscious and thoughtful individual. The insights that were particularly compelling to me included those regarding the musical styles for which I do not feel an affinity. By applying Kristeva’s notion of abjection, I began to recognize that my dislike for the genres of rap and hip-hop represent my desire to defend against negative traits in society and, perhaps more uncomfortably, in myself. Taking into consideration what I have discovered through the process of writing this paper, I will be interested to see how my musical preferences continue to evolve as I age.

Works Cited

Boyatzis, Richard E., & David A. Kolb. “From learning styles to learning skills: The executive skills profile.” Journal of Managerial Psychology 10.5 (1994): 3-17.

Erikson, Erik. Childhood and Society. New York: Vintage, 1995.

Eyerman, Ron, & Andrew Jamison. Music and Social Movements: Mobilizing Traditions in the Twentieth Century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.