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Music services like Pandora generate musical recommendations based on your listening habits. Will the next step be to recommend music based on your brain type? In a study called “Musical Preferences Are Linked to Cognitive Styles,” researchers at the University of Cambridge asked 4,000 participants to fill out questionnaires and rate several pieces of music. Their goal was to classify listeners according to the E-S (empathizingsystemizing) theory.

Type E (for empathetic) individuals preferred “music that featured low arousal (gentle, warm, and sensual attributes), negative valence (depressing and sad), and emotional depth (poetic, relaxing, and thoughtful).” That might translate into R&B, country, or folk, among other things. Type S (systemizing, analytical) people preferred “music that featured high arousal (strong, tense, and thrilling) and aspects of positive valence (animated) and cerebral depth (complexity).” They were more into punk, heavy metal, and hard rock. The study is available here.