Big Five Movie Taste Test

The Big Five Movie Taste Test is based on research by Gideon Nave, Jason Rentfrow, and Sudeep Bhatia.

Exploring the Connection Between Movie Content and Audience Personality: Insights from Nave, Rentfrow, and Bhatia's Study. In their pioneering study, Gideon Nave, Jason Rentfrow, and Sudeep Bhatia explore the fascinating relationship between the content of movies and the personality traits of the audiences they attract. The research is rooted in the understanding that personal preferences—whether for art, music, or film—are shaped by an individual’s psychological makeup. Movies, being a universally consumed form of art and entertainment, offer a unique lens to study this connection. The study goes beyond superficial genre classifications and instead delves into the specific content of movie plots, analyzing how these elements resonate with different personality profiles.

Methodology and Approach

The researchers utilized a robust dataset combining psychological data from the "myPersonality" Facebook app and movie-related data from IMDb. The "myPersonality" app provided personality profiles for over 3.5 million users based on responses to well-established psychological questionnaires, such as the Big Five personality traits. These traits—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—offer a comprehensive framework for understanding personality differences.

On the movie side, IMDb served as a rich source of information, providing detailed descriptions of films, including user-generated keywords and plot summaries. Instead of relying on broad genre categories like “comedy” or “drama,” the researchers analyzed the specific themes, keywords, and plot structures of movies to uncover patterns in audience preferences. This nuanced approach allowed them to bridge the gap between movie content and the psychological profiles of their fans.

Key Findings

The study revealed that the content of a movie is strongly associated with the personality traits of its fans. For example, individuals high in openness—those who are imaginative, curious, and open to new experiences—were more likely to be drawn to movies with complex and unconventional plots. These viewers tended to appreciate films that challenge norms or offer novel perspectives, such as sci-fi or avant-garde productions.

In contrast, people high in conscientiousness, who value order, discipline, and reliability, were more inclined to prefer structured and goal-oriented narratives. Fans of agreeable personalities, characterized by empathy and warmth, often enjoyed feel-good films or movies that emphasized human connection and cooperation. Extraversion was positively correlated with popular, high-energy movies that performed well at the box office, reflecting extraverts’ preference for social and exciting activities.

Interestingly, the study also demonstrated that the predictive power of movie plots extends beyond the typical demographic categorizations of audiences, such as age or gender. This highlights the psychological depth inherent in movie preferences, suggesting that the themes and emotions conveyed in films resonate on a deeply personal level.

Implications

This research offers valuable insights for both psychologists and the entertainment industry. For psychologists, it provides a novel way to study personality in large, diverse populations by analyzing publicly available data. For the entertainment industry, the findings can inform targeted marketing strategies, enabling filmmakers and distributors to tailor their promotions to specific personality profiles.

Nave, Rentfrow, and Bhatia’s study bridges psychology and media studies, providing a fresh perspective on how individual differences shape entertainment preferences. By illustrating the alignment between movie plots and personality traits, their work not only deepens our understanding of human behavior but also underscores the role of media as a mirror reflecting our inner selves. This research opens doors for further studies on how other forms of media—such as music, literature, or even social media content—connect with personality, making it a groundbreaking contribution to the field.

This test cannot be used to provide clinical assessments or an accurate evaluation of your personality. Clinical assessments should always be done in cooperation with a mental health professional. For more information about any of our online tests and quizzes, please consult our Terms of Service.