It’s only rock and roll, but I like it. Actually, as it turns out, it may be more than rock and rock—it may be a glimpse into who you really are.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, led by psychologist Adrian North, just completed a global poll of 36,000 people to determine if there was any link between what kind of music people like and their personalities. Participants in the study rated 104 genres of music and answered a host of standard profile questions along the way. What they found is that teenagers have been right all along—what you listen to is a direct reflection of who you are.

Like the Blues? Well, you’re creative, gentle, out-going, at ease and have high self-esteem. Country and Western fans are hardworking and creative. Reggae lovers are also creative, but—no real surprise here—not quite so hardworking (though, as a hard working reggae fan I dispute this particular claim). Indie rockers get the real short end of this stick. Turns out if you’ve had the soundtrack to Garden State in heavy rotation ever since the movie came out, you’re suffering from low self-esteem, not very hard-working, not gentle—though you are creative. Rockers have low self-esteem, are not outgoing, at ease or hard working, but they are creative and gentle.

I mention all of these things in a blog about the science of sport because North’s study has got me wondering about a very understudied corner of psychology: the relationship between sport and personality.

For a long time, the only real studies on sport’s fandom were done about things like the effects of fandom. The best example being the relationship between fans and traits like violence and aggression (a lot of these studies were done in relationship to soccer hooligans). In the past ten years, things have opened up a little bit and we now have studies that examine fandom through identity theory and social identity theory—but again these are very blunt tools and I’m interested in a finer distillation.

What I want to know is there a relationship between the one’s favorite teams and one’s personality. Is there a link between favorite sports (to watch, not to play) and personality? Is there any truth to the rumor that fans of the Dallas Cowboys were actually raised by Wildebeests (as I was taught growing up)?

For a better example, do fans of the perennial losers, the Los Angeles Clipper, have low self-esteem?

Do fans of traditional blue collar teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns have better work ethics than fans of, say, the high flying, pass first, St. Louis Rams?

Is there a personality difference between baseball fans and basketball fans? Football and hockey?

Is any part of one’s team identification genetic?

I’m asking these questions not because I have any answers, but because I’ve decided to start looking for some. So if any one has ideas about how to properly construct a fan identity and personality profile questionnaire please send them my way. Over the next six months or so I’m going to try and develop a decent survey which I’ll then post on-line and try to get to the bottom of this peculiar puzzle.