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A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, reveals that both amateur and professional dancers exhibit lower levels of neuroticism compared to non-dancers. Additionally, dancers tend to be more agreeable, open, and extraverted. These findings were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
In collaboration with Matthias Blattmann, CEO of Gutmann Dance School in Freiburg im Breisgau and Tanzloft GmbH, and Luisa Sancho-Escanero, dance director at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, the MPIEA’s researchers examined data from 5,435 individuals in Sweden and 574 in Germany, focusing on the Big Five Personality Traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
“What is unique about this work is that we have brought together very large samples from two different countries. Such data are generally scarce, and previous studies have often been based on rather small samples,” explains senior author Fredrik Ullén, Director at the MPIEA.
In Sweden, the team utilized an existing database that included information about individuals’ creative engagement and dance achievements. For German participants, they developed an online survey, widely disseminated by dance institutions.
Previous studies indicated that musicians are more agreeable and open than non-musicians. The current research confirms this for dancers but also highlights a key difference: dancers are less neurotic than non-dancers, contrasting with the higher neuroticism often found in musicians.
Lead author Julia F. Christensen of the MPIEA notes, “In general, both dancers and singers show a high degree of extraversion in their personality — which may be due to the fact that their means of expression when dancing and singing is their body — and this is a very socially exposed situation, more than if you express through an instrument, for example. However, more in-depth investigations are needed to explore this further.”
The study also uncovered intriguing differences among dance styles. Swing dancers, for instance, were found to be even less neurotic than Latin and Standard dancers. The researchers plan to confirm these findings with larger samples and extend their investigations to various cultures and dance styles.
This research highlights the psychological benefits of dance, suggesting that engaging in dance can contribute to a more stable and sociable personality. As the researchers continue to explore these findings, the potential for dance as a tool for personal development becomes increasingly evident.
