People who listen to podcasts are more curious than those who don't, according to new research.
The scientists compared participants' podcast listening habits with how they scored on a scale measuring openness to experience and the enjoyment of thinking, psychologist Stephanie Tobin tells Corin Dann.
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Podcast listeners tend to be more open-minded,Tobin says.
"There are informational aspects to podcasts – it's a great easy way to learn information – so we were interested in whether that would draw people to podcast listening.
"The nice thing about podcasts is they're very flexible and you can integrate them into your day. So people tend to multitask when they listen to podcasts… it's a great way for people who like learning new things to get more out of their experiences."
People with a stronger need for acceptance were less likely to listen to podcasts, she says, which was a surprise given that trait is connected with more addictive habits in the case of social media.
On average, podcast listeners were less neurotic than non-listeners and it seemed listening provided them with a sense of social connection, Tobin says.
The more people listened to podcasts, the more they communicated with others about what they'd learnt and the more they felt connected to the podcast host as a friend, she says.
Stephanie Tobin is a senior lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology School of Psychology and Counselling.
The study Why people listen: Motivations and outcomes of podcast listening was published in the journal Plos One.
