Intelligence is a key psychological feature associated to emotion and perception. Listening to music is often linked to emotional experience and sensation seeking (SS), traits that have been shown overall negatively correlated with intelligence. In a sample of 53 musicians and 54 non-musicians, we assessed the use of music for experiencing strong emotions through the Music in Mood Regulation (MMR) and the intelligence quotient (IQ) by using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III). We found a negative correlation between the full IQ score and the use of music for SS in both musician and non-musician groups. Furthermore, the use of music for SS was negatively correlated with Verbal IQ in musicians, and with Performance IQ in non-musicians. Our findings indicate that less intelligent individuals make a higher use of music for experiencing strong sensations than more intelligent ones. Furthermore, this association is modulated by the individual musical expertise.

智力是与情感和知觉相关的关键心理特征。听音乐通常与情感体验和寻求感觉（SS）相关联，这些特征已被表明与智力总体上呈负相关。在53位音乐家和54位非音乐家的样本中，我们通过使用Wechsler成人智力量表III（WAIS-III），通过情绪调节音乐（MMR）和智商（IQ）评估了音乐在强烈情感中的使用情况）。我们发现，在音乐家和非音乐家群体中，智商总得分与SS使用音乐之间存在负相关关系。此外，音乐在SS中的使用与音乐家的口头智商和非音乐家的表演智商呈负相关。我们的发现表明，与较聪明的人相比，较聪明的人更多地使用音乐来体验强烈的感觉。此外，这种联系是由个人音乐专长来调节的。