The Short Version
A 2026 peer-reviewed study directly found that people who listened to music with less positive emotional tones had higher predicted intelligence scores, providing real support for this claim. However, the relationship is correlational, based on modeled (not directly measured) intelligence, and much of the broader supporting evidence actually addresses genre preferences or personality traits rather than emotional valence and general intelligence specifically. The claim is directionally supported but overgeneralizes a limited, construct-dependent finding.