Sunday, April 17, 2011

Lyrics & Us (denizens of Lake Wobegon)

This result isn’t surprising or controversial, but it’s nice to have somebody rigorously confirm an impression many of us have formed. In an upcoming essay for the journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, Nathan DeWall and others studied pop music lyrics between 1980 and 2007. They found that over these years lyrics that refer to self-focus and antisocial behavior have increased whereas words related to other-focus, social interactions and positive emotions have decreased. We’ve gone from “Love, Love, Love” to “F.U.”

-via David Brooks

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