Moral Foundations Theory, developed by psychologists Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham, provided the theoretical framework for this exploration.
Why?
“I was intrigued by the exploration and comprehension of the link between moral values and music preferences,” said study author Vjosa Preniqi (@vjosa_preniqi), a PhD student at the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary University of London and member of the Communication Acoustics Lab. “This interest stems from the potential application of such insights in developing psychologically informed music recommender systems which can indicate on improving user satisfaction and retention (i.e. the listener uses the streaming platform for longer).”
Lyrical results
When it comes to songs’ lyrical content, the researchers found that individuals who value moral foundations related to Care and Fairness tended to prefer artists whose songs’ lyrics revolved around themes of care and joy. On the other hand, those who placed more importance on Loyalty, Authority, and Purity were drawn to lyrics discussing fairness, sanctity, and love. This suggests that the content of the lyrics can strongly resonate with individuals’ moral values.
Sounds
Participants with Binding values, which relate to principles of loyalty, authority, and purity, preferred music that was danceable, loud, and had more positive sounds.
Meanwhile, those with Individualizing values, which emphasize care and fairness, were more inclined to choose music with smooth, acoustic qualities and less dynamic sounds. This means that not only the lyrics but also the overall musical style can reflect an individual’s moral values.
Check the full study here
The study’s insights into lyrics and musical styles aligning with individual values are pretty cool