A study unveils the link between musical preferences and our inner moral compass

Science Daily ^

[FarCenter]

...

The study involved an existing dataset of over 1,400 participants who completed psychometric questionnaires assessing their moral values and provided information about their favorite artists through Facebook Page Likes.

The researchers then extracted acoustic and lyrical features from the top five songs of each participant's preferred artists.

Using ML algorithms, the team analysed the extracted features to predict participants' moral values.

Various text processing techniques, including lexicon-based methods and BERT-based embeddings, were employed to analyze narrative, moral values, sentiment, and emotions in lyrics.

Additionally, low- and high-level audio features provided via Spotify's API were used to understand encoded information in participants' musical choices, enhancing moral inferences.

The results demonstrated that a combination of lyrical and audio features outperformed basic demographic information in predicting individuals' moral compass.

Specifically, musical elements like pitch and timbre emerged as crucial predictors for values of Care and Fairness, while sentiments and emotions expressed in lyrics were more effective in predicting traits of Loyalty, Authority, and Purity.

"Our findings reveal that music is not merely a source of entertainment or aesthetic pleasure; it is also a powerful medium that reflects and shapes our moral sensibilities," remarked Vjosa Preniqi, lead author of the study and a PhD student in Queen Mary's Centre for Doctoral Training in Data-informed Audience-centric Media Engineering.

"By understanding this connection, we can open up new avenues for music-based interventions that promote positive moral development."

The study's implications extend beyond mere academic curiosity, holding the potential to impact how we engage with and utilise music in diverse aspects of life.

"Our breakthrough can pave the way for applications ranging from personalised music experiences to innovative music therapy and communication campaigns," commented Dr Kyriaki Kalimeri, senior co-author of the study and researcher at ISI Foundation.

[gundog]

It’s a pretty well-known pop culture reference from the movie “Office Space.” A man feels pressured to lie about his musical tastes to save his job. You could watch the movie; it’s quite amusing. Or you could just keep scrolling.

[dfwgator]

"I got my pistol pawn cocked ready to lay shots nonstop until I see your monkey ass drop."

[gundog]

🎼Damn it feels good to be a gangsta....

[daniel1212]

Specifically, musical elements like pitch and timbre emerged as crucial predictors for values of Care and Fairness, while sentiments and emotions expressed in lyrics were more effective in predicting traits of Loyalty, Authority, and Purity.

Thank you for working to provide the meat of the article via excerpts, yet to no fault of your own, I was still left looking for the specific findings of correlation, which none of the article provides. My guess is that liberals do not like gospel and country music.

[Sertorius]

Thanks! I like hearing about the inspiration for songs.

[Blue Collar Christian]

So they will force boys to listen to music only girls would pay for, and ban music they believe causes boy to be masculine.