Music is a powerful tool that helps us express our emotions, feelings, and beliefs. But did you know that the music you listen to can also reveal your moral values? A recent study has found that the lyrics and audio features of the music we prefer can provide insights into our morality.
Researchers analysed the music preferences of 1,480 participants by looking at the top 5 songs of their favourite artists on Facebook. They then used a variety of techniques to identify the narrative, moral valence, attitude, and emotions of each song’s lyrics. They also extracted low- and high-level audio features to better understand the encoded information in participants’ musical choices.
The study found that both lyrics and audio features can inform us about a person’s morality. The most predictive features varied depending on the moral value being assessed, but the models that used a combination of lyrics and audio characteristics were the most successful in predicting moral values. This was more accurate than models that only used basic features such as user demographics, artist popularity, and number of likes per user.
Interestingly, audio features were more effective in predicting empathy and equality, while lyrical features were better at predicting hierarchy and tradition. This highlights the importance of both lyrics and audio features in capturing moral values.
The insights gained from this study have a wide range of potential uses, including customising the music experience to meet individual needs, music rehabilitation, and even crafting effective communication campaigns. So next time you’re listening to your favourite song, remember that it might reveal more about you than you think!
