Musicians love to sing about teenagers. The Who, Katy Perry, My Chemical Romance all broached the fear and wonder of adolescence.
But why is it that the music of our youth embeds itself onto our memories like no other?
Researchers at Northeastern University think there is a psychological reason at play. It lies in what is referred to as the “musical reminiscence bump.”
During adolescence, teens morph into more social beings and start to move from a family setting to wanting to be surrounded and well regarded by their peers, the researchers set out.
Discovery of new music, according to four Northeastern researchers who penned a paper together, is what can help establish these new social bonds. Music offers the chance of “social rewards” by bonding with others over shared musical tastes or joint musical experience, the academics have argued. This, in turn, imprints the music from that period deep into our memories.
Read more at Northeastern Global News
Photo by Matthew Modoono
