Study: Your Favorite Songs Reveal Your Attachment Type

Miscellaneous / by admin / April 05, 2023

Scientists have compiled a selection of popular tracks for each type. Test yourself.

In a new study, published in Personal Relationships, University of Toronto Ph.D. Ravin Alaei and professor in the Department of Psychology Jeff MacDonald and Nicholas Rule found that people's individual attachment styles match the texts of their loved ones. songs. In other words, we tend to go back to tunes that explain what we're going through in a relationship.

The lyrics to your favorite relationship songs can help validate your thoughts and feelings, but it can also reveal what you, may not have been aware that your relationship experience is something that you go through all the time, something that you constantly face.

Rabbi Alaei

study author

In total, in adulthood, four types of attachment are usually distinguished:

Reliable (optimistic attitude in all sincerity).
Anxious (such people worry about being rejected and are always looking for confidence in their relationship).
Avoidant (when people respond to their negative expectations of a relationship by shutting themselves off from the other person).
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Anxious-avoidant (so difficult to be loving and open, despite the desire for intimacy).

In the study, the researchers asked about 570 people about their favorite songs and then analyzed nearly 7,000 tracks for the style of affection expressed in the lyrics.

It turned out that people with avoidant attachment prefer music with avoidant lyrics. I expected to see a clear connection between the disturbing type and the songs, because they are the most emotional, but, surprisingly, this was the most insignificant coincidence.

Rabbi Alaei

A strong avoidant connection is reflected not only at the individual, but also at the societal level. In the second study, researchers analyzed more than 800 Billboard Hot 100 hits from 1946 to 2015 and found that lyrics became more avoidant and less safe over time.

Popular musical compositions are developing in parallel with the trends of social disengagement - people value independence over dependence on others and feel more isolated, noted Alaei.

As an example, the scientist cites Adele's discography, which, according to Alaea, often raises topics that cause anxiety, and is popular among people with this type of attachment.

As an anxious person, you must admit that you are vulnerable to negative feedback and your emotions snowball. Music can be a very powerful trigger for this because it can stimulate deep feelings and memories, ultimately heightening your anxieties.

Rabbi Alaei

In conclusion, the researchers gave a number of examples of popular tracks for all types of attachment.

Reliable:

Sonny & Cher
Whitney Houston
The Beatles
Ed Sheeran
Plain White Ts
John Legend
Michael Buble - Haven't Met You Yet
Beach Boys
Bryan Adams
Etta James
Justin Bieber

Alarming:

Adele - Someone Like You
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Miley Cyrus
Adele-Hello
U2-One
Seether-Broken
No Doubt - Don't Speak
Bruno Mars
Drake

Avoiding:

Beyoncé - Irreplaceable
Chris Brown
N'Sync - Bye Bye Bye
Michael Jackson
TLC-Scrubs
Rihanna
The Weeknd—Heartless

Anxious avoidant:

Carrie Underwood
Gotye - Somebody that I Used to Know
Taylor Swift
Sam Smith
Ne Yo-So Sick
Bonnie Raitt - I Can't Make You Love Me
Adele - Rolling in the Deep
Rihanna ft. Drake-Work
Eminem ft. Rihanna

What type of attachment do you have in a relationship? And did the specified music suit you?