11 popular songs were evaluated by 14 students enrolled in a section of adolescent psychology. Songs were selected for their potential to illustrate psychological concepts, such as, identity crisis, psychotic behavior, and personal fable. After lecture on a particular topic, a song relevant to that topic was played and discussed. Lyrics that illustrated certain concepts were identified. Students evaluated each song for its effectiveness in aiding their understanding of concepts. End-of-semester evaluations indicated increased scores on measures of critical thinking and comprehension of subject matter, which would suggest continued use of songs is appropriate.
References
1.
AveryR. K. (1979) Adolescents' use of the mass media. American Behavioral Scientist, 23, 53–70.
