Psychologists To Use The Beatles To Grasp The Human Mind

Psychologists are to use the Beatles in a new study into how musical memories affect a human beings identify.

Scientists at the University of Leeds hope to create a database of "autobiographical" memories by asking people to connect specific moments in their lives with the Liverpool band.

They expect to find that certain albums in the band’s history or events, such as the assassination of John Lennon, will relate to events in a person’s long-term memory.

Professor Martin Conway, who is heading the investigation, told the BBC that the Beatles are the most obvious band to use.

"The reason why we're interested in this is we're interested in a thing called generation identity.

“So we're quite interested in how your memory of your own personal experiences is linked into public events,” he said.

Credits for the info to Gigwise.com.

Comments

[recliner33]

Is it just me but does this seem to be a waste of time? It's not like one of the people will have a memory of them tripping one day in the strawberry fields while their guitar gently wept with their friend Jude who they first met in the yellow submarine back in the USSR. It's not like all the Beatles thoughts will come together in a hard days night. They should just let it be.

[atc228]

^ very clever, made me laugh

I suppose the study is kind of cool, but i think the beginning of the article was a bit misleading, not mentioning generation identity until the end and all

[R_U_READY?]

recliner u wasted more time tryin to come up with a funny comment. i think its an interesting idea now we can find out if all us impressionable teenagers actually have our identity changed by listening to our favourite bands ok maybe it is a waste of time :P

[SMITH05]

It's not really a waste of time. But, I think it would have to be done differently. When you hear a song,not even necassarily one you like, maybe it brings you back to when you first met your girlfriend, or when your dog died, or something really traumatic happened in your life. If successful, this study could show us what part of our brain, what proteins, what synapses and wiring, allow us to make this connection. Then maybe use music to tap into either the subconcious or repressed memories perhaps. They're just doing this on a larger scale with events we all know as a culture/society. It would just be interesting to see if someone gets a sad emotion from a happier Beatles song if they associate the song with a less happy event...And yea recliner, too much dude:/

[pyritmann]

oh man i have so many songs that remind me of past events, like every good song i know i rememeber exactly where i was when i first herd it

[ALLmustPAY]

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

[JimiGrohl]

I think it's a very cool idea and beatles is the greatest band ever

[PerpetualBurn]

When I listen to Steve Vai's Real Illusions: Reflections, it makes me think of World of Warcraft. A bad time in my life...except for the Steve Vai part.

[MS_Mosher]

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.

[srilankasnprman]

very col idea...
unfortunately people of that generation have the beatles to relate too..we have 9/11
=/

[rojomeansred]

How can you hate people so full of love?

[Xeus]

The Beatles are lovely..well maybe not Helter Skeler :p im not suprised by this article though

[recliner33]

R_U_READY? wrote:

recliner u wasted more time tryin to come up with a funny comment. i think its an interesting idea now we can find out if all us impressionable teenagers actually have our identity changed by listening to our favourite bands ok maybe it is a waste of time :P

That comment seriously only took me like 2 or 3 minutes to do, so it's not that much time wasted. I could have kept going if I wanted to. I only referenced like 9 beatles songs in that quote, I still could have added a couple hundred more or how many songs they did. I lost track. But, IDK. I think this study is going to be useless unless they really find some breakthrough stuff. It kind of reminds me of when people were doing studies on metal music trying to link it towards suicicde or violent thoughts, but just not quite as retarded.

[ashowe]

I want a follow-up on this from UG in the future. I want to see the findings. Because I know what they're talking about in this study. I totally associate Avril Lavigne with my first rejection and Blink-182 with a trip I took to Arizona, etc. Sounds interesting.

[AFrozenFlame89]

recliner33
IDK. I think this study is going to be useless unless they really find some breakthrough stuff.

Epic statement.

[xberserkx]

it's really nothing new, just another way to trigger memories. There are other things (usually traumatic events) that can trigger a long term memory, but I don't think it was worth writing an article about

[bmarlatt1685]

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.

Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

[hpr]

AFrozenFlame89 wrote:

recliner33
IDK. I think this study is going to be useless unless they really find some breakthrough stuff.


Epic statement.

Yeah, that was a pretty stupid thing to say.

[Dead_End]

recliner33 wrote:

Is it just me but does this seem to be a waste of time? It's not like one of the people will have a memory of them tripping one day in the strawberry fields while their guitar gently wept with their friend Jude who they first met in the yellow submarine back in the USSR. It's not like all the Beatles thoughts will come together in a hard days night. They should just let it be.

+1 haha

[chillrock]

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.
Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

so John Bonham did nothing for rock music? how far have you got your head up your arse, mate?

[blaze2thekings]

chillrock wrote:

so John Bonham did nothing for rock music? how far have you got your head up your arse, mate?

+1, just about all those music stars were/are hippies so to say they did nothing....it was the hippy movement that created all these people, it was all about breaking away from current "cultural barriers", just like punkers, metalheads, goths, hippies, its all the same just different name

[blaze2thekings]

im interested to see the results too, like the first time i heard Megadeth i couldnt have been more than 9, Countdown to Extinction, i remember the album cover scared me. How i remember that now? music.

[Walternativo]

bad article.

[SL!!!]

Misleading title. They're simply playing music that people will relate to with past events. They could play any music that the person listened to a lot when they were younger to evoke memories.

[hamett91]

anyone who is taking psychology wouldn't think this is a waste of time. people associate moods, thoughts, places, events, ect. with music.

[perilouspete]

that's really cool.....and a very good idea. i bet this will be a very interesting study.

[Cannibalkyle16]

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.

Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

because its not just a coincidence that more than half of the most succesful musicians were into that life style....i meen you'd have to be an idiot to think there was any connection to altered states of mind and making something unique and creative....

DURH

[TheSilverBeatle]

The first few people who commented obviously had no idea what the experiment was about. It's like how scent is supposedly the strongest tie to our memories...there trying to see if people can remember events in relation to songs they listened to at the time. It certainly works for me...I can remember breaking up with an ex...and moving into a new house in December a few years ago because it was when I first started listening to Big Star.

[Sloopy]

Why all the hippie hatred? Who gives a shit?

[classicrocker10]

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

well i hate you. but i think its kinda dumb. why do this study? couldnt we be solving world hunger or cancer or something a little more productive?

[xalyssam]

recliner33 wrote:

Is it just me but does this seem to be a waste of time? It's not like one of the people will have a memory of them tripping one day in the strawberry fields while their guitar gently wept with their friend Jude who they first met in the yellow submarine back in the USSR. It's not like all the Beatles thoughts will come together in a hard days night. They should just let it be.

that's probably the most clever thing i have heard, and will ever hear, all week
props to you man.

[treefiddey]

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.
Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs...

Thank god for hippies then...

[uncballer11]

chillrock wrote:

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.
Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

so John Bonham did nothing for rock music? how far have you got your head up your arse, mate?

hes not saying John Bonham didnt do anything for music hes saying he was a talented musician whose life was cut short because of the drug movement the hippies started.

[treefiddey]

and the headline is NOT grammatically incorrect.

[treefiddey]

As if hippies invented drugs...

[Shread_6009]

Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

dude, most of those guys died of things unrelated to drugs. some were alcohol, some was de[pression, hendrix choked after taking sleeping pills and elvis just got really fat and did really really bad movies. and btw brian jones drowned. get your facts right.

and hippys werent nessecarily about drugs, it was aboput liberation and love.

[Van_Joelio]

Ahh... it's the University of Leeds... that explains everything.

[Dream Pin]

I think Slipknot have already proved their music turns people into cretins, so why wouldn't there be a connection between The Beatles and their fans?
Although, I bet there wouldn't be a link found between Beatles fans and cretins.
Food for thought.

[TC1223]

What does that first sentence say?

[mosh_rocker2006]

Yeah maybe not everyone loves them...but if you can't admit and respect the way they changed the music industry, and how they were so far ahead of their time, then you're a failure.

...By the way this is a stupid article.

[Sloopy]

uncballer11;
Hippies didn't start no drug movement. Drugs have been around forever, get your facts straight.

[Saffron_Inferno]

wow

[g-tarist]

recliner33 :
Is it just me but does this seem to be a waste of time? It's not like one of the people will have a memory of them tripping one day in the strawberry fields while their guitar gently wept with their friend Jude who they first met in the yellow submarine back in the USSR. It's not like all the Beatles thoughts will come together in a hard days night. They should just let it be.

ha i bet you felt so clever after writing this lol. But now your so disapointed that it took this long for somebody to quote you. anyways as a reply i will say this was no waste of time, as there have been much worse eg. MCR, fall out boy etc...

[Ali-b912]

hippies werent about drugs. they were about love and happiness and peace. hippies did not invent drugs, seeing as most of them ditched college classes to go protest vietnam they wouldnt have gained the knowledge to create drugs. the entire hippy subculture did alot for rock music and all music. if we didnt have hippies we wouldnt have had hendrix, because nobody would have listened to him in the first place. all psychadelic music wouldnt exist, along with progressive stuff. alot of other genres also take things from the psychadelic movement. it wasnt a drug movement. they didnt go around saying "oh hi take this LSD and you can hang with us". bon scott didnt die from drugs and if he didnt hippies had nothing to do with it because ACDC reckon the psychadelic stuff was all crap. well they did back in the bon era anyway. and finally, the beatles arent hippies. im pretty sure only sgt peppers is really psycadelic. they just supported peace. and honestly, why the **** wouldnt you?

[LeZeNkO]

pathetic... there just fanboys thats all..

Next doctors will be using World of Warcraft to figure out if it was a dagger or a axe that a murderer used ^_^

[thebrewfan]

^or a magic spell

[LordThon]

The psychologists' expectation is a given. If I asked a room full of one hundred people how many of them had a pet die - specifically a dog, most of them would go beyond "I did", and even provide me with the animal's name.
Have you ever seen someone die?
How did you feel about the death of Princess Diana?
Tell me about your first relationship of any length.
Car accident?

Bet a lot of you had immediate answers to all of those. Let's add trips to Disney World on to the list.
We all have common memories. This experiment would simply reinforce that statement. It's not really going to show anything new.

[LordThon]

Shread_6009 wrote:

dude, most of those guys died of things unrelated to drugs. some were alcohol, some was de[pression, hendrix choked after taking sleeping pills and elvis just got really fat and did really really bad movies. and btw brian jones drowned. get your facts right.

and hippys werent nessecarily about drugs, it was aboput liberation and love.

Um...hate to break it to you, but...alcohol is, for all intents and purposes, a drug. Sleeping pills, too. And, aside from blowing your brains out, or using a blade, depression is often permanently remedied through some sort of medication.

Wasn't Elvis found with a bunch of pills around him?

[Harry Krishner]

Viva la beatles!

checked

[bmarlatt1685]

chillrock wrote:

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.
Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

so John Bonham did nothing for rock music? how far have you got your head up your arse, mate?

Did you even read what I posted? John Bohnam's my favorite drummer of all time, but I'm not gonna be ignorant to the fact that he lived a self destructive lifestyle. The rockstars I mentioned above have contributed a significant amount to rock music, but the drug that destroyed them only contributed to either a break up with the band or even worse, death.

[bmarlatt1685]

uncballer11 wrote:

chillrock wrote:

bmarlatt1685 wrote:

MS_Mosher wrote:

ALLmustPAY wrote:

I love when the opening sentance of an article is grammatically incorrect. Also I hate Hippies and the Beatles so I guess that makes me mentally unstable.

I never understood the hate for hippies. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make you mentally unstable, and I'm fairly certain that no one has inferred that you are.
Hippies have contributed nothing useful to rock 'n' roll at all. Period. You could argue drugs which brought about acid rock and experimental rock, but then again, look at the number of rock stars whose lives were destroyed by it... Elvis Prestley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, Layne Staley, Brian Jones, Bon Scott, Kurt Cobain, Gram Parsons, John Panozzo, Steve Clark, Phil Lynott, Shannon Hoon, ect... Not to mention the countless of other rock stars that came close to destroying their lives with drugs... So when people say they hate hippies I can understand why. They've contributed nothing to music except bringing about a lifestyle that has destroyed the lives of a number of talented musicians.

so John Bonham did nothing for rock music? how far have you got your head up your arse, mate?

hes not saying John Bonham didnt do anything for music hes saying he was a talented musician whose life was cut short because of the drug movement the hippies started.

Thank you. And just so everyone knows, I never said hippies invented drugs or even started drug use. They did however popularize the drug lifestyle that became so prevalent in the rock scene during the sixties. Of course Hendrix was hippie and, contrary to what many will say, he was a drug addict, but that's not to say his music wasn't great, 'cause it was great, and groundbreaking at that too. I love Edgar Allen Poe's writings, but for me to say he wasn't a suicidal druggie just 'cause I love the works he has written is just foolish. You have to apply the same standard to the rock stars.

[ECwomantoneman]

...There are places I remember...

:p:

[therescue06]

recliner33 wrote:

Is it just me but does this seem to be a waste of time? It's not like one of the people will have a memory of them tripping one day in the strawberry fields while their guitar gently wept with their friend Jude who they first met in the yellow submarine back in the USSR. It's not like all the Beatles thoughts will come together in a hard days night. They should just let it be.

lmao.