Familiar Old Tunes Tend to Spark a More Intense Desire to Dance Compared to Well-Known Songs
Going old-school: Nostalgia kicks familiarity to the curb when it comes to moving and grooving
Back in the Stone Age, our cave-dwelling ancestors were already tapping their feet to the rhythm of drums and vocalizations, so dancing is nothing new. But what exactly triggers that sudden urge to boogie down to some music? While familiarity with a tune is certainly a key factor, a recent study from the University of Western Ontario Amplifies the role of nostalgia in our desire to dance.
You know that warm, fuzzy feeling when you hear a tune that takes you back to simpler, happier times? That's nostalgia for you—and it might just be the secret ingredient turning up the heat on your impulse to dance.
"Every great wedding DJ inherently knows this, but now we have the scientific proof to back it up," said Grahn, a professor of psychology and director of the Centre for Brain and Mind at Western.
In partnership with neuroscientists at the university, Grahn and her team put together a study that went beyond the effects of familiarity to dig into the power of nostalgia on our dance moves.
Researchers asked a group of young adults to rank the desire to tap, move, or dance to various pop hits, and they also rated the songs based on their level of nostalgia and familiarity.
While both nostalgia and familiarity raised the enjoyment factor and boosted the urge to move, only nostalgia predicted the need to bust a serious move on the dance floor.
So what's the big deal? Well, for one, it means that emotionally charged memories have the power to unlock our groove. But it could also open up some exciting therapeutic possibilities for patients suffering from movement disorders, like Parkinson’s disease.
"We found that the more nostalgic a song, the stronger the urge to get down," said Riya Sidhu, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate at Western. "That could have some pretty big implications for therapies that involve rhythm and movement."
In fact, researchers noted that highly familiar songs like "Firework" by Katy Perry ranked low on the nostalgia scale and didn't have as much dance appeal. Other songs, like "TiK ToK" by Ke$ha, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz all ranked high on nostalgia and dance-ability.
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
So next time you're feeling the need to shake your groove thing, throw on some tunes from your past and give in to that dirty dance feeling!
More Information
Author: Jeffrey RenaudSource: University of Western OntarioContact: Jeffrey Renaud - University of Western OntarioImage: Available here
Original Research: Open access."Throwbacks that move us: The dance-inducing power of nostalgic songs" by Riya Sidhu et al. PLOS One
Abstract
Throwbacks that move us: The dance-inducing power of nostalgic songs
The urge to move to music, often referred to as groove, is influenced by various factors, including familiarity with the music. The influence of nostalgia, which involves familiarity but also includes pleasant, sad, and wistful emotions, remains largely unexplored. Here we investigated the impact of both familiarity and nostalgia on the desire to tap, move, and dance along to music. To evoke nostalgia, we selected popular songs from the participants' adolescent years. More recent songs served as a low-nostalgia but familiar control. Participants completed an online experiment, rating songs based on their desire for three different movement types (tap, move, and dance), as well as enjoyment, familiarity, and nostalgia. Nostalgic songs elicited higher desire to move than familiar songs across all three movement categories. Additionally, both familiarity and nostalgia predicted move and tap ratings, but only nostalgia emerged as a predictor for dance ratings. Our results suggest a distinctive role for nostalgia, beyond the influence of familiarity, in motivating the desire to dance.
Enrichment Data:
Optimized for Therapeutic EngagementBy tapping into the strong emotional responses provoked by nostalgia, therapeutic interventions can boost motivation, excitement, and sense of achievement in patients. This can be particularly beneficial for those facing challenges with mental or physical health, as it provides a sense of escape and offers a chance to connect with positive memories.
Therapeutic Implications1. Emotional Regulation: Nostalgic experiences can help patients better manage emotions, reduce stress, and improve mood through evoking pleasant memories and associations.2. Motivation and Engagement: Leveraging the power of nostalgia can help therapists create more engaging experiences that instill a greater sense of purpose and motivation in patients.3. Social Interaction: By rekindling positive social connections and shared experiences, nostalgia can help facilitate better communication, reduce feelings of isolation, and promote overall well-being.
Connection to Neurobiological ProcessesThe neural mechanisms underlying nostalgia involve several brain regions, such as the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. Memories evoked by nostalgia are typically vivid, emotionally charged, and have personal significance, which likely contribute to their powerful impact in affecting emotional and motivational states.
Example Applications1. Music therapy: Using music from a patient's past can help stimulate positive emotions, improve memory, and reduce anxiety.2. Group therapy: Organizing group activities around nostalgic themes can help facilitate social bonding, reduce isolation, and encourage self-expression.3. Neurorehabilitation: Incorporating nostalgic elements into therapy sessions can improve engagement, motivation, and overall treatment effectiveness.4. Exercise and physical activity: Incorporating nostalgic music and activities can help motivate individuals with physical limitations to participate in exercise programs.
- The study conducted by Grahn and her team at the University of Western Ontario highlighted the role of nostalgia in our dancing attitudes, providing a scientific basis for DJs who have long known the emotional impact of nostalgic tracks.
- In accord with neuroscientists from the same university, Grahn's research revealed that nostalgic songs not only boosted the enjoyment factor but also predicted the need to dance more vigorously.
- The findings of the study published in PLOS One suggest that nostalgic songs can stimulate stronger movement urges compared to simply familiar songs, which could have significant implications for therapies involving rhythm and movement, such as for Parkinson’s disease patients.
- Interestingly, highly familiar songs did not necessarily rank high on the nostalgia scale or have as much dance appeal; examples of highly nostalgic and danceable songs include "TiK ToK" by Ke$ha, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz.
