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.
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References
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AveryR. K. (1979) Adolescents' use of the mass media. American Behavioral Scientist, 23, 53–70.
