<p>Some species of birds recognise members of their family by the specific songs they sing. Similarly this may be true with other animals such as whales.</p>
<p>I wonder, does this explain social phenomena such as the Mods vs Rockers riots where two groups identify each other by the particular music they listen to?</p>
<p>From the 1920s to the early 2010s, humans seem to identify themselves with particular music they like. 'flapper girls', 'hippies', 'rockers', 'goths', 'emos', 'ravers', etc. It seems to be less prevelant in the late 2010s to 2020s where instead a kind of youth conformity seems to have taken hold via the internet. (Although this could just be misconception on my part).</p>
<p>In this sense are there any studies done on if music is central to group cohesion in the same way that birds use it? I think  this is more of a psychological question than sociological since I'm thinking of more genetically determined innate behaviour that predisposes us to link music with group activity.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-02T06:17:38.583Z
"I think this is more of a psychological question than sociological" I disagree. I think likely the only way this question can meaningfully be answered is from a sociological point of view. Can you imagine any valid psychological research method/experiment which would uncover what you are asking and would be ethical? Even, the question is unclear to me from a psychological point of view.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-03T18:17:57.430Z
@StevenJeuris Yes I can. For example an MRI scan showing pictures of your friends or outsiders while music is fed to the participant using headphones. And measuring parts of your brain connected with bonding, dominance etc.
zooby
<social-psychology><music><group>
Do humans identify groups using music like birds do?
zooby
# Do humans identify groups using music like birds do?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-06-30)

Some species of birds recognise members of their family by the specific songs they sing. Similarly this may be true with other animals such as whales.

I wonder, does this explain social phenomena such as the Mods vs Rockers riots where two groups identify each other by the particular music they listen to?

From the 1920s to the early 2010s, humans seem to identify themselves with particular music they like. 'flapper girls', 'hippies', 'rockers', 'goths', 'emos', 'ravers', etc. It seems to be less prevelant in the late 2010s to 2020s where instead a kind of youth conformity seems to have taken hold via the internet. (Although this could just be misconception on my part).

In this sense are there any studies done on if music is central to group cohesion in the same way that birds use it? I think this is more of a psychological question than sociological since I'm thinking of more genetically determined innate behaviour that predisposes us to link music with group activity.

**Tags:** social-psychology, music, group

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "I think this is more of a psychological question than sociological" I disagree. I think likely the only way this question can meaningfully be answered is from a sociological point of view. Can you imagine any valid psychological research method/experiment which would uncover what you are asking and would be ethical? Even, the question is unclear to me from a psychological point of view.  
> **username_0**: @StevenJeuris Yes I can. For example an MRI scan showing pictures of your friends or outsiders while music is fed to the participant using headphones. And measuring parts of your brain connected with bonding, dominance etc.  

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