The song chosen for this analysis is Mario’s song titled “LET ME LOVE YOU,” and will be used to illustrate social psychological principles from chapter 10 of Social Psychology by Aronson, Wilson and Akert (2013). This is a love song and portrays the initial stage of a romantic relationship which in this case is attraction. The singer is trying to start up a relationship with a woman and talks of her beauty in the lyrics where he describes her beauty to be so intense to the extent of hurting (Barret, 2014).
The woman’s beauty attracting the singer illustrates the psychological principle of physical attractiveness in contributing to liking someone. This has a lot of meaning because from the same chapter, physical attractiveness in both males and females overrides other factors like sensitivity, intelligence, or sincerity in determining whether a person will like the other (Aronson et al, 2013). According to the Aronson et al. (2013), attention to physical attraction may be higher in men than in women, but both point out physical attractiveness as the chief trait in triggering sexual desire (Aronson et al, 2013).
Another principle illustrated by the song from chapter ten is that of evolution and mate selection. From chapter ten, reproduction is expensive for women considering issues such as the discomfort of pregnancy, pain of childbirth, and the primary responsibility of looking after the child until maturity (Aronson et al, 2013). This makes it necessary for potential mates to display resources to attract the opposite sex (Aronson et al, 2013). The men hence need to display resources since with the reproductive costs for women mentioned earlier, they tend to look for a man who can provide all the resources needed to support them and to raise their child (Aronson et al, 2013). From the song, this may be illustrated by the singer telling the woman that he will give her things that depict wealth or possession of resources because he claims that he will give her all the good things she wants and needs, including diamonds (Barret, 2014).
The song additionally illustrates the aspect of the nature of love and close relationships described in chapter ten. From the lyrics, the singer greatly portrays passionate love for the woman (Barret, 2014). This is because he shows a great longing to be with her by repeatedly asking her to be with him and allowing him to love her (Barret, 2014). Form the bridge, he additionally shows his longing for her by telling her that they should be together (Barret, 2014). The song being from the US illustrates the book’s explanation that individualistic cultures such as in the US greatly value passionate love compared to collective cultures like China (Aronson et al, 2013).
An additional social psychological principle from chapter ten that I have found to be illustrated strongly in this song is that of the social exchange theory whereby people enjoy more to be in relationships that have more rewards than costs (Aronson et al, 2013). The singer tries to show the woman that he will give her a lot of rewards including coming back to her every night (faithfulness), giving her all she needs, and offering her love and protection (Barret, 2014). The singer also offers himself as a better alternative for her compared to the partner she is currently with, who he describes as untruthful (Barret, 2014). The aspect of making a comparison level for an alternative is shown whereby the singer tells her that she deserves better and that she should make him her selection (Barret, 2014).
Lastly, I would describe the song as portraying a secure attachment style because from the lyrics, the singer clearly seems not to have any difficulty in trying to get close the woman or depending on her to return his love (Barret, 2014). The singer also seems to be comfortable to have the woman depend on him, get close, and is does not state anything that shows he is worried about being abandoned/rejected by her (Barret, 2014). Depicting a secure attachment style, the singer exhibits that he is likeable and worthy of the woman’s love since he states that she deserves better, referring to himself (Aronson et al, 2013).
References
Aronson, E., Wilson, T., & Akert, R. (2013). Social Psychology (8th ed., pp. 266-297). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Barret, M. (2014). Mario - Let Me Love You. YouTube. Retrieved 2 December 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64QG4UsrGI
Barret, M. (2014). MARIO LYRICS - Let Me Love You. Azlyrics.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014, from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mario/letmeloveyou.html
