Perhaps it is the "ugly duckling" phenomenon (I made up that term). She is a 47 years old, she's never had a boyfriend, she's never been kissed, she has a double chin, bushy eyebrows, hair that is less than fashionable, a somewhat unflattering outfit on, and she comes off in the brief pre-singing interview as a bit of an oddball. And then she sings and it is beautiful. Who would not be touched by that. The ugly duckling is really a swan!
Marie **************************************************** Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Kaufman 168, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm Office hours: Monday 10:30-11:30, Tuesday & Wednesday 2:00-3:30 **************************************************** From: Paul Okami [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 8:50 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] crying over Susan Boyle I've been interested in the apparently widespread phenomenon of people crying upon viewing the Susan Boyle video, as discussed recently in a New York Times blog. Indeed, at least one person admitted to crying upon just hearing the story of Susan Boyle--prior to even viewing the video. I did not cry--exactly--but almost. I suppose if she had been singing Charlie Mingus' "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" instead of Andrew Lloyd Weber's whatever, I might have been weeping copiously. Without doubt she is a wonderful singer, but I don't think that her singing alone would have brought anyone to tears. I am thinking that she looks on the outside the way many of us feel on the inside in some important domain of life, and the way she wiped the smirks off everyone's faces so dramatically may have triggered any or all of the following in a lot of people: a) Vicarious revenge b) Vicarious redemption c) Vicarious vindication d) Vicarious glory Paul Okami --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
