Can Music Help Overcome Psychological Barriers to Action? Chapter I

By Emiliano Rodríguez Nuesch, Nancy Nuñez and María Morena Vicente

While music may not be a silver bullet for global issues, it's a powerhouse in breaking down psychological barriers that hold us back. With the ability to inspire, motivate, and unite, music creates a positive mindset, fosters empathy, and highlights critical issues. By dismantling individual hurdles, music sets the stage for a collective mindset ready to take on the world's challenges.

This post kicks off a series of 3 articles that delve into the transformative power of music, unraveling how it aids us in breaking through various psychological barriers pinpointed by social science. Consider this not just a read, but a playlist against psychic numbing—a melodic journey to break down walls and inspire change. Let the music guide you through the exploration of the mind!

Music to Overcome Psychic Numbing

Psychic numbing is a psychological phenomenon that causes us to feel indifferent to or ignore the suffering of large numbers of people. Most people are caring and will exert great effort to rescue "the one" whose plight comes to their attention. These same good people, however, often become numbly indifferent to the plight of "the one" if that person is just "one of many" as part of a bigger problem.

Track I: Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2

Year 1972, day Sunday. A peaceful demonstration in Northern Ireland turned violent when 14 unarmed civil rights protesters were shot dead by the British Army.

“And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart”

I can't believe the news today

As Bono states “the division is never physical: real borders are in people’s hearts”. Indeed, one of the ways music can help overcome psychic numbing is by humanizing the memory of a violent historical incident. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 is a good example. This song delves into the specificity of the Sunday Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland in 1972, where 14 unarmed civil rights protesters were shot dead by the British Army. Instead of just speaking about the broader Troubles in Northern Ireland, the song narrows in on this particular tragic event, humanizing the broader conflict.

This is the chronicle of the historical event portrayed in the song.

How long must we sing this song?

Actually, the band also narrates how psychic numbing can sound in people’s minds:

“Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead-end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall”

While horrific tragedies occurred, they decided to write a song and sing it as long as it needed to be sung. The song expresses the band's condemnation of the violence and calls for peace and reconciliation.

U2 approached the sensitive topic of the Troubles in Northern Ireland thoughtfully by adjusting the lyrics of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" to avoid taking sides in the conflict. The band opted for a neutral perspective, emphasizing the observer's distress toward war without aligning with any faction. Through the song, U2 aimed to echo the emotional turmoil experienced by both victims and witnesses during political unrest. Interestingly, John Lennon first addressed similar events in music, introducing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on his third solo album, "Sometime In New York City."