The Rise of the Vibe

"Most of the words that make up a language lead relatively sedate lives and rarely call attention to themselves. This is not, however, the case with "vibe." It has undergone several transformations, and its use may be a telling reflection of contemporary culture. The vibe concept was popularized by the Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations," which was released in 1966."

"The counterculture megahit elevated a niche bit of psychedelic drug slang into a synonym for a positive atmosphere. Its shortened form, "good vibes" has become a common way to refer to positive feelings. But the rise of vibe can also be connected to a long-running controversy concerning the primacy of emotion over cognition. Feelings Over Facts? The social psychologist Robert Zajonc was well known for making this argument; in a frequently cited article, he claimed that "Preferences need no inferences" (1980, p. 161)."

"One consequence of this is that "People may doubt their beliefs, but they . . . never doubt their feelings" (De Houwer & Hermans, 2010, p. 39). But why should this be? Part of the reason could be that feelings are simply more salient or memorable than facts. According to a quotation frequently attributed to Maya Angelou, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.""

The word 'vibe' shifted from psychedelic drug slang to mainstream usage after the Beach Boys' 1966 song 'Good Vibrations,' spawning 'good vibes' as shorthand for positive atmosphere. The rise of 'vibe' intersects with debates about emotion's primacy over cognition, as scholars like Robert Zajonc argued that preferences may require no inference and feelings are rarely doubted. Feelings often appear more salient and memorable than facts, leading people to manufacture or favor subjective facts. Perceived ideological bias in sources such as Wikipedia has produced alternative encyclopedias and platforms.

Read at Psychology Today