Beatlemania—A Study in Adolescent Enthusiasm

Abstract

This research was conducted shortly after the visit of the Beatles to New Zealand, and it was supported by a grant from the Research Committee of Victoria University of Wellington. It was an attempt to unravel some of the complex factors that underly the Beatle stimulus and the response of ‘Beatlemania’. Three hundred and forty‐six subjects between the ages of 15 and 20 were given a series of psychological tests in a search for relationships between their personality factors and their enthusiasm for the Beatles. The 50 who were most enthusiastic formed the ‘high’ group, 122 moderately interested formed the ‘middle’ group, and the 50 least interested formed the ‘low’ group or resisters. The groups were then divided further into males and females and their test data was examined. Statistically significant differences were found between the three groups of females on factors of ‘Beatlemania’, age, and various factors of personality. Only the factor of ‘Beatlemania’ and one factor of personality were statistically different among the male groups. However, there was no evidence from the Hysteria Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory to support the popular opinion that the enthusiasts were hysterics, and there was no supporting clinical evidence for the neuroticism that was marked on the Maudsley Scale. Nor were there any significant social factors between the groups. It was concluded that ‘Beatlemania’ is the passing reaction of predominantly young adolescent females to group pressures of such a kind that meet their special emotional needs.

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