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 arg

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