Why do some cultural items succeed and others fail? Some scholars have argued that one function of the narrative arts is to facilitate feelings of social connection. If this is true, cultural items that activate personal connections should be more successful. The present research tested this possibility in the context of second-person pronouns. We argue that rather than directly addressing the audience, communicating norms, or encouraging perspective taking, second-person pronouns can encourage audiences to think of someone in their own lives. Textual analysis of songs ranked in the Billboard charts (N = 4,200), as well as controlled experiments (total N = 2,921), support this possibility, demonstrating that cultural items that use more second-person pronouns are liked and purchased more. These findings demonstrate a novel way in which second-person pronouns make meaning, how pronouns’ situated use (object case vs. subject case) may shape this meaning, and how psychological factors shape the success of narrative arts.

中文翻译：

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想着你：第二人称代词如何塑造文化成功

为什么有些文化项目成功而其他项目失败？一些学者认为，叙事艺术的功能之一是促进社会联系的感觉。如果这是真的，激活人际关系的文化项目应该会更成功。本研究在第二人称代词的背景下测试了这种可能性。我们认为，第二人称代词不是直接向观众讲话、传达规范或鼓励观点采择，而是可以鼓励观众想到他们自己生活中的某个人。对 Billboard 排行榜（N = 4,200）中排名的歌曲的文本分析以及对照实验（总 N = 2,921）支持这种可能性，表明使用更多第二人称代词的文化项目更受喜欢和购买。