“Count on me”—The influence of music with prosocial lyrics on cognitive and affective aggression.

Abstract

Music is an appealing vehicle with which to transmit messages to recipients, inspiring many musicians to promote their own values and norms through their song lyrics. While the idea that music can evoke emotions or express profound ideas is a widely accepted one, the vast majority of research has focused on the possible harmful effects of music: While a great deal of research has been conducted on the effects of aggressive and violent song lyrics (Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003; Gutscher, Schramm, & Wirth, 2011), little is known about the potential positive effects of prosocial music, meaning music with lyrics that deal with prosocial issues like helping, supporting, or donating. Greitemeyer (2009a, 2009b, 2011b) has been the first researcher to consider the possibility that music with prosocial lyrics may enhance empathy and altruism and decrease hostile feelings. If aggressive content increases aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior, one possibility is to wonder whether prosocial content, that fosters positive effects as shown by Greitemeyer, decreases such effects. The primary purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the effects of prosocial music on aggression, with aggression referring to a range of behaviors that can result in both psychological and physical harm to oneself, others, or objects in the environment (Buss, 1961).Greitemeyer (2009a) has noted that the processes underlying the prosocial effects of music are based on broader learning theories, such as the general learning model (GLM) created by Buckley and Anderson (2006). This model predicts that any stimulus (including music) has short- and long-term effects via several learning mechanisms. This model posits a continuous feedback cycle between the recipient and the environment, and suggests that media prosocial content may affect a person's internal state by altering his or her cognition, affect, or arousal. This internal state again influences how situations are perceived, interpreted, and appraised. Eventually, this appraising process leads to a shaping of a person's decision in a social encounter. If the media input is a positive one like prosocial music, it is likely that a prosocial internal state is activated, which most likely leads to a prosocial behavior.1 Unlike the general aggression model (GAM; Anderson & Bushman, 2002), which is the theoretical base of the GLM, the GLM provides information on how human behavior can be affected by media and social learning scenarios in a more general sense, while the GAM describes only the effects of violent media contents on the internal states which can lead to a more aggressive behavior. The GLM assumes that positive media can have positive effects, and first studies showed that positive media like prosocial music can reduce aggression (Greitemeyer, 2011b), which can be regarded as a positive effect, as predicted.Recent LiteratureTo date there have been only a limited number of studies regarding the effects of song lyrics. Regarding the impact of violent or antisocial content, Anderson et al. (2003) conducted a series of studies whose findings indicated that participants who listened to songs with violent content had more hostile thoughts and feelings than persons who listened to a song with neutral lyrics that was otherwise comparable. Several other studies have also indicated that listening to violent songs can increase aggressive behaviors under certain circumstances (Barongan & Hall, 1995; Fischer & Greitemeyer, 2006; Gutscher, Schramm, & Wirth, 2011; Mast & McAndrew, 2011).In the first research into the possible positive effects of prosocial songs, Greitemeyer (2009a) conducted a series of studies on prosocial lyrics, finding that listening to songs with prosocial lyrics increased the accessibility of prosocial thoughts (i.e., the rate of prosocial thoughts that come to mind). Greitemeyer (2009b) also found that listening to such lyrics led to more empathy (an indicator of prosocial feelings) and increased the helping behavior of participants. …