Lyrics only or lyrics with music? The effect of different lyric conditions on prosocial-related outcomes.

Abstract

Several studies have examined the effect of music on prosocial behavior. However, they have not been able to explain whether lyrics with music or lyrics alone influence prosocial behavior. We conducted two studies to investigate this issue. We first validated the influence of prosocial lyrics (relative to neutral lyrics) on prosocial cognition and prosocial emotion (Study 1). Next, we examined the influence of different types of lyrics on prosocial behavior (willingness to participate in unpaid experiments) among college students under different lyric conditions (Study 2). The results are partly consistent with previous findings, and further reveal that lyrics may have an effect on prosocial cognition and emotion, and that different lyric conditions have a significant influence on prosocial behavior. Overall, we used the short-term effect of the general learning model (GLM) to verify that prosocial lyrics in music can promote prosocial behavior among college students.