Exposure to music with prosocial lyrics reduces aggression: First evidence and test of the underlying mechanism

Abstract

International audiencePrevious research has predominantly focused on negative effects of music exposure by demonstrating that listening to antisocial music increases aggression and aggression-related variables. The present research tests the idea that listening to prosocial (relative to neutral) music decreases aggressive outcomes. In fact, five studies revealed that prosocial music exposure decreased aggressive cognition, affect, and behavior. Mediational analyses showed that the effect of music condition on aggressive behavior was accounted for by differences in aggressive affect. Implications of these results for the predictive validity of the General Learning Model (Buckley & Anderson, 2006) for the effects of media exposure on social tendencies are discussed

Exposure to media with prosocial content reduces the propensity for reckless and risky driving

“…Aggressive affect, namely, trait anger, is one of the best documented predictors of reckless and risky driving, with abundant evidence documenting that people high in trait anger are more prone to reckless and risky driving than people low in trait anger (Deffenbacher et al 2001). Exposure to prosocial media has been shown to be associated with decreased aggressive affect (Greitemeyer 2011a). Thus, it is conceivable that exposure to prosocial media reduces aggressive affect, which then affects the propensity for reckless and risky driving.…”

Influence of Sexually Degrading Music on Men's Perceptions of Women's Dating‐Relevant Cues

“…Conversely, exposure to prosocial lyrics has been found to increase accessibility of prosocial words and the expression of prosocial behavior (e.g. Greitemeyer, 2011).…”

Intense acts of violence during video game play make daily life aggression appear innocuous: A new mechanism why violent video games increase aggression

“…To measure aggressive behavior, participants were asked to administer hot chili sauce (Greitemeyer, 2011;Lieberman, Solomon, Greenberg, & McGregor, 1999). Concretely, participants learned that hot and sweet sauces would be tested in context of another marketing study, but on this very day it was the hot chili sauce that was being tested.…”