Exposure to music with prosocial lyrics reduces aggression: First evidence and test of the underlying mechanism
Author(s):
Tobias Greitemeyer
Publication Year:
2011
Type:
journal article
Journal/Book Title
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Publisher
Editor(s):
Pages:
28-36
Volume:
47
Issue:
1
Abstract:
Previous 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.
Citation (Chicago Author-Date):
Greitemeyer, Tobias. 2011. “Exposure to Music with Prosocial Lyrics Reduces Aggression: First Evidence and Test of the Underlying Mechanism.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 47 (1): 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.08.005.