Effects Of Music With Prosocial Lyrics On Aggressive Behavioral Tendencies In College Students

Previous research on social psychology of media (e.g., video games especially) has predominantly focused on the effects of violent media on aggressive behavioral tendencies. And most of them have been framed in General Aggression Model (GAM). However, because of the diversity of media, the results of most studies based on General Aggression Model cannot explain the positive effects of the non-violent media (e.g., prosocial video games or music with prosocial lyrics) on the individuals.Recently, based on previous studies of media psychology, researchers expanded the GAM into the General Learning Model (GLM). Compared to GAM, GLM has broader explanatory power. According to the GLM, we can assume that the effects of media exposure on individual behavioral tendencies depends on its content. Whereas exposure to violent media is assumed to increase aggressive behavioral tendencies and decrease prosocial behavioral tendencies, exposure to prosocial media is assumed to increase prosocial behavioral tendencies and decrease aggressive behavioral tendencies. Based on mis theoretical assumption, researchers turned their attention to the effects of prosocial media on individual behavioral tendencies. Specifically, it is about exploring the positive psychological effects of prosocial media:Effects of prosocial media on evoking prosocial behavioral tendencies and effects of prosocial media on restraining aggressive behavioral tendencies. Generally speaking, the research on effects of prosocial media on behavioral tendencies is still at the initial stage, not only the number of studies is sparse, but also it is quite fragmented among various studies. It is difficult to examine GLM in a systematic way with such limited results. The present research adopted the music with two types lyrics (music with prosocial lyrics/music with neutral lyrics) as experimental material, systematically explores the effects of music with prosocial lyrics on aggressive behavioral tendencies in college students in four dimensions:behavior, affect or feelings, explicit cognition and implicit cognition. The current research has achieved such conclusion:(1) Participants who had listened to the music with prosocial lyrics administered less hot chili sauce than did participants who had listened to the music with neutral lyrics. This shows that music with prosocial lyrics decreased participants’aggressive behavior, which compared to the music with neutral lyrics.(2) Participants who had listened to the music with prosocial lyrics reported lower levels of state hostility than did participants who had listened to the music with neutral lyrics. This shows that music with prosocial lyrics restrained participants’aggressive affect or feelings, which compared to the music with neutral lyrics.(3) Participants who had listened to the music with prosocial lyrics reported lower levels of attitudes toward violence than did participants who had listened to the music with neutral lyrics. This shows that music with prosocial lyrics restrained participants’explicit aggressive cognition, which compared to the music with neutral lyrics.(4) The effects of music with prosocial lyrics on explicit aggressive cognition differed when it comes to different gender. The restrained effects of music with prosocial lyrics on male participants’explicit aggressive cognition were not different significantly. However, the restrained effects on female were different significantly. This shows that the effects of music with prosocial lyrics on explicit aggressive cognition were different between sexes.(5) Compared to the music with neutral lyrics, participants in the condition of music with prosocial lyrics had more negative war attitudes, were less accepting of penal code violence and corporal punishment of children. Participants on accepting intimate violence in two conditions were not different significantly.(6) Compared to the music with neutral lyrics, music with prosocial lyrics restrained participants’implicit aggressive cognition. And effects of music with neutral lyrics on implicit aggressive cognition were not different between sexes.The innovative part of the research:the present research systematically examines the effects of music with prosocial lyrics on aggressive behavioral tendencies, which expands the field of prosocial media. And this work can provide the further empirical support for GLM. Moreover, the current research also found that the restrained effects of music with prosocial lyrics on implicit aggressive cognition for the first time. And it proves that the restrained effects of prosocial media on implicit aggressive cognition exist universally in a certain extent.