Lina Lulli
Music You Listen To 1
Are You at the Mercy of the Music You Listen to?
By Lina Lulli
I remember the moment exactly. I was sitting on my bed, listening to my iPod when the
song “Unfaithful” by Rihanna began to play. Like hundreds of times before, I found myself
singing along to the lyrics. However, for some indescribable reason, this time I realized what I
was singing about. The lyrics describe a woman having an affair and, not only does she cheat on
her boyfriend, she blatantly lies to his face about it. This song promotes infidelity and lying yet,
to my surprise, I had never noticed its message before. Since then, I have questioned the
influence song lyrics have on the thoughts of listeners. If lyrics have the ability to infiltrate the
minds of listeners, can the messages hidden in the underlying strains of lyrics affect not only
thoughts but the ideology of society?
One question that has perplexed humanity for hundreds of years is how lyrics affect
listeners. Philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates discussed the effect of music on a
human’s emotional state and behavior as well as the negative repercussions on such behavior.
Aristotle wrote that “music directly imitates the passions of the [human] soul… and if over a
long time [the human] habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole
character will be shaped to an ignoble form” (The Philosophers). jEarly philosopher Boethuis
maintained this position, emphasizing that “music is a part of us, and either ennobles or degrades
our behavior” (The Philosophers). From these statements, we can conclude that the early
philosophers understood and were wary of the effects of music on individual listeners.
Exploring the effects of song lyrics on today’s twenty-first century society is a relevant
undertaking. It will come as no surprise that people listen to music on a daily basis. More often
than not, song lyrics become stuck in our heads, and people find themselves doomed to continue
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singing those same lyrics until they become dizzy from the incessant repetition. The
phenomenon of getting a song stuck in your head is called an “earworm,” according to Victoria
Williamson, Sagar Jilka, Joshua Fry, Sebastian Finkel, Daniel Müllensiefen and Lauren Stewart.
In anarticle titled “How do “earworms” start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of
Involuntary Musical Imagery,” the authors note, , “Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) or
‘earworms’ describes the experience whereby a tune comes into the mind and repeats without
conscious control” (Williamson et. al. 259). The article elaborates how “involuntary,
spontaneous cognitions are common, everyday experiences” and how “musical imagery is
associated with a unique form of spontaneous cognition” (Williamson et. al. 259-260). Because
such a phenomenon is “common” and takes place in the mind, one can assume that it affects all
music listeners indiscriminately (Williamson et. al. 259). Since all listeners are at risk, scientists
are pursuing the potential long-term effects of song lyrics on listeners in today’s popular music.
However, before scientists are able to address the types of long-term social effects due to song
lyrics, they must first analyze different types of lyrics.
Tobias Greitemeyer at the University of Sussex studied the effects of songs with
prosocial lyrics in comparison to songs with neutral lyrics. According to Greitemeyer’s research,
pro-social songs are defined as songs with lyrics that attempt to promote positive—or
“prosocial”— thoughts and behaviors (Greitemeyer 1501). Through his study, Greitemeyer
discovered that, when both prosocial and neutral songs were introduced to subjects, the songs
with prosocial lyrics did indeed produce prosocial thoughts and stimulated positive helping
behavior. Ultimately he concluded that, if prosocial songs influenced behavior in a positive way,
increased exposure to such lyrics could possibly have tremendous impacts on the actions of
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society. With this logic in mind, one can speculate that increased exposure to songs with
antisocial lyrics could generate negative, antisocial thoughts and behaviors in listeners.
A study conducted by Brian A. Primack, Erika L. Douglas, Michael J. Fine and Madeline
A. Dalton focused precisely on the consequences of negative, antisocial behavior through
research on teen sexual activity. They speculated that strong sexual references in song lyrics,
especially those in rap music, could be one cause of early teen sexual activity (Primack et. al.
511). Primack and his associates credited a song’s general popularity as one possible reason for
such rampant sexual activity. (In this case, popularity can be defined as how frequently a
particular song is played in everyday life.) They reasoned that, with increased popularity, song
repetition would increase, and the sexual messages conveyed through lyrics would become
quickly and unconsciously engrained in the brains of listeners. Thus, sexual lyrics absorbed by
the brain could cause increased sexual behavior. While the research presented by Greitemeyer,
and by Primack and his colleagues, contains valid evidence correlating song lyrics and behavior
of listeners, more research is required to substantiate the claims that song lyrics cause human
behavior or that lyrics are responsible for the peaking levels of young adult sexual activity.
In order to determine whether or not song lyrics have the ability to affect human
behavior, we must first understand how song lyrics affect the human brain. As Norman
Weinberger argued in his study titled “Music Research in Behavior and Brain,” “Sound waves
enter the ear as complex pressure waves... reach[ing] the brain’s auditory cortex … The more a
cell discharges to a sound, the more tuned it is to the eliciting frequency” (Weinberger 48).
Based on this evidence one can conclude that the more frequently one listens to a particular song,
and the more frequently the song is discharged to particular brain cells, the more likely that song
lyrics will become engrained in the brain and could thereby result in negative behaviors.
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Therefore, songs deemed especially popular may be especially dangerous. Primack et al
defined a song’s popularity as the frequency with which songs are played in daily life. Two
songs currently considered popular are “One More Night” by Maroon 5 and “Give Me
Everything” by Pitbull. These lyrics, according to the evidence found in Primack et al’s study,
could produce severe consequences on the actions of listeners. In “One More Night” Maroon 5
sings, “Yeah I stopped using my head/ Trying to tell you no, but my body keeps on telling you
yes/ I'll only stay with you one more night/ And I'd be waking up, feeling satisfied but guilty as
hell” (Maroon 5, 2012). These lyrics promote uninhibited sexual activity as well as a lack of
self-control. Likewise, the lyrics to Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” promote wild sexual
escapades with little thought behind the consequences of such actions through lyrics as Pitbull
sings, “I want all of you tonight so give me everything tonight/ Can't promise tomorrow, but I
promise tonight” (Pitbull, 2011). If the evidence procured from the Greitemeyer and Primack
studies stands to reason, these lyrics may ultimately become absorbed in listeners’ consciousness
to incite rampant sexual activity.
An interesting counterargument to the idea that song lyrics influence behavior has been
presented by S. Ali and Zehra Peynircioglu
̆ from the Department of Psychology at American
University. Ali and Peynircioglu
̆ divided music into two groups, classifying music as containing
either positive or negative emotion. Whereas Greitemeyer focused on a connection between the
act of listening and behavior, Ali and Peynircioglu
̆ focus on melody (Ali and Peynircioglu
̆ 516).
Ali and Peynircioglu
̆ found that “in all cases [of their experiment], melodies of songs were more
dominant than the lyrics in eliciting emotion” (Ali and Peynircioglu
̆ 511). A study conducted by
Jon Morris and Mary Anne Boone from the University of Florida similarly focused on the effect
of melodies. They found that “The ‘messages’ of music are more affective than cognitive, for
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example calm or sedate music decreased subjects’ anxiety, and the structural elements of music
such as major (happy) and minor (sad) modes influenced the listener’s feelings” (Morris and
Boone 518). They even found that “in some cases, music appears to increase emotional
response” (Morris and Boone 518). These messages are carried through the melodies of the
songs listeners are exposed to. The findings discovered by Morris and Boone support the
evidence first raised in Ali and Peynircioglu’s
̆
studies, which leads to the conclusion that lyrics
are not the only aspect of songs that influences listeners.
As seen from the evidence compiled in this essay, all aspects of music, song lyrics and
melodies, can affect those who listen. These effects could even affect listener thought and
behavior. Song lyrics and melodies may be more powerful than previously assumed and the
messages contained within an individual song’s lyrics or melodies can have negative effects on a
listener’s actions. However, the only way to know for certain is to continue the discussion of the
effects of these aspects on human behavior. This continued discussion begs the question: because
negative song lyrics and melodies can have a negative response on the listener, could song lyrics
and melodies generated from music alter the moral compass of each listener?
Works Consulted
Ali, S, and Peynircioglu,
̆ Zehra. “Songs and Emotion: Are Lyrics and Melodies Equal Partners?”
Psychology of Music 34.4 (2006): 511-534. EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012.
<http://pom.sagepub.com/content/34/4/511>.
Ganser, Jaden, and Huda, Fareen. “Music’s Effect on Mood and Helping Behavior.” UW-L
Journal of Undergraduate Research XIII (2010): 1-5. EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012.
<http://www.uwlax.edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2010/ganser&huda.PSY.pdf>.
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Music You Listen To 6
Greitemeyer, Tobias. “Effects of Songs With Prosocial Lyrics on Prosocial Behavior: Further
Evidence and a Mediating Mechanism.” Pers Soc Psychol Bull 35 (2009): 1500-1511.
EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012. <http://psp.sagepub.com/content/35/11/1500>.
Levine, Adam, Shellback, Max Martin, and Savan Kotecha. "One More Night." Rec. 18 May
2012. Overexposed. Maroon 5. Shellback and Martin, 2012. MP3.
Pitbull, Ne-Yo, and Afrojack. "Give Me Everything." Rec. 18 Mar. 2011. Planet Pit. Pitbull.
Afrojack, 2011. MP3.
Primack, Brian A., Erika L. Douglas, Michael J. Fine, and Madeline A. Dalton. "Exposure to
Sexual Lyrics and Sexual Experience Among Urban Adolescents." American Journal of
Preventive Medicine 36.4 (2009): 317-23. EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012.
<http://psp.sagepub.com/content/35/11/1500.refs.html>.
"The Philosophers Talk Music." The Philosophers Talk Music. Amazing
Discoveries, 3 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.
<http://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception-music_philosophers_culture_plato>.
Weinberger, Norman. “Music Research in Behavior and Brain: Past, Present, and Future.”
University of California Journal: 44-53. EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012.
Williamson, Victoria, Sagar Jilka, Joshua Fry, Sebastian Finkel, Daniel Müllensiefen, and
Lauren Stewart. “How Do "earworms" Start? Classifying the Everyday Circumstances of
Involuntary Musical Imagery” (2012) Psychology of Music 40.3 (2011): 259-284.
EBSCO. Web. 20 October 2012.