A Review of Effects of Songs With Prosocial Lyrics on Prosocial Thoughts, Affect, and Behavior

Overview

Greitemeyer, T. (2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(1), 186-190.

The purpose of the research study Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior, was to examine the research question, Does exposure to prosocial media promote prosocial outcomes? The study attempts to determine the predictive validity of a previous construct known as the General Learning Model, a theoretical model of the effects and consequences of playing video games (as cited in Greitemeyer, 2009).

The authors note that previous research on the effects of media and behavior has exclusively focused on aggressive media content, and its effects on aggressive cognition. Work from Andersen et al. (as cited in Greitemeyer, 2009) has already established a framework known as the General Aggression Model (GAM). The GAM states that “exposure to violent media activates and individuals internal states including (cognition, affect and arousal), which in turn changes the interpretation of a potential conflict situation that results in aggressive behavior” (Greitemeyer, 2009). This model was expanded into the General Learning Model which explains the effects of both violent and non-violent video games (Greitemeyer, 2009). The GLM suggests the possibility that positive media can have positive effects. However, Gretimeyer (2009) notes the lack of research on the effects of prosocial media and prosocial outcomes. Thus, this study attempts to provide research on a topic previously unexplored.

The researcher tested the following hypothesis, “listening to prosocial (relative to neutral) songs increased the accessibility of prosoc...

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...s and the GLM model, thus showing an adequate measure for the different variables. The study notes the small sample size. This brings up an issue of external validity, and being able to generalize the results to a wider population outside of their college students (Cozby, 2009).

A point of interest for future investigation could be to test listening to both prosocial and aggressive lyrics. In many real life situations, people may actually listen to both instead of the assumption of either and not the other. It would be interesting to test the effects of both conditions, in addition to their long-term and short-term effects.

Works Cited

Cozby, P. C. (2009). Methods in Behavorial Research. McGraw Hill.

Greitemeyer, T. (2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 186-190.