RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 1

Relationships Between Music and Aggression Based on the Thai population

Phatsawan Chaivisetpone
Mahidol University International Demonstration School
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 2

Abstract
This study investigates the relationships between music and aggression, focusing on
heavy metal, rock music and aggressive songs in particular. Stress and aggression rate were
compared amongst each age group and gender. The methods being used to collect data are
observation and survey. The observation was conducted amongst the customers and staffs at
a music store in Bangkok. Qualitative data about the behaviors of the staffs and customers
were being recorded. Furthermore, a survey was conducted via google form and was given
out on social media contacts. Participants were being asked to watch two videos (consisting
of a video of a Heavy Metal song and another video of an aggressive song), rate their
aggression rate, stress rate and answer questions after watching each video. The findings
from this research suggested that there are no significant relationship between Rock and
Heavy metal lyrics and aggression; attributing to many limitations in terms of social and
language barriers and an addition of many lurking variables, such as age, gender and social
class bias.
Introduction
How music affects aggression?
Music has been together along with the evolution of mankind for thousands and
thousands of years. It has played a major role in the cultural and traditional part of human
civilization. This has derived into a question asking the importance of music towards human
personality and how they behave. It is important to know the relationship between music and
our brain because it has certain affects that can affects the mood and behavior of a person.
There are many proofs emphasizing how music plays around with many parts of the brain,
causing many affects to the structure and function of the brain. This research will intend to
show how music affects peoples behavior, focusing on aggressive songs and song lyrics
against aggression rate in teenagers.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 3

Literature Review
Music and Brain Functioning
Music opens new doors to the brain, allowing it to be able to pay attention and
engages in wide range of brain activities. According to Baker, (2007) states that music has
affect toward areas of the brain involving with paying attention, making predictions and
updating the event in memory. The result from the fMRI (functional magnetic resonance
imaging) shows that peak brain activity occurred only in a short period of time during the
silence between musical movements; when nothing was happening (para. 2). In addition, this
reveals a shocking fact about the musical techniques that was used by composers 200 years
ago, which help the brain to organize incoming information (para 4). This evidence is being
supported by another research from Schlaug (2013). He stated that musical training affects
the structure and function of different brain regions: communication, interpretation and
integration of sensory information (para. 1). In addition, musical training has the potential to
change brain function and structure when it has being done for a long period of time (para. 4).
It has been proved that this kind of training leads to less reliance on working memory and
more on extensive connectivity within the brain (para. 2) and is now a new method of curing
and treating a range of brain disabilities (para. 1). This is why musicians who have had long-
term high level of musical training tend to have enhanced ability to integrate sensory
information from hearing, touch and sight (para. 2). Music also plays a major role in terms of
our memory. According to Dean (2013), it is being claimed that music has a very strong
connection with memory; it is so strong that it can even help people learn a foreign language
(para. 5). It also helps injured brain remember (para. 8) by giving widespread brain
activation when listen to old songs (para. 13), allowing people to reminisces the past by
giving unique musical hallucinations (para. 22). In addition, there also has been proof that old
music can actually take us back two generations. For example, when people listen to the
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 4

music that their older generations used to listen to, it gives them the idea of what the people
lives are like in the olden days (para 17).
Music and Personality
Not only music can help people relax and enjoy, musical taste can also reveals about
our own personality. According to Cherry (2008), people who enjoys jazz and classical
music tends to have higher IQ (para. 2) and are more extraverted with high self esteem,
creative, intelligent and at ease (para. 11). People who prefer heavy materials (rock/heavy
metal) are actually quite gentle but are introverted (para 7). On the other hand, people who
prefer Indie genre are typically introverted, intellectual and creative but less hard working
and are actually less gentle (para. 8). In addition, people who prefer pop music tend to be
extraverted, honest and conventional (para. 4). While people who prefer Dance music are
usually outgoing and assertive (para. 9).
Music and Aggression
There are many varieties of researches in terms of the relationship between music and
aggression. Experiments conducted by Fischer and Breitemeyer (2006) establish a major
effect on sexual aggressive song lyrics and aggression. Based upon observation, male
participants who were exposed to misogynous song lyrics seemed to show more signs of
aggression to a female than a male confederate (p. 1169). In addition, male participants who
heard misogynous song lyrics recalled more negative aspects of women and were reported to
have more feelings of vengeance than when they heard neutral song lyrics (p. 1171).
Manhatting song lyrics also had similar effect upon aggression related responses of female
participants towards men (p. 1173). There are many more experiment supporting this strong
relationship between song lyrics and aggression. Coss (2009) conducted a similar experiment
but is more focus on the relationship of music genre in general. He concluded with a
statement emphasizing that there was no connection between heavy metal music and
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 5

aggressive tendencies (para. 13). Despite the fact that they are in the no music/controlled
condition, participants showed higher aggression tendencies (para. 13). He also discussed
that song lyrics are actually more effective than music genre (para. 15).
Methods
A survey (see Apendix A) was conducted during 18 to 21 April 2014 via google form.
The link of the survey was posted on social media and was sent to contacts in the form of
messages. The participants were ask to watch two videos, rate their aggression and stress
rate, and answer multiple choice questions based on their average music consumption.
An observation based on this topic was conducted at Mangpong store, Fashion Island
branch on 20
th
April 2014 from 3 to 4pm. This observation studies only the behavior and the
facial expression of the customers and staffs in the store, any significant behavior and/or
expressions were recorded. These informations were based on what was being observed, no
evaluation such as the reasons and causes of these behaviors were being recorded in this
section.
Participants
A total of 23 participants participate in the online survey, amongst these were 6 male
and 17 female, most participants were in the 16-20age category. They were selected
randomly through social media contacts, mainly were students from MUIDS. The selection
of participants were limited to only upper class people/students in the contact list and the
survey itself were not entirely public, only the people with the link can excess into the
survey. Therefore, this is not a reflective of a larger population because it only represents a
small amount of people in a particular area and society. However, there are no restrictions
based on the participants age and gender.
The participants who participate in an observation were a variety of different age
group and gender and were selected randomly amongst the customers and the staff in the
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 6

store. However, there are only certain groups of people who are in the store, no lower class
were being observed. Therefore, it did not cover a wide range of population, especially in
Thailand where the society was consisted of more lower class than the upper class. However,
there are no restrictions based on the participants age and gender.
Results
Survey

Figure 1: Responses on the first video

Figure 2: Responses on the second video

Figure 3: Media effects on aggression and stress rate
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 7

The total number participants on this survey were 23. The results from this survey
showed that Pop music were the most popular amongst the sample size (N=21). Most
participants reported that they listen to music everyday (83%, N=19) and 96% thought that
music can actually effects their emotions. The responses after the participants have watch the
first video (see Figure 1) showed the average stress rate of 5.29 for female and 3.33 for male,
and the average aggression rate of 4.53 for female and 4.50 for male. While the responses for
the second video (see Figure 2) showed the participants having an average stress rate of 3.76
for female and 4.83 for male, and the average aggression rate of 4 for female and 4.3 for
male.
The compared results for the two videos (see Figure 3) indicated that the participants
thought that the music in the second video (aggressive song) have greater impact on their
aggression and stress rate (N=15) than the music in the first video (heavy metal song)(N=13).
Observation
The Rock and Heavy metal music section were not very popular amongst the
customers at this music store as people tends to show more interest in Pop, Classical and
Traditional music section instead. The staffs and the customers behavior in the store overall
were pretty much normal, not many aggressive behaviors were observed. The staffs were
very helpful and polite to the customers and the customers have take time looking at the CDs.
However, based on the examples of the aggressive behavior observed, the staffs tend to show
aggressive behaviors through facial expressions when the customers werent buying
anything, while the customers express their aggression verbally in their conversations
towards each other.



RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 8

Implications
Survey
The results from the survey had suggested several possible trends; such as that
aggressive songs have greater impact on a persons aggressive rate than rock/heavy metal
music genre. However, it is impossible to conclude the results due to many lurking variable
and biases (gender/age) from conducting the survey on only one particular social and age
group.
Observation
The results from the observation may not show much. However, it has proven that
there are no relationship between rock and heavy metal music and aggression; meaning that
these are not the main causes that increase aggression rate in people. Although, it is again
impossible for these results to be apply to the real world due to many lurking variable and
biases from the availability of data and conducting it on one particular social group/ethnics.
Limitations
Observation
The findings from this observation are subjected to many limitations, regarding in
terms of the researcher and the methods itself. Firstly, the sample size for this survey was
very small due to the setting. Therefore, there is a lack of available data causing the results
from this observation to be unreliable. Although, the results did accounted for many
researches relating to these fields. However, the lurking variables were that this does not
apply to every age group and the mass population of the Thai society. The people being
observed in the store were off the middle to higher classes in the society, which does not
represent the entire population (excluding the working class). In addition, the people being
observed were representing only a certain age group, which again, does not represent the vast
majority of the Thai population. Adding to this, some notes on the customers and staff in the
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 9

store were not being recorded, as it is not being expected, this shows the bias in the
researcher in conducting and recording the results from the observation.
The limitations for the researcher were that Rock, Heavy Metal and Aggressive songs
were not popular amongst Thai people. People were more interested in pop, classical and
traditional songs. Moreover, there are also some cultural and language limitations due to the
fact that some genre of songs are only available in English. In addition, Thai culture is not
familiar with rock, heavy metal and aggressive songs; therefore, there are not many selections
off of these genres in the store.
Survey
The findings from the survey were being limited by the fact that the sample size
maybe too small and there are a huge gap in terms of the gender bias due to limited time.
The availability of this survey was only amongst social media connections, which are mostly
out of the middle to higher classes. Therefore, the results of this survey would not be reliable
enough to be applying into the real world situation. In addition, the fact that this survey was
only conducted in English and not in Thai can be a limitation in terms of language barrier;
only people who understand English can complete the survey. The lurking variables of this
survey apart from this can be that the choice of songs and the indication of stress and
aggression level werent clear enough, causing wide ranges of result which can be unreliable.
Adding to this, some respondents might refuse to complete the survey because they have to
watch videos in order to complete it, which requires time. This is the main limitation that has
effects upon the sample size and gender bias of the survey.
Conclusion
The main purpose of this study was to determine how music affects to aggression.
Although the results were inconclusive, there are some significant findings from this research
showing that there are no relationships between heavy metal and rock music genre and
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 10

aggression. However, it can be suggested that the aggression and stress rate of the
participants might also be influenced by the music video, not just the music itself. This leads
to a possible further research on how music videos affects aggression and stress rate of the
audience.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 11

References
Cherry, K. (2008). What Does Your Taste In Music Reveal About Your Personality. Music
and Personality. Retrieved from
http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/music-and-personality.htm
Fischer, P. & Greitemayer, T. (2006). Music and aggression: the impact of sexual-
aggressive song lyrics on aggression-related thoughts, emotions, and behavior toward
the same and the opposite sex. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16902237
Baker, M. (2007). Music moves brain to pay attention, Stanford study finds. Standford
School of Medicine. Retrieved from
http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2007/july/music.html
Dean J. (2013). Music and Memory: 5 Awesome New Psychology Studies. PsyBlog.
Retrieved from
http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/12/music-and-memory-5-awesome-new-
psychology-studies.php
Coss, (2009). Effects of heavy metal music on aggression. Retrieved from
http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/209.php
Schlaug, G. (2013) Musical Training Shapes Brain Anatomy and Affects Function. Society
for Neuroscience. Retrieved from
http://www.sfn.org/Press-Room/News-Release-Archives/2013/MUSICAL-
TRAINING-SHAPES-BRAIN-ANATOMY-AND-AFFECTS-FUNCTION




RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND AGGRESSION 12

Appendices
Apendix A