Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Reflection


 Very few of the findings surprised me; I’ve heard about the dangers of music on the actions of youth before. These findings really only point to the lack of attention this data ever received. Yes, there are inherent implications associated with these statistics (namely that the music youth listen to WILL affect their behaviors) but there do not seem to be any measures taken in regards to them. All in all, this research has brought to light the fact that more attention needs to be given to the possible effects of music. 

The Effect Of Auditory Versus Visual Violent Media Exposure On Aggressive Behaviour: The Role Of Song Lyrics, Video Clips And Musical Tone.


Visual media is more emotionally arousing in regards to threat detection as read by fMRI machines. Depending on the trigger, cognitions of violence and arousal will be brought to every response. The visual media leads to increases in aggression-related cognitions. As the viewer identifies with the character in a music video, when the character is portrayed as violent, those behaviors then become cues for the viewer.
This study compared the effects of exposure to violent visual or auditory media on the aggression of experimental groups. They used hot sauce as the rating system. The groups with exposure were significantly more aggressive. The lyrics themselves were to violent lyrics with or without the violent imagery. Another study (Anderson, Carnagey, et al. 2003) said violence in lyrics elicited violence in thought. In this experiment, after watching/ listening to the song, the participant would give an amount of hot sauce to a hypothetical target. It was hypothized that music-lyric combinations would arouse more aggression than music-alone or lyric-alone aggression. Lyric participants allocated more sauce than participants who did not listen to lyrics. There was no significant effect for violent video exposure. The combination of the two did produce the highest aggression but it was not significant. Not surprisingly, the participants exposed to nothing gave significantly less sauce than all the others. Also not surprisingly, males were markedly more aggressive but the change in aggression was across the board.  
Exposure to aggressive lyrics, regardless of musical stimuli elicited greater aggression. The videos themselves did not seem to change the aggression.

From Dr. Dre to Dismissed: Assessing Violence, Sex, and Substance Use on MTV


MTV is the world’s most popular television network. The target audience is 12-34 year olds and USA Today has said that this network molds the way that audience “looks, talks, acts and consumes.”  Eighty percent of 9th to 12th graders reported watching MTV at least two hours a day although parents regard it as the second most discouragable program to watch.
                Social science shows that viewing media violence (as in through music videos) contributes directly to aggressive behavior as it shows viewers that violence is acceptable and un-punishable. It also brings up aggressive memories and the probability of ‘generalized aggression.’ Violence is prominent: it is in up to 61% of music videos. This, of course, differs along genre lines. Rap videos were more likely to feature physical aggression, which is more than in rock videos which is in turn, more than rhythm and blues. One study found that “males exposed to violent rap videos were more accepting of violent conflict resolution.” Another found that almost any type of violence will heighten the probability of aggression. 

The Federal Trade Commission's Report On The Marketing Of Violent Entertainment To Youths: Developing Policy-Tuned Research


In 1999 President Clinton requested that the Federal Trade Commission conduct a study to understand the effects of violent entertainment media on youth in order to provide information to leaders. This was assigned to the FTC regarding a shooting in Littleton Colorado that was linked to the effects of violent entertainment on youth. In 2000, studies showed that a typical American child spent an average of more than 38 hours a week using entertainment media. The study tried to attend to two different questions:

                “Do the motion picture,­ music recording, and electronic game industries promote products with parental warnings or age restrictions in venues where children make up a substantial percentage of the audience?
And
                “Are these advertisements intended to attract children and teenagers?”

All of the things discussed in the study are, in fact, legal. Many studies found a high correlation between exposure to media violence and violent behaviors. All of the discussed mediums had rating and labeling systems, but the music industry was the only one without strict marketing regulations; the distribution is left to the digression of the retailer. There was a recommendation, but it does not appear on the website. The marketing of these mediums was misguided legally. Almost all of the targeted audiences were underage in regards to the designated audience. The children were aware of their violation of the rating system. Interestingly, though most (77%) of the parents were aware of the rating system for recorded music, 66% of parents still purchased music for their children.  The understanding of the system was not the issue; it was the enforcement which is largely left to the retailers. Also, when many more regulations for the rating system and enforcement were suggested, they were shut down by the producers. Because of the First Amendment, it is difficult to regulate the music and movies in methods other than self-regulation.
In the conclusion, the committee discussed the social and ethical boundaries between the targeting and circumvention of marketing groups. How could marketers more finely focus their advertising? Often times the targeted market is not the one that actually purchases the product. Also, they suggested researching the concept of the ratings themselves offering a ‘forbidden fruit’ characteristic to the music. The government’s role will remain controversial in regards to this topic.
This link gives more specific detail to the laws themselves:

Are Rap Videos More Violent? Style Difference And The Prevalence Of Sex And Violence In The Age Of MTV


This study of 203 music videos discusses the elements of sex and violence.  In the 1980s, the music video emerged as a new medium for musicians to express the themes of their videos. With the introduction of MTV, these short ‘minifilms’ could be projected into the homes of anyone with a cable box. While the introduction of MTV helped the visibility of many different types of music, it also became a source of skepticism creating a need for many different studies on its effects. The most stressed area of concern are the elements of sex and violence transmitted through the videos.
George Gerber’s theory that is discussed in this study is that “mass media, particularly television, forster a cultural mind-set consistent with the notion that social relationships, power and violence in television drama help develop patterns of unequal risk among social groups… Television viewers appear to be more susceptible to this cultivation and [they] see reality differently on the basis of increased media exposure.”  If his theory proves to be true, then this would mean that violence would need to be regulated in its appearance in videos.
In the early 1990s, Black leaders began to address the potential threat of violence through rap and hip hop. Sex and violence were, in a study of the prevalence and appeal of characteristics in music videos, were second and fourth (respectively) most prominent themes in music videos. Also, interestingly African American rap artists were more likely to engage in prosocial behavior than whites. The major hypothesis of this study was that “the differences in music styles were based on the occurrence of sex in their music videos.” Four ‘coders’ analyzed 203 music videos in the rap, hip-hop, rock, rhythm and blues genres for their sexual and violence content.  Rap music hand the highest percentage of violent behavior, although heavy violence was not prominent in any of the genres. The differences between the genres were mostly marked by the occurrence of violence in their videos. Hip-hop had the most prominence of sexual themes. The hypothesis was upheld.
The occurrence of violence and violent language, according to the study, should remain a focus of concern. The themes are overwhelmingly violent. The study says that the videos can create “negative social effects resulting from exposure to the music videos.” When the videos were played in a mental hospital, people reflected the characteristics of the videos. There were also correlations between teenager’s negative behavior and their liking of violent music.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Introduction

In Communications 111 at the University of Michigan, students are assigned a topic to research, summarize and about which, create an informational blog. This blog, as a part of that class, will be addressing the specific topic of violence in today's music and its effects on teenagers and youth in America.  Through the analysis of a variety of sources, this particular blog will answer a posed research question: how exactly are violent lyrics and themes affecting the youth that listen to them? It will discuss different scientific findings and studies conducted regarding this topic and attempt to synthesize all of them seamlessly into a coherent and comprehensive set of information. 
Horrah! My first post. Good Job Me!