Rock Music And Deviant Behavior Essay

Music is all around us, playing in shopping malls, on television, in elevators, and stored on our personal electronic devices. Music has the ability to change one’s mood to either positive or negative based on the genre and the lyrics a song. To determine if there is a correlation between music genres and deviant behavior, researchers Jeffery Lozon and Moshe Bensimon examines genres as alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, hip-hop/rap, punk rock, rock and electronic/techno to see if it influences an individual’s behavior negatively. Researchers Lozon and Bensimon expect to find that music as those listed above will have a connection to aggressive behavior and possible deviant activity. The research to determine whether if genres of music …show more content…
Hard Rock promotes aggression in its’ male listeners and encourages drug abuse. In addition to promoting deviance, the results prove that people who prefer the genre of Hard Rock have a negative self-image. Although Hard Rock have connections to negative behavior, the results reveal that it can promote happiness in its listeners because that is their preferred choice of music. Furthermore, Rap/Gangsta Rap is next on the list of the different genres of music. The results show that people who listen to Rap music had higher levels of aggression, misogynic views, reported substance abuse, and promoted the idea of unprotected sex. Although some listener’s moods were affected negatively, there was another study were Rap music was used as an outlet for African Americans. The lyrics to Rap music mirrored the daily life struggles African Americans face from systematic racism to defining street code. …show more content…
Their hypothesis at the beginning of the review is that of all the genres listed, each will have a connection with aggression and possible negative behavior. Their hypothesis was valid, throughout the review there is overwhelming amount of evidence to prove that of all the problem music genres listed, the participants concluded that they had issues of substance abuse, alcohol consumption, aggression, and misogynic attitudes. Surprisingly, Lozon and Bensimon found out that problem music can have a positive impact on the listeners.
Although problem music is considered deviant, the music can help adolescents identify with their peers and it can help with relieving illnesses such as depression and anxiety. To add, problem music can help its listeners to help identify with their surroundings. For example, Rap/gangsta music can assist their young and urban listeners make sense of community and culture, to help elevate the sense of hopelessness but rather cohesion. Punk and rock music has a positive relation to comfort adolescents who contemplate suicide and feel like an outcast in their