The Immediate Effects of Homicidal, Suicidal, and Nonviolent Heavy Metal and Rap Songs on the Moods of College Students

Abstract

The authors examined the impact of homicidal, suicidal, and nonviolent heavy metal and rap songs on the moods of male undergraducates under the guise of administering a memory for lyrics test. Subjects heard one of six songs and completed a memory task. Subjects completed several mood inventories as part of a “second study.” There were no effects of song content or music type on suicidal ideation, anxiety, or self-esteem. The nonviolent rap song elicited higher Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores than the violent rap songs. And, rap songs elicited significantly more angry responses than heavy metal songs.