Abstract
A significant amount of existing research has dealt with the negative effects of music on people’s behavior, but only a few studies have shown that music with prosocial lyrics can increase prosocial behavior. This study focuses on the positive effects of music with prosocial lyrics on people in an everyday setting. Based on the general learning model, a field experiment (N = 256, 66% female) was conducted to test whether people exposed to music with prosocial lyrics engaged in more prosocial behavior by buying more fair trade products compared to regular products than did those exposed to songs with neutral lyrics. Guests of a café were randomly assigned to either the prosocial or the neutral music condition and were monitored by two observers who were instructed to report the prosocial purchase (of fair trade coffee) and tipping behavior of the guests. The results indicated that there is a significant positive association between prosocial behavior and the prosocial lyrics of the songs played. The study shows that it is most likely that music with prosocial lyrics can influence one’s prosocial purchase behavior in an everyday situation. The underlying mechanisms are still poorly researched, but these findings support the theoretical assumptions.
When dealing with the effects of music on people’s behavior, most studies have focused on negative effects such as aggression (e.g., Gutscher, Schramm, & Wirth, 2011) and sexual stereotypes (e.g., Lawrence & Joyner, 1991) or on effects on delinquency or drug abuse (for an overview, see North & Hargreaves, 2008). Little research has been conducted with a focus on positive effects (for an overview in different media settings, see Greitemeyer, 2011b). There are, however, some exceptions, such as a study by North, Tarrant, and Hargreaves (2004), who found that people who were exposed to uplifting music demonstrated more helping behavior than did those who listened to annoying music. Additionally, several studies conducted by Greitemeyer (2009a, 2009b) compared the effects of music with prosocial and neutral lyrics. The results of the laboratory experiments in the first study showed that exposure to prosocial music increased prosocial thoughts and interpersonal empathy, whereas the second study showed that empathy mediated the effect on prosocial behavior demonstrated by the participants. Prosocial behavior in these studies was operationalized by, for example, donating money or helping the researchers to promote their experiments. The results of another study showed that prosocial music also decreased aggressive thoughts and feelings (Greitemeyer, 2011a). More recently, Greitemeyer has shown that music with prosocial content even reduces risky driving behavior (Greitemeyer, 2013), as well as prejudice and discriminating behavior (Greitemeyer & Schwab, 2014) and increases pro-equality attitudes and behavior toward women (Greitemeyer, Hollingdale, & Traut-Mattausch, 2015) among participants, while LaMarre, Knobloch-Westerwick, and Hoplamazian (2012) showed that exposure to White Power Rock decreased the helping behavior towards ethnic minorities.
All of these studies confirm the theoretical foundation of the general learning model (GLM) put forward by Buckley and Anderson (2006). The GLM proposes that exposure to media affects individuals’ internal states, depending on their personal and situational variables, and leads to an appraisal process and learning encounter. This means not only that aggressive media content can lead to aggressive behavior, but also that prosocial content can lead to prosocial behavior. The mentioned studies have provided ample support for the theoretical model for the outcomes of exposure to prosocial music, but only one study has been conducted outside of a laboratory setting: Jacob, Guégen, and Boulbry (2010) conducted a field experiment, where they showed that exposure to prosocial music in a natural environment such as a restaurant leads to patrons exhibiting better tipping behavior, which can be understood as a prosocial behavior. However, tipping occurs in a face-to-face situation with the recipient of the money, whereas prosocial behavior can be seen as a broader construct. Many popular songs that contain prosocial content, including the song mentioned in the title of this article, Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World,” deal with wider topics and describe a broader type of prosocial behavior, such as environmentalism or solidarity. It is of practical and theoretical importance to test the effects of prosocial music on behaviors like prosocial consumer choice that can be considered as an everyday behavior.
Thus, the purpose of the current study was to test the effects of music with prosocial lyrics on an aspect of people’s environmental and solidary behavior. Therefore the recent study can be considered as a replication of the study by Jacob et al. (2010) with an additional alternate dependent variable. Following the GLM, it seemed likely that recipients of music with prosocial lyrics would demonstrate prosocial consumer choice that corresponded to the prosocial behavior inherent in the prosocial lyrics. This led to the first hypothesis:
H1: Individuals who listen to music with prosocial lyrics show more prosocial consumer choice than do those who listen to music with neutral lyrics.
The abovementioned study by Jacob et al. (2010) showed, with a French sample, that music with prosocial lyrics can influence the tipping behavior toward servers in a face-to-face situation, which can be considered a helping behavior. Therefore, to replicate their findings using a German sample, a second hypothesis was proposed:
H2: Individuals who listen to music with prosocial lyrics show more generous tipping behavior than do those who listen to music with neutral lyrics.
Method
Procedure
A field study in an everyday setting with a 2 × 1 between-subjects design was conducted to test the hypotheses. The independent variable in this study was the version of a music program (prosocial vs. neutral songs) that was played in a café. The data were collected by three observers via standardized observation. The observers were trained and used a codebook for the observation process. They were instructed to code the actions of every guest inside the café who was exposed to the music. For each guest, the observers coded estimated age, whether the guest was seated in a group or alone, and the food and drink orders placed. Additionally, the observers recorded the amount of tip the guests gave to the server and the sum of the bill they had to pay.
The experiment was conducted over eight days in June 2015. During the first week (Friday–Monday), the prosocial music playlist was played on Friday and Sunday, and the neutral music playlist was played on Saturday and Monday. During the second week, the sequence was reversed. The café’s management reported that the time when the most guests drink coffee and when the researchers were allowed to perform the experiment was 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. During this time interval each day, the playlists were played two times from an audio CD.
The first dependent variable was the prosocial behavior of the guests in the café. As an indicator of global prosocial behavior, people had the option of buying organic fair trade coffee instead of regular coffee for all of the hot drinks containing coffee (e.g., Americano, cappuccino, latte, espresso). Buying fair trade and organic products is a common way to show an environmental and social consciousness, and it is an actual behavior that requires a real (monetary) effort. In this case, a fair trade coffee cost 0.30 euros more than a regular coffee. Although the fair trade coffee used in this study would probably have been more expensive in a commercial establishment, the price was considered to be suitable by the café’s management. The second dependent variable was a direct helping behavior, measured by the amount of the tip given to the server relative to the price paid. There was only one server working during the experimental times. She was aware of the study’s purpose and was instructed to introduce the special offer of fair trade coffee in a standardized way. Information about fair trade coffee, including its benefits, was presented on a blackboard in the center of the café. The server waited at least six minutes (comparable to the duration of one to two songs) after guests arrived at the café before taking their orders so that they were able to listen to the music in the background before placing their first order.
Materials
To compile a playlist of songs with prosocial lyrics that could be used for the experimental condition, a pilot study was conducted. A total of 74 participants (56.6% female, mean age = 23.12 years) who were mainly students answered an online questionnaire. The participants were asked to name up to three songs that they considered prosocial after being shown a definition of prosocial behavior and prosocial music. In total, 152 songs were identified, and the 18 most frequently named songs were compiled to make a playlist that lasted approximately 60 minutes. In a second step, 18 songs with neutral lyrics by the same artists selected for the prosocial playlist were compiled to make a neutral playlist. These songs were comparable to those on the prosocial playlist in terms of genre, prominence, and instrumentation (see Appendix, Table 3). Using the same artists guaranteed that other musical parameters, such as the language, gender, or voice of the artists, were controlled and would not influence the effects.
Participants
The unknowing participants in this study were 256 guests (87 males and 169 females) of a small café in Wuerzburg, a mid-sized city (more than 130,000 inhabitants) in southern Germany. They were assigned to the two conditions (prosocial music, n = 123, 67% female; neutral music, n = 133, 65% female). Of these participants, 173 people ordered a hot drink containing coffee (since guests who ordered drinks without coffee had no fair trade alternative, they were not included), and 163 paid the bill for themselves or for a larger group during the observation period. Only the guests inside the café (and not those on the terrace) were included in the study to ensure that all participants were exposed to the music inside the building. Approximately 43% of the guests were 21–30 years old, as estimated by the examiners, and only about 4% were estimated to be younger than 21. The examiners estimated 37% to be 31–50 years old and 16% to be older than 51.
Results
First, Hypothesis 1 was tested by comparing the number of fair trade coffees purchased under the prosocial music condition and the neutral music condition. As this was a nominal category (fair trade coffee vs. regular coffee), the chi-square test was used. The results showed that those who were exposed to prosocial music (38%) bought significantly more fair trade coffee than did those who were exposed to neutral music (18.4%), χ2 (1, N = 178) = 8.77, p < .01, Cramer’s V = .22. This means that people who were exposed to the prosocial music ordered more than twice as much fair trade coffee than those in the neutral condition. Therefore, hypothesis 1 can be confirmed, and statistically there is a small effect. The detailed results can be seen in Table 1.
Amount of fair trade coffee bought in the prosocial and neutral condition.
Note. Results presented are the numbers of hot drinks containing coffee ordered during the experimental times, with percentages in parentheses.
The second hypothesis, in contrast, could not be confirmed. Individuals who were exposed to music with prosocial lyrics gave the same amount of tips (as a proportion of the total bill) to the server as did those who were exposed to music with neutral lyrics, t(161) = −.01, d = .001, ns. The detailed results are shown in Table 2.
Amount of tip given in the prosocial and neutral condition.
Note. Results presented are the mean (SD in parentheses) amounts (in euros) and percentages of the total bill of tips given by guests during the experimental times.
Discussion
The first hypothesis was supported by the results. People who were exposed to music with prosocial content were more likely to act in a prosocial manner than were those who were exposed to music with neutral lyrics. Following the theory of the GLM, it seems reasonable that individuals who are exposed to music in an everyday setting will demonstrate prosocial behavior when listening to a playlist that contains songs like “Earth Song,” “People Help the People,” and “Imagine.” Participants in this study were offered an affordable but relatively costly option for helping people and saving the environment, which is not a priority for all members of the public. The observed behavioral action was somehow related to the prosocial content of the songs. The effect found is consistent with the theoretical expectations. It seems likely that songs with prosocial lyrics contribute to prosocial behavior, but there are many personal traits and situational states that influence the appraisal process, the final learning encounter, and eventually a certain behavior. It is unclear whether the guests were subconsciously influenced or were consciously aware of the content of the music. They could have been influenced by the music itself or by the server who was potentially influenced by the different music conditions as well. Another experimental group with no music would have been necessary to test if the lyrics or the music itself affects the guests, but that would not have been a natural setting in a café. The results reported by Greitemeyer (2009a, 2009b) indicated that music with prosocial lyrics evokes empathy and prosocial thoughts that lead to a positive appraisal of prosocial action – in this case buying organic fair trade coffee. Although an investigation of the underlying processes was beyond the scope of the present study, this seems to be a very promising research of enquiry.
The results found by Jacob et al. (2010) could not be confirmed. Although a sufficient amount of tips were paid under both music conditions, individuals listening to music with prosocial lyrics did not tip higher than did those listening to music with comparably neutral lyrics. There could be three explanations for this result: First, individuals who considered a prosocial action might have found it sufficient to buy an organic fair trade product, thus supporting those who work under poor conditions and contributing to some degree toward saving the environment, rather than giving a server a higher tip. These environmental and social actions can be interpreted as more fitting to the prosocial contents of the songs than giving a tip. Second, the ordering of a fair trade product already served as a moral credential and the effect of the music on the subsequent tipping behavior was reduced. Third, the proportion of the total bill given as a tip by participants in this study under both music conditions is appropriate according to German customary practice, and servers in Germany usually do not depend on the tip to a great extent – unlike the situation in France, as described by Jacob and colleagues (2010).
Songs by many musicians, including Michael Jackson, Bob Geldof, and Bono, are associated with charity projects. These songs could be considered as social and ecological norms and values, especially for children and adolescents. Songs that deal with social topics seem to have an impact on our cognition and behavior and therefore should be examined more extensively. Musicians espousing such messages would be pleased to know that their music has a real – if small – effect on people’s behavior.
Footnotes
Appendix
Songs used during the study.
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| Songs with prosocial lyrics | Songs with neutral lyrics | |
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The Earth Song | Thriller |
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Take Me to Church | Someone New |
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Dear Mr. President | Raise Your Glass |
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Same Love | Thrift Shop |
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Was wir alleine nicht schaffen | Ich kenne nichts |
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Beautiful | Genie in a Bottle |
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Imagine | Stand By Me |
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Heal the World | Dirty Diana |
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Ein Hoch auf uns | Mein Herz schlägt schneller als deins |
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Freedom | Faith |
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Ein bisschen Frieden | Alles nur für dich |
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Blowing in the Wind | Rolling Stone |
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People Help the People | Skinny Love |
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Wir beide | Perfekte Welle |
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Another Brick in the Wall | Wish You Were Here |
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Wind of Change | Still Loving You |
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Where is the Love | My Humps |
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See You Again | Black and Yellow |
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my undergraduate students Blanca Anton, Ines Klaric, and Sana Sehic for convincing the café’s management to provide a suitable location and a server, and for assisting with the observations.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.