Violent Music
2
A Longitudinal Study Examining The Priming Effects of Music on Driving Anger, State
Anger, and Negative-Valence Thoughts
Angry drivers pose a threat to anyone who travels on the roadways. Driving anger
persists and is widely recognized within the literature (e.g., Dukes, Clayton, Jenkins,
Miller, & Rodgers, 2001; James, 1997). Often times this anger primes aggressive
thoughts, scripts, and associated expressive motor behaviors (Anderson & Bushman,
1998) plausibly leading to aggressive acts (e.g., Anderson & Bushman, 1998; Berkowitz,
1993). Such an aversive emotion is further problematic for individuals operating a
motorized vehicle. Incidentally, Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch, Oetting, and Salvatore
(2000) found that when individuals are angered while driving, their abilities to process
information along with their perceptions, attention, and motor performances might be
negatively affected. This subsequently increases one’s likelihood to engage in aggressive
related behaviors.
The focus of this paper is on driving anger. More specifically, this paper
addresses the priming effects that music has on individuals. Music aids in the
constructions of youth culture (Atkin, Smith, Roberto, Fediuk, & Wagner, 2002) and a
controversy continues over the degree to which music influences listeners (Atkin and
Abelman, 1999). Much research has explored the consequences of violent music video
viewing (e.g., Greeson & Williams, 1986), but less is known about audio-only music
effects, particularly with regards to driving. One certainty is the amount of violence
existing in music. Abelman and Atkin (1999) assert that different studies estimate that
violent and sexual content are present in between twenty and seventy percent of heavy
metal or rap songs. Do certain music genres mediate varying degrees of anger within
Convention