Biomedical subjects

Adrian C North

Publications and source records attributed to Adrian C North.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Problem music and self-harming.

Academics and protest groups have claimed that "problem music" (hard rock, hip hop/rap, & punk) causes self-injurious thoughts/behaviors among fans. In this study we investigated whether the relationship is mediated by self-esteem, delinquency, and conservatism; and whether first exposure to problem music preceded self-injurious thoughts. A liking for problem music was associated with four of the five self-injurious measures, although these significant relationships were weakened (into nonsignificance in the case of two self-injurious measures) when the mediating variables were included. Listening to problem music did not precede self-injurious thoughts. Problem music is associated with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, but this relationship is mediated by other factors and the former does not seem to cause the latter.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Brief report: Labelling effects on the perceived deleterious consequences of pop music listening.

Several correlational studies have supported the claim of conservative protestors that there exists a positive relationship between listening to pop music and adolescent problem behaviours. However, research on the so-called 'prestige effects' has shown that experimental participants' responses to music can be mediated by manipulations of prior information concerning that music. This study investigated whether perceptions of deleterious effects of pop songs on listeners may be attributable to prior labelling of those stimuli as 'problem music'. Eighty undergraduates were played songs that they were told were either suicide-inducing or life-affirming. Subsequent ratings of the songs indicated that those presented as 'suicide-inducing' were perceived as such, whereas presentation of the same songs in a 'life-affirming' frame led to the perception of them as such. These findings indicate that censorship and the subsequent labelling of certain songs as 'problematic' might itself cause these songs to have deleterious effects on listeners.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Distinguishing heroes from celebrities.

Although numerous studies have concerned both 'greatness' and 'celebrity worship,' little previous research has overtly investigated the psychological bases for distinguishing 'heroes' from 'celebrities'. Study 1 indicated that, in response to 13 attitudinal measures, participants' responses to heroes could be summarized in terms of emotional attachment, drive for affiliation, and ordinariness, whereas the corresponding factors for celebrities were drive for affiliation, disdain, and ordinariness. Study 2 investigated how certain individuals might come to be perceived as producing 'great' outputs. Using a vignette, manipulations of 'dead versus alive,' and 'good conduct versus bad conduct' mediated perceptions of the emotional significance of a pop song. The results are used to generate some tentative theoretical explanations for the differences between heroism and celebrity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Age variations in judgments of 'great' art works.

This paper reports the results of two large-scale surveys concerning nominations of 'greatness' in the arts. In Study 1, 1088 respondents to a national newspaper survey nominated the greatest art works of the past 1000 years. Analyses indicated that there was some, albeit limited, evidence that older respondents nominated older art works, but no evidence of a tendency to nominate works produced during the participants' adolescence/early adulthood. In Study 2, a very brief questionnaire distributed through a CD retail chain, a national newspaper, and a national TV station asked 12,502 participants to nominate up to three of the greatest pop musicians of all time. Analyses indicated a tendency to nominate musicians who were successful while the participants themselves were in adolescence/early adulthood. These results are discussed in terms of the extent to which age can explain judgments of artistic 'greatness' within different art forms.

Adolescent↗