Biomedical subjects

David J Hargreaves

Publications and source records attributed to David J Hargreaves.

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↗

PubMed2003

Gender bias in the evaluation of new age music.

Eminent composers in Western European art music continue to be predominantly male and eminence in contemporary pop music is similarly male dominated. One contributing factor may be the continuing under-valuation of women's music. Possible anti-female bias in a contemporary genre was investigated using the Goldberg paradigm to elicit judgments of New Age compositions. Since stronger stereotyping effects occur when information provided about individuals is sparse, fictitious male and female composers were presented either by name only or by name with a brief biography. Evidence for anti-female bias was found in the name-only condition and was stronger when liking for the music was controlled. Other findings were the tendency for females to give higher ratings, and the association of gender differences in liking of the music with ratings of quality in the name-only condition. These results are relevant to the design of formal assessment procedures for musical composition.

Adult↗

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↗