The question I am researching is, does music have an influence on behavior.

Some scientists say that lyrics and beats could have an influence on how people
behave. If this is true that means people that listen to violent music lyrics could be more
aggressive​.

1.
Council on Communications. “Impact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos
on Children and Youth.” ​American Academy of Pediatrics​, American Academy of
Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2009.
My first source is the Academy of American Pediatrics. In their article ​“Impact of
Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth” they talk about how
people that listen to certain types of music feel and show different behaviors, for
example, “​Fans of heavy metal and rap music showed a greater tendency to engage in
reckless behavior than their peers who were not fans of those types of music.(Council of
Communications, 2009)”. They say this to give an example of the point they want to
make. This says that the people that listened to heavy metal and rap were more likely to
show reckless behaviors and emotions. People who don’t listen to this type of music
showed less of these emotions and behaviors.
This source represents the people that believe that music can influence behavior.
This source fits into the debate by doing actual research and having people conduct real
experiments and tests to determine if this is a real issue. They are able to make an
appeal to ethos by being a credible source. They also can appeal to logos by the facts
they use from their arguments. Their intended audience is people that listen to music or
parents that let their kids listen to music. This source is credible to the audience. They
were able to back their arguments with facts from tests that have been run. This makes
it hard to disagree with what they are saying.

2.
Monitor on Psychology,​ American Psychological Association,

My second source is The American Psychological Association. In their article it talks

about how a study done by researchers from Iowa State University and The Department
of Human Services found that listening to aggressive music lyrics leads to aggressive
thoughts and behaviors. The study they did was they had people listen to songs that
had more aggressive lyrics and songs that didn’t. After the researchers had the people
that listen to the songs do word association tests to see if there was a difference. “The
results indicate a relationship between violent song lyrics and increased aggressive
thoughts and feelings of hostility. Humorous violent songs also increased aggression
levels, relative to humorous nonviolent songs, according to Anderson. The findings held
even after the researchers controlled for the listeners' gender and personality
differences, as well as their reactions to the different performing artists and musical
styles. ( APA, 2003). '' The results of this study prove that there is a relationship
between music lyrics and behavior.
This source is very credible, they were able to use facts in their article backed up
by a study that was done. This fits into the debate by giving information about a study
that proved music does have an impact They say that music does have an affect on
behavior. Important rhetorical aspects to consider are ethos and logos. This source
appeals to both. They use facts and they are a credible source. The audience is
teenagers that listen to music with aggressive lyrics. I agree with them, they are able to
back their argument up with facts.

3.
Amy Morin ​“Can Music Be a Bad Influence on Kids & Teens?”
LIVESTRONG.COM​, Leaf Group,

This article talks about how different types of music lyrics can have different
effects on teenagers. The article says how the average teenager listens to 2 and a half
hours of music a day and if this music has damaging lyrics it could potentially be
dangerous. Morrin quotes an article by The​ American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry. ​It says “​If a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has
seriously destructive themes, and there are changes in behavior such as isolation,
depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, evaluation by a qualified mental health
professional should be considered. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry)”. This shows that if aggressive music is played it can cause changes in
behavior that could be damaging.
 I think that this source is credible. The author is a psychologist and uses facts to
back up her argument. Her side is that music has an affect on behavior and damaging
music is listened to, it can lead to problems. She fits into the debate by having her own
kids and being a psychologist. Morin is able to appeal to logos and ethos. She is a
credible source and has facts from a reliable source. Her audience is parents with
teenagers and teenagers. She is credible by having her own kids and being a
psychologist herself. She uses facts which makes her argument hard to disprove.

4.
“Does Music Affect Our Behavior?” ​Renderforest​, 1 Oct. 2018,

This article talks about studies that were done to college students. They had the
students take a test, students were split into three groups. They had first group listened
to music from Mozart, one group listened to relaxing music and the last group took the
test in silence. Their results showed that the students listening to music got better
scores. They also did a study of people about to have surgery, some listened to music
and others got a anti-anxiety pill. “Later they asked the patients to describe their anxiety
levels and found out that those who listened to music were less nervous than those who
were given drugs.” this shows that listening to good music can have a good impact on
people and can help people to relax.

This source is on the side that music does have an affect on behavior and if you
use it the right way it can be used to help people. This source fits into the debate by
providing the viewpoint that music can be used to help people. Rhetorical aspects to
consider are the appeal to logos and ethos. They can appeal to both of them by using
facts and being a credible source. Their audience is teenagers or parents with
teenagers. This source is credible. They were able to back up their argument with facts
from studies that had been done. Since they used facts they are credible to all
audiences.

In conclusion these articles have led me to believe that music does have an
influence on behavior. All of these articles gave recent studies that all have results that
music does have an influence on behavior. This helps the point that says aggressive
music leads to aggressive behavior. Using all of these leads me to the conclusion that
people need to be careful of what type of music they are listening to, and they also need
to be aware of the consequences that can come from listening to harmful music.