Subliminal messages in music8/23/2023 At least in the case of subliminal messages, students will learn that music does not lead to problematic or harmful behavior 3. This is an engaging example to help students better understand variable manipulation, demand characteristics, and issues of generalizability. Students can be challenged to describe how they would experimentally test the impact of subliminal messages on behavior, followed by a class discussion of how the actual research was conducted in the field (e.g., Vokey and Read, 1985). The claim that a backwards, subliminal message can lead someone to take their own life is an extraordinary claim. This case can lead to an interesting class discussion on how extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Rather than the case being dismissed on account of the clear empirical evidence that subliminal messages could not cause a person to commit suicide (e.g., Vokey and Read, 1985 Egermann et al., 2006 Moore, 2008), the band was found not guilty because the “Do It,” which can be heard backwards, was not intentionally placed in the song. Judas Priest was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing, though for a somewhat surprising reason. In this case, two teenage boys who had spent several hours listening to Judas Priest while drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana went to a local park and attempted suicide with a shotgun. Specifically, when the song is played backwards the phrase “Do It” can be heard 2. The band was charged with planting a subliminal message in the song Better By You, Better Than Me (Moore, 1996 Bushong, 2002). One of the most famous cases of heavy metal being implicated with harm is of Judas Priest. To facilitate scientific thinking, especially in terms of methodological issues, educators can present cases in popular culture and challenge students to determine the validity of the claims made. By discussing the availability heuristic-basing the likelihood of an event on the ease with which it comes to mind-educators can challenge students to consider what evidence they have used to assess the impact of music on behavior (Kahneman et al., 1982). The shocking nature of these crimes are memorable, and as such are easily brought to mind when people think of heavy metal music. Heavy metal music came under intense scrutiny in the 1980's when heavy metal artists, such as Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne, were blamed for adolescent violence and suicide (Martin et al., 1993 Weinstein, 2000) 1. As music has historically been associated with causing harm, people may fall prey to the argumentum ad antiquitatem fallacy and accept the claim of causality between music and harm, without examining any empirical evidence.įurther discussion of fallacies and biases can be grounded in cases where heavy metal has been implicated in graphic and disturbing crimes. Aristotle stated that “…if over a long time (a person) habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form” (Grout, 1988). For over two thousand years, there has been public concern about the impact of certain types of music on behavior. For example, the belief that there is a causal link between music and harm could be discussed in terms of the argumentum ad antiquitatem fallacy, also known as the appeal to traditional (e.g., Vaughn and Schick, 1999). Using the Cialadini approach of creating mystery, educators can frame a discussion around music as a way to introduce a variety of topics related to scientific thinking, such as logical fallacies, issues in research methodology, and biases in thinking. The question, or mystery, can be broadly stated as, “Can music lead people to commit harmful acts?” Specifically, Cialadini argued that instructors should frame a lecture in the same way a mystery writer frames a novel, by posing a puzzle and providing the information for the reader-or in this case, the student-to solve it. Robert Cialdini proposed that creating mystery in the classroom is an effective means to engage students and promote learning (Cialdini, 2005). Helping students think like scientists-that is to apply the rigorous principles of hypothesis testing outside of the classroom-is a challenge (Willingham, 2008). By incorporating examples from the world of heavy metal, educators can discuss scientific thinking in a way that is engaging and memorable for students. From hidden messages in Judas Priest's music to Slayer being accused of inciting murder, heavy metal music has a long history of unique instances that are directly related to psychology. While heavy metal music may not be something typically covered in an introductory psychology textbook, there are many useful resources from this area of popular culture that can help promote scientific thinking in the classroom.
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