![Picture](/uploads/1/7/6/0/17604417/5486578.jpg?122)
Recently I heard about an idea that our personalities and our actions can be influenced by the type of music that we listen to. We as humans listen to music for a large array of reasons; music is used to achieve optimal levels of attention, it is listened to to stimulate our intellectual curiosity and to manipulate our own emotions. A study was performed at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland that specifically looked at music and consumer behaviour, music and deviant behaviour and musical preference in everyday life. The study done by Professor Adrian North tested certain types of people; good and bad people to see what genre of music they preferred to listen to. They came to a conclusion that:
-Indie fans have a low self-esteem and are not very hard working, but are creative
-Heavy metal fans are very creative and very at ease with themselves, but not very outgoing or hard working
-Rap fans have a high self-esteem and are very outgoing
-Country western fans are very hard working and outgoing
-Dance fans are creative and outgoing, but not very kind or generous
-Rock-n-roll fans have a high self-esteem are creative, hard working and at ease with themselves, but are not very kind or generous
-Classical music lovers have a high self-esteem and are creative and at ease with themselves, but are not outgoing
As you can see, music can positively influence a person depending on what genre it is, if your listening to classical, country or rap you are said to be kind and outgoing, making you more of a good person. Although, if you are lisening to indie, heavy metal, dance or rock-n-roll you are not necessarily a kind or hard working person, making you a little more evil. Music does impact your personality but it is not the only factor to take into account.
Even more recently than the last I read about a study done showing that toddlers will become more agressive children and adults if they are watching shows that display violent acts or too much action. This study released by the Journal Pediatrics on February, 18, 2013 goes against an old study that informed parents to not allow their children to watch t.v at all; instead this new study tells parents to just change the channel. The study was performed on a number of children ages 2-4, part of them were allowed to watch which ever shows they wanted to on t.v, and the others were only able to watch more educational shows such as Dora or the Octonaughts. Over the period of time that the study took place the children who were able to watch action filled shows like Scooby Doo presented an agressive behaviour toward the other children around them, whereas the children watching the educational shows wanted to be more helpful and they displayed a decreased level of aggression. Therefore, when we are young we can be greatly influenced by the shows we are allowed to watch, if we watch shows that encourage love, sharing and compassion we will grow up living more by those morals, but children who are permitted to watch violent, unethical programs will live around those morals. Television can influence wether we as humans become good, or evil.
Lastly, I believe that one of the greatest influences on us as to wether we will be good or evil is our family. What is it like at your home? Is it quiet, organised, is there always family dinners and planned game nights? Or is it loud, is there arguing, swearing, aggressiveness? Depending on how you are raised can determine if you'll grow up to lean more toward your good or evil trait. Have you seen the movie Thor, if so think about Loki for a second. Loki is a great example of a childhood gone completely wrong. In their household there was always competing, competing for the throne, both children were not looked at as equal, Thor was always better than Loki at everything and he was praised for it. I feel like growing up in a household that does not praise everybody equally, by growing up where nothing that you ever accomplished was good enough could traumatize somebody. It is proven that children who are spanked for doing wrong will in most cases grow up to be aggressive. Therefore, if you are raised to a standard that does not show appreciation, love and proper punishment, if a child goes through a traumatic event they will grow up according to their evil personality.
There is a little good and evil in all of us to start, depending on how your influenced as a young human-being will determine which trait flourishes and which gets put on the back burner.
Works Cited:
LOUIS, CATHERINE. "Certain Television Fare Can Help Ease Aggression in Young Children, Study Finds." 2013. Web. 21 Feb 2013.
Hw.ac.uk. "Down with the muzak | About Heriot-Watt | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh." n.d.. Web. 21 Feb 2013.
Psychologytoday.com. "The Psychology of Musical Preferences." 2011. Web. 21 Feb 2013.