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Abstract
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Two experiments examined the effects of sex and violence in rock music videos on viewers' judgments of the appeal of the music and visuals and emotional responses to the videos. The effects of videos with high, moderate, or low visual sex content were compared in Experiment 1. Positive emotions and the appeal of both the music and visuals were found to be positively related to the level of sexual content. In Experiment 2, the effects of videos with high, moderate, and low levels of visual violence content indicated that negative emotional responses and reduced appeal of both the music and the visuals were related to the level of violence. Evidence was obtained from both experiments that the combination of sex and violence also decreased appeal. In addition, music arousal was found to have an effect on appeal. More arousing music was positively related to appeal and positive emotions in sexy videos, but its influence was found to be independent of visual sex. In violent videos, however, music arousal was associated with decreased appeal and negative emotions and appeared to result from the "transfer" of excitation from the arousing music to the violence of the visual content. VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this article by Hansen and Hansen was to examine the effects of different levels of sex and violence in rock music videos on viewers' judgments of the appeal of the music and visuals and emotional responses to the videos. The research was driven by excitation transfer theory.
METHODOLOGY:
An experimental design was used for two different analyses for sex and violence. There were two experiments that tested 7 different hypotheses. H1) As the level of sexual imagery in rock music videos increased, subjects will find both the visual and music content more appealing. H2) As the level of violent imagery increased, subjects will find the visuals and music more appealing. H3) As the level of combined sexual and violent imagery increased, subjects will find the visuals and music less appealing. H4) As the level of sexual imagery increased, the intensity of the complex blend of emotions engendered by sexual imagery will become greater. H5) As the level of violent imagery increased, the intensity of the complex blend of emotions engendered by violent imagery will become greater. H6) Excitation produced by arousing music augments emotional responses to sexual imagery in rock music videos and renders the images and music more appealing. H7) Excitation produced by arousing music augments emotional responses to violent imagery and renders the images and music more appealing. To examine Sex, an experimental design was employed using 170 male and 196 female undergraduates as subjects. Experimental sessions were conducted in mixed-sex groups averaging 10 subjects per session. 15 videos were selected based on the researchers' judgments and a content analysis done by three independent research assistants. Five videos were selected for each of three categories: low, moderate, or high level of visual sex. V groups and exposed to one video, which was shown on a 21 inch color monitor and amplified by two loudspeakers. Each subject was given a questionnaire and told to complete it after the video was over. On the questionnaire, subjects rated the level of visual sex on separate scales ranging from 1 (nonsexual) to 9 (very sexual). They also rated how the video made them feel on 7 scales- happy, angry, sad, fear, anxious, sexual, and aggressive- ranging from 1 (not at all) to 10 (extremely). They also rated the visuals on 20 9 point bipolar scales. A factor analysis was done on the scale items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed. Each subjects ratings were summed and averaged to yield a composite score, and theses scores were used as data in statistical analyses. ANOVA and Bonferroni ts were used. To examine violence, 213 female and 174 male undergraduates participated in an experimental design which was identical to experiment 1 except that the conditions were visual violence instead of visual sex. Factors used to construct the composite measures were extracted using the principal factors method. Visual and music scale items were analyzed separately. Both oblique and orthogonal rotations were performed, revealing highly similar solutions.
FINDINGSDISCUSSION:
High sex translated into increased appeal of both music and visual content (H1). ANCOVA indicated that visual sex had significant effects on visual appeal (p<.003) and music appeal (p<.001). Bonferroni t's indicated that visual content of high-sex videos was rated significantly more appealing than the visual content of either moderate or low-sex videos (p<.01). Likewise, the music of high-sex videos was judged significantly more appealing than the music of either moderate or low-sex videos (p<.01). The regression of visual appeal on visual violence was significant at.001, but the direction was opposite to that predicted in H2. Increasing violence predicted lower music appeal (p<.01), no matter how sexual the video. The combination of sex and violence significantly decreased appeal (H3) (p<.04). The level of sexual imagery significantly influenced ratings on several emotions. Visual sex produced significant main effects on happy (p<.001), sad (p<.001), fearful (p<.02), and sexual (p<.001). High-sex videos produced a significantly stronger blend of positive emotions than did moderate or low-sex emotions. Visual sex produced a significant main effect on music arousal (p<.001). In experiment two, a 3 (visual violence) by 2 (subject gender) ANOVA was done. Visual violence produced significant effects on all seven emotions-p<.001 for happy, p<.001 for angry, p<.02 for sad, p<.001 for fearful, p<.005 for anxious, p<.001 for sexual, and p<.001 for aggressive. The blends of emotions produced by violent videos became more intense as the level of violent imagery increased, with an increasing level causing viewers to feel less happy, more angry, more fearful, more anxious, less sexual, and more aggressive. Visual violence had a significant effect on music arousal (p<.001).
RESULTS of Bonferroni t-tests revealed that the music of high-violence videos was rated significantly more arousing than the music of moderate-violence videos and these videos were significantly more arousing than low-violence videos. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors admitted that sex sells but speculated that the impact of sex on appeal may be curvilinear. The authors also questioned why there is any violence in rock videos at all since violence actually decreased enjoyment. EVALUATION:
Music video has been one of the most dramatic innovations in the packaging and presentation of music. This study addresses both sex and violence in music video and finds, surprisingly, that sex in video increases enjoyment while violence decreases enjoyment. The relationship between violence in video and enjoyment may be conditioned on other variables such as region and economic class/residence that, with a college-aged sample, cannot be successfully controlled for. However, this study does demonstrate the need for more understanding of what the appeal of rock videos is and, in subsequent study, how the videos link to actual behavior. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Program-Film Content
KW - Program-Film Popularity
KW - College Student Research
KW - Media Violence Effects
KW - Adult Perceptions
KW - Music Video
KW - Television Viewing
KW - Television Violence
KW - Sexual Content
KW - Sexually Explicit Content
KW - Sexually Violent Content
KW - Violence Against Women
Language: en |