Music is much more than the background melody that accompanies our lives. It can make you feel happy or sad, energized or depressed, motivated or lazy, nostalgic or joyful. But there is also another question to explore in regard to the music you listen to: can it actually increase the probability that you will engage in risk-taking behavior?
In general, music definitely can influence mood and decision-making, although the impact is not as significant as being forced to take action by remote control. Rather, listening to music is like having the wind behind your sail.
The Impact of Music on Emotional State and Behavior
For instance, when preparing for an important event, such as taking an exam or engaging in physical training, many individuals choose fast and energetic music that makes them feel sharper and braver.
Different types of music have diverse influences on your mood and physiological processes. Classical music can make you relax and concentrate; hard rock, on the other hand, can motivate you to fight and conquer. Listening to music can also make changes in your heartbeat, breathing patterns, and muscular activity.
The higher level of excitement, in its turn, can stimulate behavior. While some of those actions can be beneficial – from expressing opinions in a business meeting to mastering new skills and techniques – others could be risky. Some people listen to fast and energizing music before going to parties, driving, gambling, and making hasty decisions in general.
What This Means for Education and Criminal Psychology
The discussed connection between music and behavior also becomes relevant to students of such sciences as psychology and criminology. There is no wonder that many students want to gain more knowledge about the human mind and behavioral choices, including the reasons why people commit crimes and violent acts. If it’s the case you should pay your attention to a list of criminal psychology colleges to compare programs and find the right academic path. The PapersOwl’s blog outlines top universities, explains program differences, and clarifies what you will study along with career paths in the field.
While learning, you will get an idea of how complex human behavior can be: it cannot be explained by just one cause. Instead, many things are involved in the formation of your actions, including music. In addition, studying criminology, you should learn to ask the right questions. What mood did the person have before committing a crime? Who were his or her friends? Was he or she influenced by the music played in a club? Did it increase aggressiveness, self-confidence, excitement, etc.?
It is not easy to analyze the complexity of human behavior, but education gives you an opportunity to go deep into this issue and find answers to complicated questions.
Why and How Certain Types of Music Make You Take Risks
First of all, it should be noted that certain types of music can make individuals engage in risky activities. Style, tempo, volume, lyrics, and even the context of listening to songs influence behavior and motivation.
Tempo and Volume
Fast music is associated with a feeling of rush; for some people, it is like receiving a green light in the brain. In addition, high volume reduces concentration and attention as the brain focuses on sounds and tries to cope with their intensity. As a result, when listening to fast and loud music, people often make more rash decisions: they can be less cautious while driving or behave impulsively.
This does not mean, however, that such music is necessarily bad. For example, fast tempo is quite effective in motivating athletes during training. Fast music is not appropriate in cases when it comes to serious decisions and considerations, such as making plans regarding your future career, financial investments, etc.
Lyrics and Personal Identification
Another factor that impacts people’s behaviors is lyrical content of songs. The fact that a listener feels identified with the protagonist of lyrics and the message that the song sends to listeners increases the possibility of performing actions inspired by music. Music becomes something of a self-reflection and helps you see what you are capable of in terms of bravery, rebellion, and risk-taking.
Such behavior is typical for modern youth, sportsmen, club visitors, and participants of various social media challenges. It is common practice to build an appropriate emotional environment by listening to music before going to a party.
Brain, Reward System, and a Sense of Control
As has been mentioned, risk-taking is always connected to rewards. When you take the risk, you expect to receive some form of pleasure, success, recognition, etc. And music, which can affect reward system, intensifies this feeling. In such a way, the positive outcome seems much brighter, and negative consequence loses relevance.
Let’s imagine that you stand on the side of a pool thinking about whether you can jump into it. While staying silent, you would not have enough courage; listening to your favorite energizing song, on the contrary, gives you strength and motivation.
Therefore, the role of music is rather high, especially in the case of quick and spontaneous decisions: in clubs, casinos, sports grounds, and shopping centers, music helps people become more active, talkative, and self-assured.
However, besides music, there are many other factors that determine whether a particular individual would decide to act rashly. Age, personality, stress, previous experience, social interaction, amount of sleep, and alcohol consumption, in combination with music and other factors, contribute to the development of certain behavior and risk-taking.
Conclusion
So, can the music you listen to make you more likely to take risks? In many cases, yes, but not because music controls your mind. Indeed, there are numerous cases when it did happen, although it was never music that controlled someone’s mind directly. Rather, it was music that altered the psychological state of a person. The effects might be different: for instance, fast rhythms, strong lyrics, and loud sounds made people bolder, happier, or more willing to face challenges; hence, the importance of this topic in relation to the studies at universities and colleges. Students of psychology, criminal psychology, criminology, neuroscience, and media studies usually discuss various aspects of human behavior that are triggered by external factors such as the surrounding environment, emotions, peer pressure, and entertainment. Thus, the analysis of these issues helps students find out that people do not act on impulse, and there are deeper causes for their risky behavior. Nevertheless, despite music’s strong effect on the audience, it does not mean that we are deprived of our will power and freedom of choice.