Santrock claims that most adolescents are not concerned with song lyrics, but he does not site a study to back up his statement. I know many adolescents who care deeply about what song lyrics are saying, who analyse them and even write e-mail reports. Therefore, I challenge his notion. Since I have naturalistic observation to support my claim, and Santrock has his Ph.D., it is his word against mine.

The text points out how everyone wants to point the finger at song lyrics. Parents cry out that rock 'n roll corrupts their poor, innocent children. Music lyrics bring up several issues, ones pertaining to deviant behaviour, sexism, and depression. When dealing with the psychological impact of music on adolescents, there are many cans of worms. I will just open one; I will only focus on how song lyrics affect the moods o

Some people believe that pop music drives adolescents to suicides and parasuicides. Santrock mentions cases where parents claimed that the music of Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne influenced their adolescent's suicide. Santrock sites a research team, Ballard and Coates, who told the press that research has not supported these parents' conclusions. There is, however, validity to what they are saying, for two reasons: often the lyrics of the previously mentioned musicians are self-degrading, and they encourage learned helplessness.

Adolescents report lifted spirits upon listening to music they enjoy. One experiment studied 483 individuals who were age nine through twenty-five. For one week, researchers paged their subjects at random times in the day. Adolescents would call them and report what they were doing and how they were feeling. They reported their affect, level of arousal, and psychological involvement in these activities. Subjects who listened to soft rock with friends felt more intimate with them. Even at times when they were feeling upset, the music had a positive influence. Not only was soft rock experienced positively, but so were hard rock, heavy metal, and pop music. Negative experiences associated with music had to do with rock and heavy metal, when subjects played their music around family members, (Thompson).

Comer, Ronald J. Mood Disorders. Abnormal Psychology, 8, 255 -

across the lifespan. Depression, 3, 81-90.

Ballard, M. E., & Coates, S. The immediate effects of homicidal,

Some lyrics are self-degrading. For instance, a line from a popular mid-1990's song says, "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me", (Beck). Many times, adolescents listen to songs like this one when they are feeling down. Misery loves company. The problem is that they are hearing and even singing lyrics that speak negatively of themselves. A team of psychologists conducted a study where subjects had to read negative automatic thought-like statements that spoke negatively of themselves. Though the participants did not show signs of depression before the experime

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)