Music preferences and empathy: Toward predicting prosocial behavior.

Empathy is important in adolescent development, affecting social development, and buffering against antisocial behaviors. Many studies have investigated the relationship between empathy and behaviors. Additionally, the influence of music is considered relevant to adolescent development, and the predictive utility of music preferences is an emerging interest. The influence of music on adolescent development is the focus of this study, looking at sex differences in music preferences and empathy and the potential for music preferences to predict empathy (as a correlate to behaviors). Using the Short Test of Music Preferences and the Basic Empathy Scale as measures, we found that Music Preference Factors (MPF) contributed uniquely to empathy variance, that female and male adolescents differed significantly on music preferences and empathy, and that certain music preferences are predictive of empathy, especially for male adolescents. Sex differences in music preferences and empathy are consequently suggested to be influenced by sociocultural and developmental factors. Furthermore, music preferences had a greater influence on cognitive empathy, and it may be that the greater influence on cognitive empathy that specific music preferences (i.e., MPF-1 and MPF-2) had compared with others (i.e., MPF-3 and MPF-4), can be explained by the lyrical content of specific genres. Limitations and applications of these findings are discussed.Keywords: adolescents, music preferences, empathy, predictive, lyricsProsocial behavior was once called altruism. Until Wispe (1972) coined the term prosocial as an antonym for giving the rationale that if violence and aggression were antisocial, then their opposites could sensibly be seen as (Hay, 1994). Prosocial behaviors are thought to decline during early adolescence (Scourfield, John, Martin, & McGuffin, 2004), when children learn how to balance self-interests against their imperatives (Hay, 1994). They are thought to increase during later adolescence with the maturation of empathic concern (Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998; Nantel-Vivier et al., 2009).Music Preferences as a Possible Influence on Adolescent Prosocial BehaviorMusic is an omnipresent phenomenon of human society (Mc- Dermott & Hauser, 2005; Sloboda & O'Neill, 2001). Today, music can be heard almost everywhere humans go, accompanying film, TV (Webster, Crown, Quatman, & Heesacker, 1997), sporting events (Sloboda & O'Neill, 2001), department-store shopping, and travel. It sells products, it assists meditation, and exercise estab- lishments use it to relax and/or to invigorate clients (Rentfrow, Goldberg, & Levitin, 2011).Adolescents use music for a variety of purposes. Background music, as highlighted above, and intentional music-listening com- prise more than a quarter of the waking hours of most Western adolescents (Huron, 2001; Levitin, 2006; Mc-Cormick, 2009; Rentfrow et al., 2011; Roberts, Henriksen, & Foehr, 2004). Bil- lions of dollars are spent annually on the production and purchase of music for, and by, youth (Geter & Streisand, 1995).Apart from eating and sleeping, consuming music outstrips all other activities undertaken by adolescents (including schooling), thus securing a matchless opportunity for influence (Ross, 1994). Adolescents' personality, identity, and social development are all influenced by music (Bjurstrom & Wennhal, 1991; Burke & Grinder, 1966; Davis, 1983; North, Hargreaves, & O'Neill, 2000; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003). Music can evoke powerful emotional responses (Juslin & Sloboda, 2001) and influence emotional reg- ulation and coping (Juslin & Laukka, 2003). To understand ado- lescents we must understand their music (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003).The Adaptive Role Music May Play in AdolescenceDevelopmental studies concerning an influential role of music in adolescence are rare (Miranda & Claes, 2008). …