Naughty Versus Nice: Suggestive Pop Music Influences on Perceptions of Potential Romantic Partners

Abstract

This study investigated the effect mainstream music featuring sexually suggestive lyrics may have on judgments of potential romantic partners. Respondents listened to either sexually provocative or innocuous music. Thereafter, respondents were presented with online personal advertisements featuring ambiguously described target individuals. Respondents rated each individual first on a series of personality and sexual appeal characteristics and later on overall attraction. Results indicated that sexually provocative lyrics acted as a prime, in that respondents who listened to sexually charged music evaluated the target individuals with a heavier emphasis on sexual appeal, in comparison to respondents listening to nonsexual songs. Implications regarding comprehension of lyrics, song familiarity, and Internet chat room behaviors are discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The reported research was supported by a scholarship of the Capstone International Studies Program from the University of Alabama.

Notes

^a N = 60.

*p < .05.

**p = .01, one-tailed Hotelling's t test for nonnested correlations.