The effects of heavy metal music on arousal and anger

Despite the controversy surrounding heavy metal music and its effects on listeners 'levels of arousal and anger, a methodologically sound experimental study has not tested this relationship. This study incorporated an experimental design in order to utilize individual differences of subjects as a moderating variable in determining the effect of heavy metal music on listeners' self-reported levels of arousal and anger. It was found that heavy metal music aroused all subjects but that increases in subjects' anger levels were due to an interaction of heavy metal music and the listener's musical preference. Overall, subjects who identified themselves as heavy metal fans did not show higher levels of anger than subjects who were not heavy metal fans. If is suggested that the effects of heavy metal music are mediated by subjects' individual differences and that examination of the effects of heavy metal music should fake individual factors of the listeners into account.