My Oral Presentation of
Holly Ishikawa's Music and Drivers:
What is your Mood?
Generation 8, Spring 1998
by Amy Hayashida
Table of Contents
I was to summarize and evaluate G8 Holly Ishikawa's report Music and Driver's: What is your mood? When clicking on to her web page for this report, you can see that it generally is a series of reactions to prior generations' postings. This makes it difficult for me to do my report on her, due to the lack of 'content' on her part. I'm gathering from her report, however, that she is trying to come to a consensus on the role of music on driving.
Reactions to postings from other generations
The first posting talks about how Mr. Sasabe got caught for speeding twice, and both times he mentions he was listening to music and therefore didn't realize how fast he was going and seemed to somewhat "lose himself". He also noticed that when he was in the car with no music playing, he was more relaxed and calm.
She comments that this affects the sensorimotor domain because he tends to drive faster than normal. When driving without music, it has an effect on the affective domain because he feels more calm when driving. She does not agree with his comment on driving with no music, because she feels that she 'needs' music to keep her company and to help make the time go by faster.
My reaction is that this is both true and false. This subject is very subjective. I can neither agree nor disagree completely. Music is very powerful. One could say that their mood has an effect on their choice of music just as well as another could say that the music can define their mood.
This relates to the class because there seems to be a correlation between music and cognitive/affective skills of drivers.
Mr. Miyoshi (G7) talked about how rock music makes us more aggressive, and how slow and methodical music makes us better drivers because rock makes our heart rate and adrenaline increase and therefore increases our loss of senses. Also, he finds that he is in almost meditative state when driving in the car with no music on. He also comments that not just music, but listening to something against your values or touchy topics increase aggressive driving, as well, on the road.
She agrees with him that radio programs with touchy topics can inclinate someone to become more aggressive, because those tend to make her agitated also.
My reaction: Sure, rock music can increase your heart rate and adrenaline and slow methodical music can have a calming effect. But it does not MAKE us better or worse drivers. I'd have to disagree. I don't think that music has that powerful effect, as mentioned earlier, on people. Ideas like that could lead to other claims such as "the song 'made' me do it" so that people can use something as a scapegoat making it easier for them not to accept responsibility for their own actions/behaviors.
This relates to the class because it discusses how "aggressive" music [rock] may affect sensorimotor skills in driving.
Mr. Shintani (G7) posts that music has an effect on that way a person drives. When he wants to drive fast, he plays a CD with a powerful and fast beat (i.e. Top Gun). And when he wants to relax, he puts in a mellow CD (i.e. Kalapana). He firmly believes that some music causes bad driving behavior in people. People are more aggressive when listening to heavy metal than classical. Proven studies in malls say that classical music decreases violence in malls. He also says that he stays away from certain sections of communities that cause a lot of crimes.
She says that she believes some music causes bad driving because when more classical music is played in malls, it decreases the amount of violence. She agrees that music affects cognitive, affective, and sensorimotor domain because when rap music is playing (because her boyfriend forces her to listen) she gets more agitated and aggressive while driving . She also notices that she tends to become more anxious, tailgate more, and have increased cussing.
My reaction: Again, I don't think music is the cause. Shintani's comment on sting away from communities with lots of crime is irrelevant. He is saying initially when he wants to drive a certain way, he puts in a certain CD, and then says after that music causes bad driving. I love all kinds of music-as long as its good (my definition of good) It makes me happy to hear good music. I disagree on the rap music part, not all rap music makes you swear. Does "Getting Jiggy With It" make anyone swear or anyone aggressive? I think that some agitation, anxiety and cussing may be due to listening to something you don't like (or because of her boyfriend).
This relates to the class because it brings up underlying issues of moods due to music choices
Web visitor Brian Hammerman comments on that he is in a History of Rock and Roll Class talking about how we listen to music, and its affective, cognitive, psycho-motor, and transpersonal effects. Loudness and beat play the biggest part because direct affect on our heart. Younger people like loud beating music because it increases out blood pressure, yet in older people it is considered an no-no.
She agrees that different types of music affects people differently. It affects out affective domain, and increases heart rate.
My reaction is that these are good comments but it doesn't really go into detail on how music and driving relate in this class.
Kristen Everet's (G7) posting comments that if all the other above information is correct, then she should be an aggressive, speeding maniac because she likes to play fast paced, loud, and singable music in her car. NOT TRUE! She says that she is usually the one who is being passed not passing. But she can see how slow and sappy music can make her sleepy.
She agrees with Kristin that perhaps our behavior could also depend on whether or not we actually like/dislike the music, NOT the type. For example, someone who really likes rap could get agitated listening to classical music because...he doesn't like it!
My reaction is: EXACTLY!! I'm glad the point was brought up. I really agree with this point. Music has an effect on how we feel or our moods and vice versa, which may directly/indirectly have an effect on how we drive.
Tami Hashimoto's post (G7) makes a comment on how when driving in traffic is more tolerable when listening to music. She is able to deal with unsafe drivers and is less anxious and frustrated. She says it is an awesome way to relax when driving.
She agrees with this, it has a positive affect on our affective domain, music is like a companion and keeps her company helping the time go by faster.
My reaction is that this is a good comment on traffic. Could music, in a way, distract you from otherwise bothersome situations while driving (i.e. traffic)? I think so.
The topic relates to this class because of how music here can effect our ability to cope with things when driving.
Chris Burlem (G7) finds that turning off the radio actually relaxes him when in an irritable mood to begin with. It helps him concentrate on the road what is going on.
She doesn't know how to comment because she never tried driving without music, but the way we respond to music depends on our mood at that moment.
I know how it is to drive without any music because my stereo was broken from September to January, and it was awful. Sure I got to concentrate on the road a little more but I found myself more agitated and irritable, nit-picking on how other people drive, jealous when I hear other people's stereos playing, especially when I hear a good song. Reflection time is good, however, I could do my reflections at other times, everyone has to drive. Why not make it more enjoyable?
This relates to the class because it's not just music/ no music but our own preferences that can affect our behavior when driving.
Wilfred Lee (G7) comments that you can't really drive fast to classical music and that babies who listen to classical music while in the womb become calmer children. Also he's a townie and lives five minutes away from school, while his friend lives in Pearl City takes a long time to get to school by 8 a.m. has accepted the commute as part of his life. To help alleviate his Road Rage, he made his friend a tape of favorite songs because his theory that while listening to favorite songs he won't notice traffic as much and time goes by more quickly. Singing make time go by faster, and it take the mind off the road. Could this be a solution for commuters to school?
She says that music can be a rein forcer to feelings while driving.
My reaction is that sometimes that is true, however, I don't think symphony musicians are excluded from driving fast. If they really are into the music it could exhilarate them to the point like how rock affect others. His comment on babies are good because everything we absorb from growing up even as a baby has an effect on how we live our life, how to deal with things and our behavior in driving.
This totally relates to the class, like Dr. James' question on the first day of class, "When do we start learning to drive?" When we are just babies.
In conclusion she says there is a general agreement that music can affect the way a person drives, and that certain music such as rap or loud fast-paced music affects ones affective domain because it increases heart rate and adrenaline, and thus affecting the person's driving behavior. She also says that she likes to listen to music because it makes her feel less lonely and that there are certain types of music that she doesn't listen to because she doesn't like them. Music also makes the time go by faster, and to calm herself in traffic, she listens to symphony music her dad does.
I don't think that she quite gets the fact that everyone has their own preferences, no matter what sex or age. We know what we like and don't like, especially music. These can have an affect on our moods then affecting our driving behavior. A good point she made was how she listens to symphony music to calm herself down, just like her father did. This is because you learn to deal with certain things in a certain way from a very young age.
Inkyung Yang:
I don't think music is the cause of bad driving, but it seems that it affects your mood and thereby affecting your driving. What is your reaction?
I agree with this statement. It also would be logical to say that music cannot be the cause of good driving as well.
If music helps our mind off the road and stops us to think about the negative situations on the road, is it possible that we may become less tentative to the traffic when driving?
Yes, of course. I believe that each individual has the power to control how much attention is to be allotted to certain things. If someone allows themselves to be so enthralled in the music that they are listening to, they surely will be less tentative to the traffic when driving.
Tomoko Seino:
So, you don't think that music help feed a person to act in one way or another. Like you said, by listening to (I think you were thinking of Manson's music) aggressive music won't make one to act in murder: (like the Columbine shooting) If not, where does the motivation come from? Is it a single motivation or different reasons?
When we talk about music feeding into someone acting a certain way, I'm saying that we, generally speaking have the ability to control our behaviors, by knowing what is right and wrong. The people involved in murders like the Columbine incident, for example, are in fact a trace percentage of the general population that listen to the same music you may be listening to. Now knowing that you've heard the same music, could you actually see yourself as committing those same heinous crimes simply because of those lyrics and beats you heard? I don't believe that I am in any place to come to a conclusion on what drives these people to do the things they do.
If music can have a positive effect on a person, couldn't it be the other way around as well?
I don't think that we can have a positive effect on music. I'm not sure on how to answer this.
Isabel Chang:
Does the type of music one likes to listen to show the emotional intelligence of that person?
No. I do not believe that to be true. This for the most part tends to be a stereotype. Maybe realizing that fact that one can channel their anger by listening to music instead of having road rage shows some emotional intelligence.
Do you think listening to music is a good way to direct one's road rage tendency while driving?
I believe it is an excellent way to direct one's road rage if it works for you. You don't need to throw fuel on the fire. If it doesn't work for you, try the opposite and sit in silence.
James Yang:
Do you think music effects our motor sensory capabilities when we drive?
Yes, in both positive and negative ways. Like I said earlier, this topic is very subjective and it really boils down to individual preferences.
What are the Pros and Cons of listening to music while driving?
Pros: Better mood, time flies by, singing along makes people happy, able to tolerate more, peace of mind, not freaked out by the strange noises that are coming from your car.
Cons: Worse mood, time flies by, people singing poorly makes people more irate, able to tolerate less, no peace of mind, can't hear the strange noises that are coming from your car, not paying attention to other cars.
Dr. James
Does the driver have the right to choose the music? The passenger? What is the difference?
I do believe that the driver has every right to choose the type of music that is played in the car, after all, he/she is the person that is in sole control of the vehicle. If something like music is helping or distracting in the driver's performance, then it should be up to the driver to decide whether or not to keep the music selection. The passenger should only have the right to choose the music when the driver is indifferent on deciding. The difference is that the safety of the ride does not depend on the passenger, but on the performance of the driver.
Can this be resolved by research? How?
I think that this could possibly be designed by research. It would be difficult, though, to design such a study without bias because if people know they are being watched/observed, they will tend to drive better/or different than usual under similar circumstances.
Robby Solmssen
Do you agree that slow music may raise someone's heart rate?
Yes, I believe that slow music may raise someone's heart rate. Slow music can stir up emotions/feelings in someone thus raising their heart rate.
Do you think that those children who listen to heavy metal and killed others have other deeper problems-unrelated to music. Example: maybe violent parents?
YES, YES, YES!!! Perhaps neglect, inability to deal with reality, dull senses, lack of empathy, dropped on head when baby, plain old mental deficits!
This topic is very interesting. It is amazing how different people can be in their feeling regarding music and driving. That fact makes it very difficult for us regulate who listens to music, what kind of music, and how loud we play music in our automobiles. I would like to just say that both excessive and too little of anything is not good. There always should be a happy medium.
