Structure of Your Final Research and Reflection Essay
Part I: Introduction
In your introduction, briefly describe the songs and the theories and/or concepts you will explore in your essay – how you think these songs influence your thoughts and behaviors. Here’s an example of an adequate Introduction and Thesis:
Have you ever heard of the terms “music heals the soul, or “music makes the world go around”? These statements can be considered highly accurate due to what the creative frequencies can do to your mind and body. It can alter your thoughts and behavior in either a positive or negative way. These three songs, “Love Yourz” by J. Cole, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, and “Self-Care” by Mac Miller all affected me in a positive way, altering my behavior and thoughts for the better. In this paper, I will analyze lyrics from these songs with three separate psychological theories which include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, and lastly, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Part II: Stories and Lyrics
Find and think about the lyrics of your identified song. Complete the following steps:
Quote 4-8 lines from the song that resonate with you the most. Please don’t quote the entire song or verse; 4-8 lines is sufficient.
Briefly explain the event, phenomenon, or reasoning behind the importance of these song lyrics.
Things to think about when you’re writing: When do or did you listen to this song? How often do or did you listen to this song? In what ways did it influence your behavior or thoughts? What was it about this particular song that caused it to resonate with you?
Repeat these steps twice more for the same song or another song, or another song that holds importance for you. At the end of Part II of this exercise, you should have three sets of lyrics and a brief story for each set of lyrics that explains why these lyrics are important to you. Each of the stories you tell should be 250-300 words in length (at least a page, double spaced). Please adhere to APA formatting guidelines for citations and references.
If you need an example of what one set of lyrics and an accompanying story looks like, use the story above about Eric B. and Rakim. You do not need to include a video of the songs in your paper. Again, for Part II of your essay, you should have three sets of lyrics and a story for each set that describes how the lyrics/song impacts your thoughts, behaviors, and/or emotions.
PART III: Analysis
Now that you’ve written your stories about how music impacts your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, it’s time to analyze your experiences. In this section, you’ll use at least three recommended theoretical perspectives below to analyze how your music affects your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. For example, you could choose to base your analysis on Operant Conditioning, Kohlberg’s Moral Development, and Information-Processing Theory. To be clear, you may choose three of any of the following smaller theories under the following headings of Learning, Psychosocial Development, Cognitive Development, and Memory.
Learning
We can learn a lot about ourselves by exploring how music influences our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. If we think hard enough, we can analyze how we learn to associate certain stimuli with certain responses.
Classical Conditioning: As humans, we learn all sorts of things about ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes we intentionally set out to make new associations. We might play a certain type of music to ready ourselves to exercise, for example. Other time we create new associations unintentionally. Using the story above as an example, my body initiated the fight or flight mode (because it’s accustomed to that response) at the same time each day, even when there is no real threat or vigorous exercise. How are you classically conditioned through music? Think about the role that music plays in the intentional and unintentional associations you create. If you choose classical conditioning, be sure to identify the unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and conditioned response in your explanation.
Operant Conditioning: In terms of operant conditioning, how has the music shaped your behavior? If you choose operant conditioning, be sure to identify and describe the behavior(s) that were shaped, the positive/negative reinforcement, punishment, reinforcers, and reinforcement schedule in your explanation.
Observational Learning: What observations in or through the music led to vicarious learning? Be sure to include vicarious learning, vicarious punishment, pro-social effects, and anti-social effects in your explanation.
Psychosocial Development
Music is one of the most readily available expressions of one’s psychosocial development. More specifically, our identity (who we are) and our morals (what we stand for, how we decide right from wrong) is often expressed through interactions with music.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Development: In terms of Erikson’s theory, how did the song impact your psychosocial development? Did it help you move from one stage to the next? What were those stages? What was the crisis that initiated the development? How did you resolve the crisis? Perhaps the music shaped your identity in some way? If so, explain how. Be sure to identify the stage(s), crisis, and resolution in your explanation.
Kohlberg’s Moral Development: In terms of Kohlberg’s theory, how did the song/lyrics influence your moral development? How did it help you move from one stage to the next? What was it about the song and the experience that initiated your self-awareness and changed how you perceive right from wrong? Be sure to identify the stages you moved from and to, describe the crisis or dilemma, and explain how you resolved the dilemma.
Cognitive Development
Our interactions with music can also tell us about how we think about what we think (our cognition). More specifically, music can help us build schemas to help us make sense of new or difficult information, situations, phenomena, or events.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: How did the song/lyrics support what you are able to think and understand? How did they help you move from one stage to the next? What was it about the song/lyrics and the experience that helped you resolve the cognitive disequilibrium you experienced? Be sure to identify the stages you moved from and to, describe the disequilibrium (what didn’t make sense to you?), and whether you used assimilation or accommodation (how do you know?) to resolve the issue.
Memory
Music and memory have an organic relationship in the human experience. In order to make memories we have to process information. How we process information determines where we store the information. In many cases, we often associate music with the memory of a special moment or person.
Information-processing theory: In terms of the information-processing theories we use to understand how memories are made, how did that song/lyrics become associated with that memory? Why do you think this memory and song is stored in your long-term memory rather than your short-term memory? Be sure to identify the processes (ie., working memory, long-term memory, maintenance rehearsal or elaborative rehearsal) involved in creating the memory with the song/lyrics. Also explain whether the memory/song is connected to a skill (procedural memory), a story (episodic memory), an emotion (flashbulb memory), or a combination of these different types of memories.
PART IV: Reflection
You’ve spent quite a bit of time and energy thinking about how music influences our thoughts and behaviors. Hopefully you’ve learned something new about yourself and how you learn, process information, respond to internal and external stimuli, develop morals, and/or build schemas. Some people can find this type of work challenging. But keep in mind that increasing self-awareness requires courage and honest. Your efforts are appreciated.
In this section, take a moment to reflect on your experience delving deeper into the ways music influences your thoughts and behaviors. What do you think you’ve learned about yourself? How do you think this new level of self-awareness will influence the ways you interact with and think about music and/or other people?
Be sure to include 2-3 key terms and concepts from the perspectives mentioned above in bold to support and help you articulate your ideas. (Examples include: unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned response, positive/negative reinforcement, punishment, reinforcers, reinforcement schedule, shaping, vicarious learning, vicarious punishment, prosocial effects, anti-social effects, stage(s), crisis, resolution, disequilibrium, assimilation or accommodation, procedural memory, episodic memory, flashbulb memory).
PART V: References Page
Don’t forget to cite your sources, following the format in APA Citation Help, the format given in the assignment for your OpenStax text, or the following for your songs:
Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album [Album]. Record label.
Here is an example:
Dacus, L. (2018). Night shift [Song]. On Historian [Album]. Matador Records.