Data from: Implicit violent imagery processing among fans and non-fans of violent music

It is suggested that long-term exposure to violent media may decrease
sensitivity to depictions of violence. However, it is unknown whether
persistent exposure to music with violent themes affects implicit violent
imagery processing. Using a binocular rivalry paradigm, we investigated
whether the presence of violent music influences conscious awareness of
violent imagery among fans and non-fans of such music. Thirty-two fans and
48 non-fans participated in the study. Violent and neutral pictures were
simultaneously presented one to each eye, and participants indicated which
picture they perceived (i.e. violent percept, neutral percept, or blend of
two) via key presses, while they heard Western popular music with lyrics
that expressed happiness or Western extreme-metal music with lyrics that
expressed violence. We found both fans and non-fans of violent music
exhibited a general negativity bias for violent imagery over neutral
imagery regardless of the music genres. For non-fans, this bias was
stronger while listening to music that expressed violence than while
listening to music that expressed happiness. For fans of violent music,
however, the bias was the same while listening to music that expressed
either violence or happiness. We discussed these results in view of
current debates on the impact of violent media.