Music

Harvard study proves that scary music makes sharks seem scarier

by Richard Howard

Yes alumni – this is what your donation money is being spent on.

I’m no academic, but I’ve discovered something about the recent influx of “studies” popping up on line: a lot of them investigate some obvious shit. I get it – no matter how evident an outcome may be, it can’t be considered scientific until it’s empirically proven by structured research. Still, painfully obvious studies that prove things like ‘people on cocaine and alcohol are more impaired than people just on cocaine’ and ‘stuff farther away is harder to see because it’s blurrier’ still come across as a bit frivolous. Well here’s another one delivered by the esteemed Dr. Obvious: ominous background music used in conjunction with shark footage makes them seem scarier.

When I first read this, I had no doubt the author of the Harvard Business School article had plucked this fact from a more far-reaching study – and rightly so, because “Ominous Background Music is Bad for Sharks” makes a great headline. Oh, but friends, I was mistaken. It was the result if a study entitled “The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers’ Perceptions of Sharks.”

I shit you not.

Researchers showed groups of study participants a shark clip with ominous music, uplifting music and no music at all, and guess what? The group presented with the ominous background music rated the animals more negatively! (Insert ominous music here.)

To be fair, the reasoning behind the study is far less ridiculous than it initially seems. It’s a well-documented fact that the Jaws movies and their terrifying theme music were terrible for public perception of sharks. For decades, they were seen as psychotic, blood-thirsty man-hunters.

However, researchers noticed that similarly ominous music is often used in shark documentaries, which usually seek to educate viewers and aid in conservation efforts. Proving that it negatively affects viewers’ perception of sharks is, therefore, important information for the filmmakers.

“Any organization that intends to positively promote sharks or any other creature should carefully consider the soundtracks they choose,” said study co-author and Harvard Business School assistant professor Elizabeth Keenan. “While it may be tempting to include ominous soundtracks for entertainment value for instance, our research shows there is a potential cost to doing so.”