On the Efficiency of AC/DC: Bon Scott versus Brian Johnson - Assignment Example

AC/DC Band: Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson AC/DC Band: Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson The research question is an inquiry into who is a better vocalist in the AC/DC band between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. Many researchers consider the differences between the two singers to decide the best rock music vocalist. Scott was the lead vocalist in the 1970s and he died in 1980 after producing seven albums. Similarly, Johnson joined the AC/DC rock band in 1980 to replace Scott. Johnson featured as the main vocalist in nine albums produced even into the 1900s.

The Scott versus Johnson competition to establish the best rock vocalist reveals that the latter remains more articulate in satisfying the new generation fans. Oxoby used the ultimatum game as the experimental design in which 18 pairs of subjects would receive or reject offers of wealth while listening to specific background music. In the ultimatum game, all acceptances resulted in gaining of money for both the responder and proposer. On the contrary, any rejection of offers meant that both responder and proposer lost money.

Randomly computer chosen proposers were provided with $10 dollars to offer as a wealth to their attached responders while listening to either Scott’s or Johnson’s song. The variables used in the study were the music played from either of the two AC/DC vocalists while a pair of subjects made a decision. Oxoby tested how people make wealth-sharing decisions under the influence of each vocalist’s music (2009). Thus, the song “It’s a Long Way to the Top” by Scott’s “High Voltage” album and Johnson’s “Shoot to Thrill” song from the “Black in Black” album were used to measure the psychological effects of music on decision-making processes (Oxoby, 2009).

Results indicate that the minimum acceptable offer (MAO) of $1 was recorded for Scott to nil for Johnson. A comparison of MAO offers indicates that Scott got almost a quarter offers of $2 to 0.05 similar offers for Johnson. Scott’s music treatment attracted MAOs offers with a mean of 3.94, while Johnson’s music gained offers at a mean of 3.17. Likewise, when Scott’s song was played, the mean of offers extended was 3.28 (standard deviation of 1.18) compared to a mean of four (standard deviation of 0.97) when Johnson’s music was played (Oxoby, 2009).

Scott recorded four acceptances and five rejections of offers. On the contrary, Johnson registered six acceptances and three rejections. Interpretation of the results indicates that Scott treatment caused the unequal distribution of offers by attracting the least money and the highest number of rejections. Moreover, half of the participants who gave their offers would readily accept the same offer under Scott’s treatment. Contrastingly, 80% of the participants were ready to accept their own offers (Oxoby, 2009).

Thus, the cognitive state and cost of experiencing Scott and Johnson treatment assert that the latter is more pronounced. Seemingly, Johnson induced equal distribution of wealth during the ultimatum game. Levine (2008) states that the AC/DC band has managed to stay on the top of charts without using digital means to gain market. Scott is perceived as the pioneer of the punk rock movement in Europe. Thus, Scott received the highest frequency of MAOs, while Johnson plays a role of a successor to the predecessor.

The current musical band comprises of Johnson at age 61, Malcolm is 55 years, and Angus 53 and they are persistent to outshine the former performances with newer songs (ACDC Band, 2014). Therefore, with the new songs that the group has produced, it is true that Johnson has kept the rock music fans satisfied compared to Scott, who is would convince much older listeners. Moreover, Scott started the production of the “Black in Black” album and Johnson finished it, which means that the selection of any song from the collection presents a degree of bias.

In conclusion, the study realized that background-playing music has a psychological effect of the decision-making process of the listeners. The best musician encourages equitable sharing of wealth in the ultimatum game. The qualitative experiment asserts that music from different vocalists holds influence over personal decision-making. The results indicate that Johnson encouraged equitable sharing of wealth while Scott’s treatment resulted in a skewed graph with high rejections and high MAOs.

References ACDC Band. (2014). The band. Acdc.com.Oxoby, R. J. (2009). On the efficiency of AC/DC: Bon Scott versus Brian Johnson. Economic Inquiry, 47 (3), 598-602. Levine, R. (2008). Ageless and defiant, AC/DC stays on top without going digital. The New York Times.