RALEIGH, N.C. – Rap music is linked to sexism.

That's the conclusion of a North Carolina State University study that examined rap music's effects on sexist attitudes among college students.

Many critics claim that rap music causes sexist beliefs, but the study's authors suggest the connection they found between rap and sexism is unlikely to be a direct cause-and-effect.

"It's like hearing the word 'chocolate' and suddenly having a craving for a candy bar," says Dr. Michael Cobb, assistant professor of political science, who conducted the study along with Dr. Bill Boettcher, associate professor of political science.

Cobb and Boettcher's findings -- titled "Ambivalent Sexism and Misogynistic Rap Music: Does Exposure to Eminem Increase Sexism?" -- were recently published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

The study found that college students who were asked to listen to rap music had significantly higher levels of reported sexism. In the study, males who listened to any rap music were more sexist than those in the control group even though sometimes the rap lyrics did not include sexist language. Females in the study also reported higher levels of sexism when rap music was not sexist in its language, but their endorsement of sexist beliefs was the lowest after listening to rap with overtly sexist language.

"Sexism is imbedded in the culture we live in, and hearing rap music can spontaneously activate pre-existing awareness of sexist beliefs," Cobb says. "We feel it's unlikely that hearing lyrics in a song creates attitudes that did not previously exist. Instead, rap music, fairly or unfairly, has become associated with misogyny, and even minimal exposure to it can automatically activate these mental associations and increase their application, at least temporarily."