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How music affects you more than you think
Other | Monday 13th October 2014 | Annalisa
How music affects you more than you think
Have you ever been in your favourite clothing shop, only to walk out to leave when your favourite song comes on? The song probably made you turn right back around, perhaps spend more time in there, and maybe even spend more money than you might have originally intended.
The power of music has certainly not eluded psychologists or marketers. Whether it's through a specific of genre of music or just using association, music is surprisingly - and perhaps worryingly - effective at influencing our decisions.
Music can help you concentrate
Dubbed by many as 'The Mozart Effect', studies have proven that music – specifically, classical music – can aid many in their studies. Scientists at the University of California studied 36 adult students by giving them a series of mental activities. Half of the students listened to 10 minutes of Mozart prior to the tasks, while the others did not. Those who listened to Mozart performed far better at tasks in which they had to create shapes in their minds. Today, the study has been passed on to parents who are keen to give their children the best start in life.
Music can make you make rash decisions
As mentioned above, high street retailers are more than aware of the fact that music can influence people in their purchasing. A study from the European Journal of Scientific research suggested that loud volumes are apt for making customers move quicker – hence the high noise levels you'll often hear in fast food restaurants. Quieter background music, however, influences customers to stay in shops longer, and often the genre is tailored to the target market. This is a tactic that is also widely employed by casinos – by playing constant, low hum music without any obvious crescendos, players are encouraged to keep putting money in slot machines. Moreover, players hear certain sounds when they win, and begin to develop a mental association that encourages them to play on more.
Music can improve your creativity
Studies conducted by Psyblog proved that those who favoured certain genres of music – in particular, jazz, rock, classical and dance – were more creative. But it's also been proven that a moderate noise level can boost creativity. So, for example, having the radio on at a low hum in your office amidst the buzz of conversation is the 'sweet spot' for being creative. This is because moderate noise levels help to increase processing difficulty, which in turn promotes abstract processing and leads to better creativity. In layman's terms, this means that if we have just enough of a distraction to make us really focus on what we are doing, then we are likely to be more creative as a result. So next time you're working on a big project, make sure it's not in total silence.
