How Music Influences Our Decisions
The effects of music on our mental state are well-documented. Music is often used for therapeutic purposes, whilst there are literally hundreds of playlists on Spotify dedicated to music that claims to help us study, work out, relax, and party. One thing that is less clear is how music can actually influence our decision-making processes.
Statistically, it is almost certain that a decision you’ve made in your life, be it a purchase, an activity, or even a relationship, has been influenced by the music you were listening to at the time. Read on to find out more about the power music has on our decision making.
Music and Casinos
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If you want to truly get a better picture of how music influences our decisions, you need to go to a casino. The task of assembling a playlist is big business in the world’s major casinos, often involving dozens of experts and many hours and research. The aim is to keep people playing on the casino floor for as long as possible, which means using music to create an environment that is relaxing and conducive to gaming.
One good place to learn more is with slot machines. Even going to a major online casino will show you how these techniques work in practice. Once you’ve acquired your Spinit casino login, for example, you’ll be faced with hundreds of slots playing a very similar kind of music.
The music is often full of nostalgic, chip-tune beats, which gives players a sense of comfort and keeps them at the slots. The music is designed with a rhythm that helps players get “into the zone” as the industry professionals say, influencing their decision to keep playing.
Music and Shopping
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If you’ve ever been to a mall, then you’re already familiar with a genre of music known as Muzak. This is the kind of calming, consistent, and repetitive music that is often piped through sound systems in stores and supermarkets. The purpose of this is not benign; market research and psychology plays a key role in deciding what music is played in shopping venues.
It turns out that slower, ambient music subliminally causes shoppers to slow down, taking in the products around them and making them significantly more likely to make an impulse purchase. Fast-paced, heavy music, on the other hand, has been proven to have the opposite effect, causes shoppers to rush through a store and not make any purchases. Chances are an item sitting in your home at this very moment was purchased by you because of Muzak.
Music and Brands
Source: Pixabay
An emerging field of market research now looks at how certain types of music persuade people to choose certain brands over others when shopping. A recent study from marketing students at Curtin University placed test subjects in rooms playing different styles of music from around the room, whilst faced with different kinds of foodstuffs they could buy.
Unsurprisingly, people in the room playing French music were more inclined to purchase French wine and cheese, the people in the room with traditional Chinese music bought the Sichuan banquet sets, and people in the room playing American rock music opted for the burgers and hot dogs. It turns out our individual freewill may be more fickle than we thought.
Music is incredibly powerful and its effect on our brains should be seen as a comfort rather than a threat. It may be able to subtly influence what we buy but it’s clear from this research that it also has the power to soothe us and improve our mental state, which is what really matters.
