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Responses to Music in a Dining Area 1
Author(s) -
North Adrian C.,
Hargreaves David J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb02727.x
Subject(s) - psychology , salient , preference , musical , cafeteria , social psychology , rock music , cognitive psychology , popular music , visual arts , art , history , mathematics , medicine , pathology , statistics , archaeology
Berlyne's theory of aesthetic response was tested in an ecologically valid setting by playing music in a university cafeteria. Four music conditions were employed representing low, high, and moderate complexity new age music, and moderate complexity mechanical organ music. Response measures were how readily diners cited the music as an aspect of the environment which they might like to change, and how much they liked the music. Liking for the new age extracts was consistent with Berlyne's theory, although liking for the moderate complexity mechanical organ music indicated that factors other than complexity may also determine musical preference. As dislike became more extreme, music became more salient as a feature of the environment that subjects might like to change.