"Arousal hypothesis" and the effects of music on purchasing behavior

Abstract

Replicates, in a naturalistic setting, a prior finding which supported that portion of the "arousal hypothesis" which predicts that a certain degree of noise will actually increase activity. Music was varied from loud to soft in 8 counterbalanced experimental sessions in 2 large supermarkets (N = 1100). The "arousal hypothesis" seems to account for the results: significantly less time was spent in the markets during the loud session, although there was no significant difference in sales, nor in the customers' reported satisfaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)