The Effects of Music in Advertising on Choice Behavior: A Classical Conditioning Approach

Abstract

Do features like humor, sex, color, and music in a commercial merely increase our attention to product information in a message, or can they directly influence our attitudes? The results of an experiment using a classical conditioning approach suggest that hearing liked or disliked music while being exposed to a product can directly affect product preferences. A second experiment differentiated communication situations where a classical conditioning approach or an information processing approach might be appropriate in explaining product preference.