Impact of Music Harmonious with Ethnicity on Eye Movements and Food Selection: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Danish and Chinese Shoppers
In a groundbreaking study, researchers have found that the cultural congruency of music significantly impacts visual attention and food choices across cultures. The study, which involved 199 participants from China and Denmark, aimed to explore the effects of ethnically congruent music on visual attention and food choice.
The study used a between-subject design, with participants listening to either instrumental "Eastern" or "Western" music. During the study, participants engaged in a food choice task involving "Eastern" and "Western" food. The findings demonstrated that when participants listened to music congruent with their culture, they demonstrated enhanced visual attention towards the corresponding visual stimuli and showed food choices biased towards their cultural food preferences.
For instance, Danish participants fixated more on Eastern food when Eastern music was played, while Chinese participants fixated more on Western food when Western music was played. These results were supported by a generalized linear mixed model. Chi-square tests revealed a clear ethnic congruency effect between music and food choice across culture.
However, no such priming effects were found when participants listened to music from their own culture. This suggests that the cultural relevance of music acts as a contextual cue that primes attention and decision-making, but only when the music is from a different culture.
The study's authors thanked Kiara Heide and Tue Hvass from the Customer Success Team for technical support of the eye-tracking design. Yihang Huang also assisted with participant recruitment.
The findings of this study add to the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the impact of ambient music on consumers' explicit and implicit behaviours. Previous research has shown that culturally relevant music enhances emotional connection and engagement in visual storytelling and consumer behaviour contexts, indicating that cultural alignment in audio-visual stimuli increases attention and positive responses.
In conclusion, this study provides compelling evidence that when Chinese and Danish participants are exposed to music congruent with their culture during food-related tasks, they demonstrate enhanced visual attention towards the corresponding visual stimuli and show food choices biased towards their cultural food preferences. The study's results contribute to our understanding of the role of cultural congruency in shaping attention and decision-making processes, with potential implications for marketing and consumer behaviour research.
- The study's findings on the impact of music on visual attention and food choices could also be applied to other areas, such as health-and-wellness, where specific genres of music might influence fitness-and-exercise routines.
- The scientific discovery of cultural congruency's influence on visual attention and food choices through music opens up avenues for future research in entertainment, particularly social-media platforms that use music as background for advertisements or user-generated content.
- As we delve deeper into understanding the role of music in shaping our behaviors, technological advancements like eye-tracking gadgets will play a crucial role in conducting consumer research in these areas.
- The insights gained from this study emphasize the importance of considering cultural factors when creating marketing strategies, supporting the view that alignment between audio and visual stimuli in health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, or entertainment content can significantly impact consumer behavior and social media engagement.
