Effects of background music on evaluations of visual images
研究发现背景音乐（无论其复杂程度）会改变人们对视觉复杂性的偏好，使消费者更喜欢简单的视觉图像，而不喜欢复杂的视觉图像。
Abstract Consumers are increasingly exposed to simultaneous auditory and visual stimulation in retail environments. Consistently, there is rising practitioner interest in how to interact the visual appearance of products and packaging with music sounds. This study addresses the intriguing question whether music systematically changes how people like what they see. We propose a cross‐modal homeostasis effect that explains how music changes the inverted‐U relationship between the perceived complexity of visuals and how much people like them. We show that the presence of music (irrespective of its complexity) shifts the optimal level of visual complexity towards liking of relatively simple visuals. Thus, while the mere presence of music decreases consumers' liking of complex visuals, it increases their liking of simpler visuals. Given the omnipresence of background music across business environments, the results have important implications, as music can have unexpected cross‐modal consequences for the evaluation of visuals.