Music and moral judgment: The effect of background music on the evaluation of ads promoting unethical behavior

Naomi Ziv · Moran Hoftman · M Geyer

26 citations0/0 files storedPsychology of Music

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Ethics in Business and Education Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment Psychology of Social Influence

Abstract

Background music is often used in ads as a means of persuasion. Previous research has studied the effect of music in advertising using neutral or uncontroversial products. The aim of the studies reported here was to examine the effect of music on the perception of products promoting unethical behavior. Each of the series of three studies described examined the effect of background music on recall and evaluation of a fictive radio ad promoting different types of cheating. The studies consider the effect of involvement, attitudes, priming and presentation context, and music’s valence. In all the studies, background music led to reduced recall of information. Positive-valence music reduced awareness of the unethical message, and increased acceptance of the product. The results demonstrate the power of music to manipulate and bias moral judgment.

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2025Advances in Consumer Research 1986The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion 1986Communication and Persuasion 1981Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion.2014The Influence of Attitudes on Behavior 1984The effects of involvement on responses to argument quantity and quality: Central and peripheral routes to persuasion.1995Attitudes and the Prediction of Behavior: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature 1990An Investigation into the “Match-up” Hypothesis in Celebrity Advertising: When Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep

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