IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jconrs/doi10.1086-665048.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition

Author

Listed:
  • Ravi Mehta
  • Rui (Juliet) Zhu
  • Amar Cheema

Abstract

This paper examines how ambient noise, an important environmental variable, can affect creativity. Results from five experiments demonstrate that a moderate (70 dB) versus low (50 dB) level of ambient noise enhances performance on creative tasks and increases the buying likelihood of innovative products. A high level of noise (85 dB), on the other hand, hurts creativity. Process measures reveal that a moderate (vs. low) level of noise increases processing difficulty, inducing a higher construal level and thus promoting abstract processing, which subsequently leads to higher creativity. A high level of noise, however, reduces the extent of information processing and thus impairs creativity.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravi Mehta & Rui (Juliet) Zhu & Amar Cheema, 2012. "Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(4), pages 784-799.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/665048
    DOI: 10.1086/665048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/665048
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/665048
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/665048?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nenkov, Gergana Y. & Morrin, Maureen & Maille, Virginie & Rank-Christman, Tracy & Lwin, May O., 2019. "Sense and sensibility: The impact of visual and auditory sensory input on marketplace morality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 428-441.
    2. Kato Takumi, 2022. "Brand Concept Drives Loyalty Toward Starbucks: Concept, Product, Place, and Staff in Japan," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(1), pages 70-90, March.
    3. Xu, Lidan & Mehta, Ravi & Hoegg, JoAndrea, 2022. "Sweet ideas: How the sensory experience of sweetness impacts creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Muhammad Ilyas & Muhammad Azhar Ali & Abdul Nasir Awan & Sajjad Haider & Adnan Shahid, 2019. "Estimation Of Noise Levels In The Road Side Parks And Study Of Its Impacts On Health Of Visitors In Faisalabad," Earth Sciences Pakistan (ESP), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 3(1), pages 14-22, January.
    5. Ravi Mehta & Darren W. Dahl & Rui (Juliet) Zhu, 2017. "Social-Recognition versus Financial Incentives? Exploring the Effects of Creativity-Contingent External Rewards on Creative Performance," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(3), pages 536-553.
    6. Reynolds-McIlnay, Ryann & Morrin, Maureen, 2019. "Increasing Shopper Trust in Retailer Technological Interfaces via Auditory Confirmation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 128-142.
    7. Izadi, Anoosha & Rudd, Melanie & Patrick, Vanessa M., 2019. "The Way the Wind Blows: Direction of Airflow Energizes Consumers and Fuels Creative Engagement," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 143-157.
    8. Luqiong Tong & Jing Li, 2023. "The Influence of Social Crowding on Consumer Creativity," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(11), pages 1-26, February.
    9. Takumi Kato, 2021. "Brand loyalty explained by concept recall: recognizing the significance of the brand concept compared to features," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(3), pages 185-198, September.
    10. Dehling, Noémie, 2023. "Silence in the consumer experience: A conceptualization and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    11. Xia, Lan & Wang, Joyce (Feng) & Santana, Shelle, 2021. "Nostalgia: Triggers and its role on new product purchase intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 183-194.
    12. Gaetano Miceli & Maria Antonietta Raimondo, 2020. "Creativity in the marketing and consumer behavior literature: a structured review and a research agenda," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2020(1), pages 85-124, March.
    13. repec:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:8:p:- is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Cony M. Ho & Szu‐Han ( Joanna) Lin & Russell E. Johnson, 2022. "Does depletion have a bright side? Self‐regulation exertion heightens creative engagement," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 666-684, June.
    15. Claire Heeryung Kim & Kelly B. Herd & H. Shanker Krishnan, 2023. "The creative touch: the influence of haptics on creativity," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 113-124, March.
    16. Rishtee K Batra & Tanuka Ghoshal & Gita JoharEditor & Derek RuckerAssociate Editor, 2017. "Fill Up Your Senses: A Theory of Self-Worth Restoration through High-Intensity Sensory Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 916-938.
    17. Pang, Jun & Ding, Ying, 2021. "Blending package shape with the gender dimension of brand image: How and why?," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 216-231.
    18. Thomas A. Norton & Oluremi B. Ayoko & Neal M. Ashkanasy, 2021. "A Socio-Technical Perspective on the Application of Green Ergonomics to Open-Plan Offices: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, July.
    19. Kim, Yeun Joon & Zhong, Chen-Bo, 2017. "Ideas rise from chaos: Information structure and creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 15-27.
    20. Oguz Ali Acar, 2018. "Harnessing the creative potential of consumers: money, participation, and creativity in idea crowdsourcing," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 177-188, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/665048. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/jcr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.