Endless playing of songs like All I want for Christmas
in shops during the festive season doesn’t just drive us mad —the songs also
make us more careless with our money, research has warned.
While repeated performance of Jingle Bells may seem
like an innocent attempt to raise customers’ spirits during the nightmare of
Christmas shopping, the songs also have a more delicate impact.
“Background music, or “Muzak”,can be used by marketers
to impose cultures ---such as the commercialization of Christmas--- onto
consumers and influence their behaviour,” experts said.
Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of
London, said, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to
change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they
buy. In other words, this is an attempt to control your shopping habits in a
way that you might hardly be aware of.”
“Often we are told that we have the freedom to choose
where we want to shop, but during Christmas the use of music in this way is so
common that our freedom to choose disappears.”
Dr. Bradshaw and Prof Morris Holbrook of Columbia
University examined the phenomenon and found that retailers often “dumb down”
the music played in shops to relax customers, meaning it is easier to control
their behaviour.
It is thought that slowing down the rhythm of music in
shops can trick customers into thinking less time has passed, and therefore
spend more time examining the shelves, for example.
Some providers of background music have been known to
promote their services by claiming they can boost profits by controlling the
behaviour of customers.
“A common trick is to take a popular current song and
record an instrumental version which can be slowed down or sped up at different
time of the day to influence behaviour in different ways,” Dr. Bradshaw said.
Background music is often classed as “Muzak” in honor
of the Seattle-based company which began producing its soft-sounding melodies
in the 1930s.
1.According to Dr. Bradshaw, in what ways does
Christmas music influence customers?
①their
mood
②their income
③their sense
of time ④ the sort of products they buy
A.①②③ B.①③④ C.②③④
D.①②④
2. Shopkeepers slow down the rhythm of music in shops
to ___________.
A. let customers spend more time shopping
B. make customers and sales assistants relaxed
C. let customers enjoy the beautiful music
D. help customers find what they really want
3.What kind of music is now often adapted to influence
customers in shops?
A. Classical music B. Popular
modern songs.
C. Folk
songs. D. Jazz music.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Music makes happy Christmas
B. Christmas “Muzak”
C. How to make Christmas music?
D. Christmas music makes us spend more
