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Understanding Why People Enjoy Loud Sound
1Audiology Department, Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Seminars in Hearing
|October 14, 2017
Summary
Many people enjoy loud music, like in nightclubs, due to conditioning and adaptation. The Conditioning, Adaptation, and Acculturation to Loud Music (CAALM) model explains how this enjoyable loud sound becomes a cultural norm.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Science
- Psychology of Music
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Loud sounds, often considered enjoyable, are prevalent in social settings like nightclubs.
- Understanding the psychological and physiological mechanisms behind enjoying loud music is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a theoretical model explaining the enjoyment of loud music.
- To integrate concepts of classical conditioning, physiological adaptation, and cultural norms.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Conditioning, Adaptation, and Acculturation to Loud Music (CAALM) model.
- Drawing on existing theories of loud sound, emotional responses to music, and auditory adaptation.
Main Results:
- The CAALM model suggests loud sound, combined with other desirable aspects of venues, acts as an unconditioned stimulus.
- Repeated exposure leads to conditioned enjoyment of loud sound and adaptation in the auditory system.
- This creates a cultural expectation for loud music, perpetuated by venue staff and customer demand.
Conclusions:
- The CAALM model provides a framework for understanding why loud music is perceived as enjoyable.
- This understanding can inform health promotion and hearing conservation strategies.
- The cycle of loud music enjoyment is reinforced by cultural norms and venue practices.