Consequences of an Unpleasant Experience with Music: A Second-Order Negative Conditioning Perspective

This research examines the undesirable effects that an unpleasant experience with a musical composition can have on consumers' attitudes toward a brand that is subsequently associated with the music in an advertising-type relationship. Results from an experiment using second-order classical conditioning procedures indicate that subjects who were originally exposed to music in an unpleasant context held less favorable attitudes toward the brand than did subjects who were not preexposed to the music but rather learned it only in context of conditioning trials. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.