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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. Creativity is ubiquitous in the realm of consumption. Onthe one hand, we as consumers engage in everyday creative behavior such as home decor, fashion, or planning meals with limited resources (Burroughs and Mick 2004; Burroughs, Moreau, and Mick 2008). On the other hand, many businesses thrive on consumers ’ ability and desire to be creative. For example, consumers ’ ability to understand
Mehta et al. (Thu,) studied this question.