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Role of music tempo in choosing from large and small choice sets: insights from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

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Abstract

Previous research has concluded that music tempo either increases the total amount of momentary mental resources to benefit decision-making or compulsively employs working memory and impairs decision-making. Two experiments, including a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment and a laboratory experiment, converged on the conclusion that the role of music tempo when making a decision varies with the size of choice set. At the neural level, under a larger choice set, slower music resulted in stronger activation in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), which has stronger neural coactivation with the hippocampus. In contrast, under the smaller choice set, faster music resulted in stronger activation in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), which has stronger neural coactivation with the SFG, paracingulate gyrus (PCG), and lateral occipital cortex (LOC). Behaviorally, participants had more positive internal states under slower music than under faster music in a larger choice set. In comparison, faster music resulted in more positive internal states in a smaller choice set. This study is among the first to examine the joint effect of music tempo and choice set size by offering neural imaging evidence with fMRI techniques.

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Data availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

  1. We did not include a condition without music because we aimed to explore the effect of music tempo on the decision-making process under different choice sets rather than providing an optimal tempo interval. The same basic principles apply to both studies.

  2. In this regard, a high-definition printer was used to print the visual stimuli on A4 paper. Moreover, subjects viewed the visual stimuli on the paper attached to the head coil of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner (viewing distance 138 mm). All the images in different choice sets were scaled down to a size of 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm and randomly placed in the middle of the paper. These locations were arranged in six rows and four columns. At the same time, to diminish the global visual difference (brightness, color, and image density) across the sets, a scrambled image was displayed in the remaining locations.

  3. During fMRI scanning, binaural auditory stimuli were presented using custom-built magnet-compatible earphones. The most important feature of this system was high-quality acoustic stimulus delivery during which scanner noise was attenuated. During scanning, the loudness level that participants experienced was approximately 88 dB. After the attenuation of the listening device, auditory stimuli were approximately 68 dB at the ears. During a pretest scan, all the participants individually determined their optimal listening level.

  4. We provided them the option to not make a choice to avoid the negative emotions caused by a forced choice; however, none of the subjects opted not to choose an item.

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Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Chinese National Science Foundation (grant number 72172131).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China

    Kaijun Zhang & Jun Ye

  2. Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Shantou University, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong, China

    Hongkun Liu

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Correspondence to Jun Ye.

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Zhang, K., Liu, H. & Ye, J. Role of music tempo in choosing from large and small choice sets: insights from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Mark Lett 34, 633–652 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-023-09672-9

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