Emptying Rooms: When the Inverted-U Model of Preference Fails—An Investigation Using Music With Collative Extremes

Abstract

Daniel Berlyne's inverted-U model remains a simple, well-supported explanation of music preference as a function of collative variables. However, after reviewing the literature, we identified a gap in studies examining preference for music exhibiting collative variable levels that were classified as extreme. A small number of studies using examples of extreme music suggested a floor-effect for preference, where preference ratings remained at near the minimum for subsequent exposures. To further investigate this, we tracked preference ratings for two music stimuli over three weekly exposures: One stimulus deemed as an example of extreme music, and a second stimulus deemed as moderately unusual. The moderately unusual stimulus produced results compatible with the inverted-U model, whereas the extreme stimulus did not. In addition, a substantial percentage (32%) of individual preference trajectories for the extreme stimulus outlined a floor-effect. We conclude that the inverted-U might break down for extreme music.