Individuals’ food preferences can be influenced by the Music styles: An ERP study

Abstract

Studies have shown that there is a cross-modal association between listening to music and eating. This study aims to explore the influence of music style on individuals’ food preferences and provide evidence for understanding multi-sensory research. Twenty seven participants participated in the experiment. The experiment consisted of two parts. Firstly, participants completed basic information; and then completed the food choice task after being stimulated by four different styles of music and simultaneously recorded EEG data. The behavioural results showed that: compared with low-calorie foods, individuals selected more high-calorie foods. In addition, individuals selected more high-calorie foods than low-calorie foods during the jazz music; while individuals selected more low-calorie foods than high-calorie foods during the classical music. The ERP results showed that: The N1 amplitudes were smallest during the classical music and greatest during the rock music; the N450 amplitudes were smallest during the jazz music. P2 amplitudes were smallest during the rock music and greatest during the classical music. P3 amplitudes during jazz music were the greatest. Pearson analysis showed that body satisfaction was positively related to classical-P3, Jazz-P3 and Rock-P3; BMI was negatively correlated with body satisfaction. Our study provides innovative practical perspectives for healthy eating.