The Influence of Background Music on Interactive Behaviour in an Indoor Space

The research on the influence of indoor sound environments on human behaviour is limited at present. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the influence of music on interactive behaviour in indoor environments. This study used a laboratory experiment, with 40 participants, to consider five social relationship types: relatives/friends (RF), lovers (L), classmates/colleagues (CC), superior /subordinate (SS), and strangers (S). The results showed that in the with music condition, the scores for the degree of influence of noise sources on the conversation were between 0.5 and 6 points lower those in the without music condition. In addition, in the L group, the scores for the participants' interest in the conversation were 0.5 to 3.67 points higher. It also showed that music creates a more positive sound environment; positive scores were up to 7.5. This study suggest that music can be used to change the indoor sound environment and regulate people's interactive behaviour and dialogue quality.