It’s no secret that the holiday season sidles a little earlier in the retail calendar every year, to the point where the recorded screams and rattling chains of October’s Halloween displays are often broken up by the strains of “Jingle Bells” two aisles over. According to AdWeek, some retailers defend their choice by claiming that Christmas music makes you buy more, putting you into such a jolly spirit that you don’t think twice about dropping cash on presents you wouldn’t otherwise buy. Given how many people loathe holiday music, though, it’s understandable to be a little skeptical of this theory. This calls for an investigation.
Christmas music tends to be polarizing. Either you love it, or it makes you want to puncture your eardrums with a fork. In 2012, music psychology researcher Victoria Williamson backed up this idea. As she explained to NBC News at the time, there’s a U-shaped relationship between our reaction to music and the number of times we hear it. At first, we like a song more the more often we hear it, a phenomenon known as the “mere exposure effect.” (It’s so named because “mere exposure” is enough to make someone like a song.) But at a certain point, familiarity gives way to boredom, and the repetition is irritating rather than exciting. Add in the fact that the holidays can be an emotionally draining time of year, and you’re stuck having to ignore something you find annoying or stressful, which would make anyone grumpy.
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