Music and emotion links to visitor harassment: a look at Jamaica

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a study conducted on the Caribbean island of Jamaica to make the case that music might be a plausible suppressant of negative visitor harassment (VH). The goal of the study in question was to determine the genres of songs and music likely to have a positive effect on emotions the antithesis of the ones associated with VH but would have positive effect on visitors’ shopping behaviors as well. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method pre-experimental design was used for the study. Forty-two craft traders from a single craft market in Jamaica participated in seven music experiments and the data gathered were analyzed using predominantly paired and independent t-test analyses. Findings The researchers found that music likely to result in positive shopper behaviors also resulted in positive trader emotions, in particular in emotions the antithesis of those associated with trader harassment. In addition, the researchers discovered that old non-instrumental local songs had a significantly greater positive effect on these emotions than local contemporary songs and instrumental music. Originality/value The study discussed was original as it was the first known that looked at music as a possible treatment for negative VH.