Since the volume of the music was randomly
manipulated this experiment suggests that louder music causes more
drinking, but what it doesn't tell us is why. Some think that people
drink instead of talking while others have argued that they drink more
because the music creates greater levels of arousal, which then leads
to more drinking.
Evidence from a study carried out in pubs in Glasgow, Scotland by Forsyth and Cloonan (2008) does back up the idea that people do, at least partly, drink because
they can't talk to each other. Perhaps further studies comparing lone
drinkers with dyads and bigger groups would confirm or disprove this
idea.
Whatever the real reason, or combination of reasons,
this kind of study is very persuasive about the causal connection
between louder music and more drinking because the experimenters have
taken the time to go to a bar, set up the random experimental
manipulation and then actually observe people to see what they do in a
real live environment.
Crank It Up, Drink It Up
Stop blaming terrible sound guys for the excessive noise in bars and clubs (well, you can if they can't mix your levels to save their life). We now have (some) scientific proof behind the popular wisdom that loud music = less talking = more drinking.