Interventions to reduce high-volume portable headsets: "turn down the sound"!
A ten-second peer demo lowers loud headphone use better than any wall sign.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ferrari et al. (1991) tested two quick ways to quiet loud headphones in a campus gym.
First they taped warning signs to the wall. Then they had a peer walk up, lower her own volume, and say, "I keep my music low so others can study."
They flipped the two ideas on and off across several weeks to see which worked best.
What they found
The signs helped a little, but the peer prompt worked better.
Women turned their music down the most after the peer model.
When the peer prompt was removed, loud volume crept back up.
How this fits with other research
Neef et al. (1986) used a cafeteria poster and also saw a medium jump in low-fat food picks. Both studies show a cheap sign can nudge adult health choices, but the live peer in R et al. added extra punch.
Steege et al. (1989) paired a watch prompt with an alarm to boost wheelchair push-ups. Like R et al., they found antecedent cues work, yet R et al. proves a simple social model can beat a static cue alone.
Williams-Buttari et al. (2023) tried a money contract to curb college phone use and got mixed, fading results. R et al. offers a faster, cheaper tool—no cash, just a 10-second peer demo that you can reuse every hour.
Why it matters
You can drop the copy-machine warnings. Instead, model the target yourself or ask a client to do it. One sentence—"I keep it low so everyone can focus"—cuts noise on the bus, in the dorm lounge, or at the clinic waiting room. Try it Monday: walk in with soft music, give the line, and watch the room follow.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Model low volume yourself and say why; then count who follows suit.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Two studies examined effects of interventions to reduce noise levels from portable stereo headphones. Study 1 examined the effectiveness of warning signs posted in and nearby public elevators with 567 passengers possessing a portable headphone (total N = 7,811). During a 9-day baseline, the mean percentage of headphones played at an observer-audible level was 85%. During a subsequent 6-day warning sign phase, the mean percentage of audible headphones declined to 59%, which increased to a mean of 76% during a second baseline phase (5 days). Study 2 assessed the impact of a student confederate who lowered his or her observer-audible headphone volume at the polite request of a second student confederate. Of the 4,069 elevator passengers, 433 possessed a portable headset. The mean percentage of observer-audible headphones during a 4-day baseline was 85%. Subsequently, a 5-day modeling intervention reduced audible volumes to a mean of 46%. During a second baseline phase of 4 days, the mean level was 77%, and during reintroduction of the modeling phase (9 days) the mean level was 42%. The modeling intervention was significantly more effective with women (53% compliance) than men (29% compliance).
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1991 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1991.24-695