Our preferences are shaped by past experience in many ways, but a systematic understanding of the factors is yet to be achieved. For example, studies of the mere exposure effect show that experience with an item leads to increased liking (familiarity preference), but the exact opposite tendency is found in other studies utilizing dishabituation (novelty preference). Recently, it has been found that image category affects whether familiarity or novelty preference emerges from repeated stimulus exposure (Park et al., 2010). Faces elicited familiarity preference, but natural scenes elicited novelty preference. In their task, preference judgments were made throughout all exposures, raising the question of whether the task-context during exposure was involved. We adapt their paradigm, testing if passive exposure or objective judgment task-contexts lead to different results. Results showed that after passive viewing, familiar faces were preferred, but no preference bias in either direction was found with natural scenes, or with geometric figures (control). After exposure during the objective judgment task, familiar faces were preferred, novel natural scenes were preferred, and no preference bias was found with geometric figures. The overall results replicate the segregation of preference biases across object categories and suggest that the preference for familiar faces and novel natural scenes are modulated by task-context memory at different processing levels or selection involvement. Possible underlying mechanisms of the two types of preferences are discussed.

Frisson is characterized by tingling and tickling sensations with positive or negative feelings. However, it is still unknown what factors affect the intensity of frisson. We conducted experiments on the stimulus characteristics and individual’s mood states and personality traits. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires, including the Profile of Mood States, Beck Depression Inventory, and Big Five Inventory. They continuously indicated the subjective intensity of frisson throughout a 17-min experiment while listening to binaural brushing and tapping sounds through headphones. In the interviews after the experiments, participants reported that tingling and tickling sensations mainly originated on their ears, neck, shoulders, and back. Cross-correlation results showed that the intensity of frisson was closely linked to the acoustic features of auditory stimuli, including their amplitude, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth. This suggests that proximal sounds with dark and compact timbre trigger frisson. The peak of correlation between frisson and the acoustic feature was observed 2 s after the acoustic feature changed, suggesting that bottom-up auditory inputs modulate skin-related modalities. We also found that participants with anxiety were sensitive to frisson. Our results provide important clues to understanding the mechanisms of auditory–somatosensory interactions.

There has been a growing interest in the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). The ASMR is characterized by a tingling sensation around the scalp and neck and often induces a feeling of relaxation and a reduction of a negative mood. However, it is still unknown what factors affect the ASMR. The present study focused on stimulus characteristics and individuals’ mood states and personality traits. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires (the Profile of Mood States, Beck Depression Inventory, and Big Five Inventory) and reported ASMR estimates throughout a 17-min experiment while listening to binaural tapping and brushing sounds. Cross-correlation results showed that the ASMR estimates were strongly associated with the acoustic features of auditory stimuli, such as their amplitude, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth. This indicates that low-pitched sounds with dark timbre trigger the ASMR. The maximum ASMR was observed around 2 s after the acoustic features changed, suggesting that the sluggishness of multisensory integration may lead to the ASMR experience. In addition, individual differences in the ASMR experience were closely linked to participants’ mood states, such as anxiety, but not to their personality traits. Our results provide important clues to understand the mechanisms of auditory-somatosensory interactions.Significant StatementsThe autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by a tingling, electrostatic-like sensation across the scalp and back of the neck. This phenomenon can be triggered by a variety of audiovisual stimuli, and many people seek out the ASMR via the internet to receive a feeling of relaxation and reduce a negative mood. We show that the ASMR is induced about 2 s after acoustic features, such as the amplitude, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth are changed. This suggests that low-pitched sounds with dark timbre lead to the ASMR experience. The stimulus-driven ASMR effect is found regardless of the personality traits or mood states of participants. Our findings provide a critical clue to understand the mechanisms of auditory–somatosensory interactions.