Affective quality of audio feedback in different contexts

Abstract

To give feedback on mobile devices, sound is commonly used in different ways. Much research has focused on the learnability and user performance with systems that have audio feedback. But so far, there is no standardized method to evaluate the subjective quality of auditory feedback messages. We describe a study to investigate the affective impression of short audio feedback on mobile devices and their functional connotation in three different contexts. Results show that context influences the affective impression of sounds and that there is a relation between ratings according affective quality and functional applicability. We conclude that sounds can be unobtrusive, but still convey their intended meaning in a working context as well as in a leisure time situation without being perceived as disturbing.

Investigating the Affective Impression of Tactile Feedback on Mobile Devices

“…A study by the authors of this paper tried to include both functionality and emotional impact of auditory feedback. We found a context effect for the affective impression of real-life sounds as well as for designed earcons (Seebode et al 2012). This study setup has been extended to the tactile modality with the context study described in this paper.…”

“…To mimic different usage scenarios, the following context study focuses on their assessment in an applied setting with three different context situations. The study setup has been applied to sounds for mobile devices in a previous study by the same authors (Seebode et al 2012), where a context effect for the affective impression of different sounds could be found.…”

“…Again, suitable background sounds and additional music on a low volume (Leq Office = 39.5 dB(A), Leq Bar = 48.5 dB(A), measured over 10 minutes, equivalent to the experiment block duration) were replayed during the whole experimental block. (Seebode et al 2012).…”

Emotional Feedback for Mobile Devices

“…Based on these results, a set of sounds was selected for a user study varying the context, in which they are presented to investigate their functional appropriateness and possible context effects (referred to as Auditory Context Study). These studies have been presented at an international conference [160] and published in an international journal [161].…”

“…In this user study auditory icons and earcons were rated by participants in order to further identify suitable sounds and to examine context effects. This chapter is based on a paper that has been presented at an international conference [160] and a publication in an international journal [161] (except importance ratings and correlations with sound duration).…”