Auditory Preferences and Aesthetics

McDermott, Josh H.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-381431-9.00020-6

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 118 publications

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“…In Ratcliffe et al (2013), some participants felt that the novelty of certain bird sounds would be helpful for restoration, but findings from this study contradict this position and suggest that, when measured quantitatively, familiar bird sounds are perceived as potentially restorative, low in arousal, and generating a sense of being away. Notably, familiarity was not predictive of valence score, which contradicts findings from literature on music perception, where familiarity has been found to be related to intensity of emotional responses such as liking (McDermott, 2012). Participants' imagined need for restoration in this study may have made ratings of familiarity more relevant for arousal score than for valence.…”

Section: Aestheticscontrasting

confidence: 99%

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Predicting the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sounds Through Acoustics and Aesthetics

Ratcliffe

Gatersleben

2018

Environment and Behavior

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Some, but not all, bird sounds are associated with perceptions of restoration from stress and cognitive fatigue. The perceptual properties that might underpin these differences are understudied. In this online study, ratings of perceived restorative potential (PRP) and aesthetic properties of 50 bird sounds were provided by 174 residents of the United Kingdom. These were merged with data on objectively measured acoustic properties of the sounds. Regression analyses demonstrated that sound level, harmonics, and frequency, and perceptions of complexity, familiarity, and pattern, were significant predictors of PRP and cognitive and affective appraisals of bird sounds. These findings shed light on the structural and perceptual properties that may influence restorative potential of acoustic natural stimuli. Finally, through their potential associations with meaning, these findings highlight the importance of further study of semantic or meaning-based properties within the restorative environments literature.

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Section: Aestheticscontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…These were computed using the bioacoustics software Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2012). Self-report measures of aesthetic properties (familiarity, complexity, and pattern) were used due to the more subjective nature of these variables, particularly familiarity (see McDermott, 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sounds Through Acoustics and Aesthetics

Ratcliffe

Gatersleben

2018

Environment and Behavior

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“…Goel and Etwaroo (2006) observed that exposure to a recording of birdsong combined with classical music significantly reduced self-reported depression and anger in a sample of University students, both depressed and nondepressed. While the findings suggest that listening to birdsong, among other sounds, can have rapid effects on self-reported mood, the study does not dissociate the effects of birdsong from the effects of music, a stimulus which is well-known to induce affective change (see McDermott, 2012, for a review). In a laboratory experiment, Benfield et al (2014) exposed participants to a stress-and negative affect-inducing video and then to one of four conditions: natural sounds (birdsong and rustling leaves); natural sounds plus traffic; natural sounds plus voices; or a control condition with no audio present.…”

Section: Subjectively Measured Restorationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Sound and Soundscape in Restorative Natural Environments: A Narrative Literature Review

Ratcliffe¹

2021

Front. Psychol.

124

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Acoustic experiences of nature represent a growing area in restorative environments research and are explored in this narrative literature review. First, the work surveyed indicates that nature is broadly characterized by the sounds of birdsong, wind, and water, and these sounds can enhance positive perceptions of natural environments presented through visual means. Second, isolated from other sensory modalities these sounds are often, although not always, positively affectively appraised and perceived as restorative. Third, after stress and/or fatigue nature sounds and soundscapes can lead to subjectively and objectively improved mood and cognitive performance, as well as reductions in arousal, although some inconsistencies in findings are observed. Fourth, theoretical frameworks of restorative environments would benefit from inclusion of acoustic environmental properties such as sound intensity or frequency. Fifth, findings regarding positive, learned semantic associations with nature have arisen as a result of recent work on sounds and restoration. This represents another important area of potential theoretical development for broader restorative environments research.

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“…In 2014, the International Organization of Standardization developed a broader definition of soundscape: acoustic environment as perceived or experienced and/or understood by a person or people, in context [18]. Assessment of soundscape is part of sensory aesthetics research and the aesthetic response of surroundings is considered to be a mix of high pleasure, excitement and relaxation [19,20]. In terms of positive effects, a study suggested that nature-and culture-related sounds, such as fountains, birds singing, bells and music from clock, which induce tranquil and pleasant feelings, are preferred in urban squares, as opposed to artificial sounds [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the Musical Sound Environment on Communicating Emotion

Meng

Jiang

Liu

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The acoustic environment is one of the factors influencing emotion, however, existing research has mainly focused on the effects of noise on emotion, and on music therapy, while the acoustic and psychological effects of music on interactive behaviour have been neglected. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of music on communicating emotion including evaluation of music, and d-values of pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD), in terms of sound pressure level (SPL), musical emotion, and tempo. Based on acoustic environment measurement and a questionnaire survey with 52 participants in a normal classroom in Harbin city, China, the following results were found. First, SPL was significantly correlated with musical evaluation of communication: average scores of musical evaluation decreased sharply from 1.31 to −2.13 when SPL rose from 50 dBA to 60 dBA, while they floated from 0.88 to 1.31 between 40 dBA and 50 dBA. Arousal increased with increases in musical SPL in the negative evaluation group. Second, musical emotions had significant effects on musical evaluation of communication, among which the effect of joyful-sounding music was the highest; and in general, joyful- and stirring-sounding music could enhance pleasure and arousal efficiently. Third, musical tempo had significant effect on musical evaluation and communicating emotion, faster music could enhance arousal and pleasure efficiently. Finally, in terms of social characteristics, familiarity, gender combination, and number of participants affected communicating emotion. For instance, in the positive evaluation group, dominance was much higher in the single-gender groups. This study shows that some music factors, such as SPL, musical emotion, and tempo, can be used to enhance communicating emotion.

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Auditory Preferences and Aesthetics

Cited by 34 publications

References 118 publications

Predicting the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sounds Through Acoustics and Aesthetics

Predicting the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sounds Through Acoustics and Aesthetics

Sound and Soundscape in Restorative Natural Environments: A Narrative Literature Review

Effects of the Musical Sound Environment on Communicating Emotion

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