Marble melancholy: using crossmodal correspondences of shapes, materials, and music to predict music-induced emotions

Abstract

IntroductionMusic is known to elicit strong emotions in listeners, and, if primed appropriately, can give rise to specific and observable crossmodal correspondences. This study aimed to assess two primary objectives: (1) identifying crossmodal correspondences emerging from music-induced emotions, and (2) examining the predictability of music-induced emotions based on the association of music with visual shapes and materials.MethodsTo achieve this, 176 participants were asked to associate visual shapes and materials with the emotion classes of the Geneva Music-Induced Affect Checklist scale (GEMIAC) elicited by a set of musical excerpts in an online experiment.ResultsOur findings reveal that music-induced emotions and their underlying core affect (i.e., valence and arousal) can be accurately predicted by the joint information of musical excerpt and features of visual shapes and materials associated with these music-induced emotions. Interestingly, valence and arousal induced by music have higher predictability than discrete GEMIAC emotions.DiscussionThese results demonstrate the relevance of crossmodal correspondences in studying music-induced emotions. The potential applications of these findings in the fields of sensory interactions design, multisensory experiences and art, as well as digital and sensory marketing are briefly discussed.

Sonic branding: A narrative review at the intersection of art and science

“…Scientific journals are increasingly publishing research documenting how well (i.e., "consensually"; Koriat, 2008) this or that sonic property or dimension (e.g., such as timbre, pitch, roughness, and so on) corresponds crossmodally to a particular sensory attribute, such as shape (i.e., curvilinearity), visual lightness, elevation, or even taste qualities (e.g., Adeli et al, 2014;Hagtvedt & Brasel, 2016;Mesz et al, 2023aMesz et al, , 2023bMotoki, Takahashi, et al, 2022;Reymore, 2022;Saitis et al, 2020;Wallmark, 2019). The associations between sound and taste have been widely documented, and brands are increasingly adapting these associations for use in their advertising campaigns and experiential activations (Spence et al, 2021), or at least that is the impression.…”