Acoustic Intensity Causes Perceived Changes in Arousal Levels in Music: An Experimental Investigation

Listener perceptions of changes in the arousal expressed by classical music have been found to correlate with changes in sound intensity/loudness over time. This study manipulated the intensity profiles of different pieces of music in order to test the causal nature of this relationship. Listeners (N = 38) continuously rated their perceptions of the arousal expressed by each piece. An extract from Dvorak's Slavonic Dance Opus 46 No 1 was used to create a variant in which the direction of change in intensity was inverted, while other features were retained. Even though it was only intensity that was inverted, perceived arousal was also inverted. The original intensity profile was also superimposed on three new pieces of music. The time variation in the perceived arousal of all pieces was similar to their intensity profile. Time series analyses revealed that intensity variation was a major influence on the arousal perception in all pieces, in spite of their stylistic diversity.

已有研究发现，听众对古典音乐所传递的唤醒度（arousal）变化的感知，会随时间推移与声音强度/响度的变化呈现相关性。本研究通过操控不同音乐作品的强度轮廓，以检验该关联的因果本质。共有38名听众（N=38），他们会持续对每首乐曲所传递的唤醒度感知进行评分。本研究取用德沃夏克《斯拉夫舞曲》作品46号第1首的片段，制作了一个强度变化方向反转、其余特征保持不变的变体版本。即便仅反转了强度参数，听众感知到的唤醒度也随之发生反转。研究还将原始强度轮廓叠加至三首全新的音乐作品中。所有作品的唤醒度感知随时间的变化趋势，均与其强度轮廓保持一致。时序分析结果显示，尽管各作品的风格存在差异，但强度变化仍是影响所有作品唤醒度感知的核心因素。