A PERCEPTUAL BIAS FOR INCREASING LOUDNESS: LOUDNESS CHANGE AND ITS ROLE IN MUSIC AND MOOD

Based on the premise that loudness change and rate of change are important in music and elicit an adaptive biological response (interpreted as an emotional reaction), two experiments investigated the effect that timbre (e.g., violin versus voice) of various layers (e.g., chord versus unison) and duration have on the overestimation of loudness change – or the ‘bias for rising intensities ’ [1]. Physiological response and emotional arousal – Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) – was also measured. Pairs of 60-90dB ramped (increasing intensity) and damped (decreasing intensity) stimuli (of identical spectral content) were presented to participants. In all conditions the perceptual ‘bias for rising intensities ’ was recovered. Measures of GSR indicated that both ramped and damped musical stimuli elicit reliable increases in physiological arousal. However, differences in GSR latency may suggest two qualitatively different response patterns. Overall, results support the hypothesis that short musical stimuli of increasing intensity elicit perceptual and physiological effects underpinned by an adaptive mechanism