The effect of inattention and cognitive load on unpleasantness judgments of environmental sounds

Abstract

Evaluations of our acoustical environment depend on sound characteristics as well as on factors attributable to the person and situation. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the listener’s attentional state and cognitive load, temporal characteristics of environmental sounds, and potential interaction effects on overall retrospective sound evaluations. Sixty-three test participants were presented six two-minute recordings of environmental sounds, whereby the temporal position of one occurring sound peak or valley was varied. The experimental group was distracted from the test sounds and cognitively loaded by performing the Stroop Test during the sound presentation and retrospectively rated the sounds in terms of loudness and pleasantness. In contrast, the control group attentively listened to the sounds and rated them during and after listening. Results showed that participants in the experimental group rated the sounds on average as 6.7% more pleasant than the participants of the control group. Moreover, previous findings on the influence of the peak position on the retrospective judgments (recency effect) were replicated; however, no effect of the temporal position of sound valleys was found. Retrospective judgments in the control group could further be predicted by the averaged momentary judgment, the linear trend over time as well as the momentary judgment during the peak and the end. Findings thus emphasize the need of taking into account human (in)attention and memory processes when assessing complex environmental sounds.