Increased hedonic differences despite increases in hedonic range

Zellner, Debra A.; Jones, Ke'Nesha; Morino, Jennifer; Cogan, Elizabeth S.; Jennings, Emily M.; Parker, Scott

doi:10.3758/app.72.5.1261

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…For example, evaluations of pieces of music increase or decrease depending on whether previously heard pieces sounded bad or good, respectively (Parker et al, 2008). Similar hedonic-contrast effects are observed with tastes (Zellner et al, 2003), pictures of birds (Zellner et al, 2003), paintings (Dolese et al, 2005; Zellner et al, 2010), and the degree to which people are considered physically attractive (Kenrick and Gutierres, 1980). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Changing the Tune: Listeners Like Music that Expresses a Contrasting Emotion

et al. 2012

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Theories of esthetic appreciation propose that (1) a stimulus is liked because it is expected or familiar, (2) a stimulus is liked most when it is neither too familiar nor too novel, or (3) a novel stimulus is liked because it elicits an intensified emotional response. We tested the third hypothesis by examining liking for music as a function of whether the emotion it expressed contrasted with the emotion expressed by music heard previously. Stimuli were 30-s happy- or sad-sounding excerpts from recordings of classical piano music. On each trial, listeners heard a different excerpt and made liking and emotion-intensity ratings. The emotional character of consecutive excerpts was repeated with varying frequencies, followed by an excerpt that expressed a contrasting emotion. As the number of presentations of the background emotion increased, liking and intensity ratings became lower compared to those for the contrasting emotion. Consequently, when the emotional character of the music was relatively novel, listeners’ responses intensified and their appreciation increased.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Changing the Tune: Listeners Like Music that Expresses a Contrasting Emotion

et al. 2012

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“…Subjects readily apprehend the use of a scale of this sort with no special instruction; this was particularly useful in the informal settings in which data collection occurred. This sort of 10-point scale has been used to assess hedonic differences in Zellner et al (2010). As the subject was taking the headphones and was about to put them on, the experimenter said one of three things, defining the three conditions of the experiment:…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of expectations on loudness and loudness difference

Parker

Moore

Bahraini

et al. 2012

Atten Percept Psychophys

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To determine how expectations affect loudness and loudness difference, in two experiments we induced some subjects to expect loud sounds (condition L), some to expect soft sounds (condition S), and others to have no particular expectations (control). In Experiment 1, all subjects estimated the loudnesses of the same set of three moderately loud 1-kHz tones. Estimates were greatest for subjects in condition S and smallest for subjects in condition L. Control subjects' estimates were intermediate but closer to those of condition S subjects. In Experiment 2, subjects estimated the difference in loudness for pairs of moderately loud 1-kHz tones. Again, estimates were smallest for condition L subjects; estimates were greatest for control subjects, and condition S subjects' estimates were closer to control estimates than to condition L estimates. This pattern of results is explainable by a combination of (1) Parducci's (1995) range-frequency theory and (2) a gain control mechanism in the auditory system under top-down governance (Schneider, Parker, & Murphy, 2011).

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“… Schellenberg et al (2012) showed that emotional contrasts between adjacent musical stimuli intensify listeners’ emotional responses, and the intensified emotional responses tend to increase listeners’ appreciation because music evoking strong emotions is preferred by listeners. Notably, hedonic-contrast effects have been particularly associated with responses to stimuli that are evaluated esthetically ( Parducci, 1995 ; Dolese et al, 2005 ; Zellner et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Listeners’ Autonomic Responses to Dramatic Shifts Between Loud and Soft Music/Sound Passages: A Study of Heavy Metal Songs

Cheng

Tsai

2016

Front. Psychol.

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Although music and the emotion it conveys unfold over time, little is known about how listeners respond to shifts in musical emotions. A special technique in heavy metal music utilizes dramatic shifts between loud and soft passages. Loud passages are penetrated by distorted sounds conveying aggression, whereas soft passages are often characterized by a clean, calm singing voice and light accompaniment. The present study used heavy metal songs and soft sea sounds to examine how female listeners’ respiration rates and heart rates responded to the arousal changes associated with auditory stimuli. The high-frequency power of heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was used to assess cardiac parasympathetic activity. The results showed that the soft passages of heavy metal songs and soft sea sounds expressed lower arousal and induced significantly higher HF-HRVs than the loud passages of heavy metal songs. Listeners’ respiration rate was determined by the arousal level of the present music passage, whereas the heart rate was dependent on both the present and preceding passages. Compared with soft sea sounds, the loud music passage led to greater deceleration of the heart rate at the beginning of the following soft music passage. The sea sounds delayed the heart rate acceleration evoked by the following loud music passage. The data provide evidence that sound-induced parasympathetic activity affects listeners’ heart rate in response to the following music passage. These findings have potential implications for future research on the temporal dynamics of musical emotions.

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Increased hedonic differences despite increases in hedonic range

Cited by 15 publications

References 25 publications

Changing the Tune: Listeners Like Music that Expresses a Contrasting Emotion

Changing the Tune: Listeners Like Music that Expresses a Contrasting Emotion

Effects of expectations on loudness and loudness difference

Female Listeners’ Autonomic Responses to Dramatic Shifts Between Loud and Soft Music/Sound Passages: A Study of Heavy Metal Songs

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