How auditory sensations affect human emotional responses to acoustic environments

Natural and built environments profoundly affect human emotions and well-being. This study focuses on human auditory perception of the physical environment, systematically examining how low-level auditory sensations, measured through standardised psychoacoustic parameters, impact human emotions in terms of both subjective feelings and physiological responses. Using a laboratory listening experiment with 33 participants exposed to 36 binaural recordings from diverse acoustic environments, the results reveal that auditory sensations, beyond highlevel cognitive perceptions, significantly affect human emotions, primarily in the Arousal dimension (both subjective feelings and electrodermal activity), but not the Pleasantness dimension. Different psychoacoustic parameters mainly affect different emotions: Loudness and Roughness primarily affect Relaxation-Stress and Arousal; Impulsiveness and Sharpness mainly affect Boredom-Excitement; and Fluctuation, Tonality, and Tonality Frequency mainly affect Arousal and Boredom-Excitement. These findings offer insights into the intrinsic relationship between auditory sensations and emotions and provide practical guidelines for environmental design to improve well-being and quality of life.