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Call Us (631) 378-0061 It has long been known that there are strong connections among sound, music, emotion, and memory, and that our personal experiences and preferences determine the type and intensity of emotional reaction we have to various sounds.
For example, research has revealed these prevalent associations between certain sounds and emotions:
- The sound of a thunderstorm evokes a feeling of either relaxation or anxiety, depending on the individual
- Wind chimes commonly provoke a restless feeling
- Rain evokes a feeling of relaxation
- Fireworks evoke a feeling of nostalgia and pleasurable memories
- The vibrations of a cell phone are often perceived as irritating
Other sounds have a more universal identity. UCLA researchers have observed that the sound of laughter is universally identified as a positive sound signifying enjoyment, while other sounds are globally associated with fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and surprise.
So why are we susceptible to particular emotional responses in the presence of certain sounds? And why does the response tend to differ between individuals?
Although the answer is still effectively a mystery, current research by Sweden’s Lund University provides some fascinating insights into how sound and sound environments can affect humans on personal, emotional, and psychological levels.
Here are six psychological mechanisms through which sound may stir up emotions:
1. Brain-Stem Reflex
You’re seated quietly in your office when all of a sudden you hear a loud, sudden crash. What’s your response? If you’re like most, you become emotionally aroused and compelled to investigate. This kind of impulse is subconscious and hard-wired into your brain to warn you to possibly critical or life-threatening sounds.
2. Evaluative Conditioning
People frequently associate sounds with selected emotions based on the context in which the sound was heard. For example, hearing a song previously played on your wedding day may produce feelings of joy, while the same song first heard by someone during a bad breakup may create the opposing feelings of sadness.
3. Emotional Contagion
When someone smiles or starts laughing, it’s difficult to not start smiling and laughing yourself. Research carried out in the 1990s revealed that the brain may contain what are referred to as “mirror neurons” that are active both when you are carrying out a task AND when you are observing someone else perform the task. When we hear someone speaking while crying, for example, it can be challenging to not also experience the corresponding feelings of sadness.
4. Visual Imagery
Let’s say you love listening to CDs that contain exclusively the sounds of nature. Why do you like it? Presumably because it evokes a positive emotional experience, and, taking that even further, it most likely evokes some robust visual images of the natural surroundings in which the sounds are heard. Case in point, try listening to the sounds of waves crashing and NOT visualizing yourself relaxing at the beach.
5. Episodic Memory
Sounds can stimulate emotionally powerful memories, both good and bad. The sounds of rain can stir up memories of a pleasurable day spent at home, while the sound of thunder may lead to memories affiliated with combat experience, as seen in post-traumatic stress disorder.
6. Music Expectancy
Music has been depicted as the universal language, which seems logical the more you consider it. Music is, after all, simply a random assortment of sounds, and is pleasing only because the brain imposes order to the sounds and interprets the order in a specified way. It is, in fact, your expectations about the rhythm and melody of the music that trigger an emotional response.
Sound, Emotion, and Hearing Loss
Irrespective of your specific responses to different sounds, what is certain is that your emotions are directly involved. With hearing loss, you not only lose the capacity to hear particular sounds, you also lose the emotional impact tied to the sounds you can either no longer hear or can no longer hear well.
With hearing loss, for instance, nature walks become less pleasant when you can no longer hear the faint sounds of running water; music loses its emotional punch when you can’t differentiate specific instruments; and you place yourself at greater risk when you can’t hear fire alarms or other alerts to danger.
The truth is that hearing is more vital to our lives—and to our emotional lives—than we most likely realize. It also indicates that treating your hearing loss will probably have a greater impact than you realize, too.
What are some of your favorite sounds? What emotions do they evoke?
Are there any particular sounds or songs that make you feel happy, angry, annoyed, sad, or excited? Let us know in a comment.
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