Music influences the perception of our acoustic and visual environment

While many sounds in our environment may cause annoyance to people, music is well-known to positively affect our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This study explores a cross-section of data on how music influences the perception of our acoustic and visual environment. Thirty-two participants were prompted by a smartphone app 10 times per day over the course of one week. They rated the soundscape and the visual environment and reported on the predominant sound source(s) occurring in the soundscape in addition to other situational variables. Upon completion of the study, participants also filled out a battery of standard personality questionnaires. Results reveal that during musical episodes, participants perceive their acoustic and visual environment as more pleasant, pay more attention to the soundscape, and report better mood states compared to non-musical episodes. These effects are robust in the context of only the home environment of the participants, where most of the music was consumed. Moreover, two interaction terms were found to be significantly correlated with the prevalence of musical episodes. This study therefore provides insight on how people actively "design" their environment with music, and how the motives for doing so depend on person-related and situational factors.