Psychological assessment of an urban soundscape using facial expression analysis

In recent years, questionnaire investigations have typically been used in soundscape studies. However, the subjective results of this method are subject to many weaknesses. Therefore, it is necessary to discover an objective method for evaluating urban soundscapes. This study explored a new method for psychological assessment based on systems of facial expression analysis. The present study used FaceReader 7.1 to measure the facial expressions of 20 participants in a laboratory setting. The recordings and pictures used were taken from typical public urban environments in Harbin, China. The results showed that this objective method performed well in the evaluation of sound sources. Based on this method, some expression details, such as the change from happiness to sadness over time, can be assessed more accurately than with questionnaires. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that facial expression analysis can be used to assess soundscapes, and that urban planners should introduce habitats for birds and areas where there is water to improve comfort in public spaces.