Auditory evaluation of switch sounds according to listening situation

The sound of keyboard switches allows a computer operator to confirm the completion of input but may not be pleasant for listeners sitting beside the operator. Such differences in auditory evaluation may be caused by tactile feedback and attention. To isolate these two effects, we conducted an auditory evaluation experiment for comparing three situations: an operator listening attentively to the sound with tactile feedback, an active listener listening attentively to a sound without the feedback, and a passive listener who does not listen to the sound attentively without the feedback. Twenty-five switch sounds were rated by 22 participants for each situation using 26 pairs of adjectives on a 7-point scale. The experimental results suggest that the differences in auditory ratings are primarily due to the effects of tactile feedback. However, the effect of listener attention may exert a considerable effect on the affective evaluation of switch sounds as well.