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reveals new opportunities to act according to the
physiological observations of emoting processes.
But, and possibly more relevantly, recent scientific
findings on brain phenomena and on how cogni-
tion and emotion are intertwined (Damásio, 2000,
2003, 2005; Lane, Nadel, Allen, & Kaszniak, 2002;
Ledoux, 1998) build support for unprecedented
studies that aim to leverage cognitive attributes
through the exploration of emotional aspects of
the interaction (Norman, 2004).
The new thinking on emotion contributed to a
new perspective on the interaction process itself,
consistent with a move in the research focus from
a functionalist view of usability to a broader notion
of User Experience (Hassenzahl & Tractinsky,
2006; Mahlke, 2007; Mahlke & Thüring, 2007;
Norman, 2002). User Experience privileges qual-
ity of interaction over instrumental aspects and
introduces “the general notion of technology as
a positive aspect of our daily lives” (Mahlke,
2007). In computer games, the experience and the
explicit designing of emotions are core concepts
(Freeman, 2003; Marks & Novak, 2009; Schell,
2008) and-apart from game categories such as
“serious games”-they constitute the ultimate
argument for consumption.
That said, it seems fair to argue for a more
thoughtful exploration of sound, namely in what
concerns its potential association to emotions
(Ekman, 2008; Follett, 2007; Grimshaw, 2007;
Peck, 2001), with both a focus on purely hedonic
purposes and through an exploration of how the
achievement of specific emotional states may
indirectly contribute to pragmatic goals such as
various aspects of performance: efficiency, ef-
fectiveness, perception, memory, and so forth.
Interestingly, in other disciplines, sound has
proven to be notably associated with emotion;
relationships between sound and emotion have
been traditionally explored in areas like music
(Juslin & Sloboda, 2001) and cinema (Peck, 2001;
Sider, 2003) with a solid body of knowledge.
One aspect that appears fundamental to the
research of sound and emotion in interaction,
and which also remains overlooked, is the need
for a holistic perspective on sound, exploring the
benefits of considering the auditory component
not as a set of independent stimuli but as a coher-
ent composition integrated with the context of
the experience.
Acoustic Ecology
Acoustic ecology (Kallmann, Woog, & Wester-
kamp, 2007;
World Soundscape Project
, n.d.;
Wrightson, 2000), an area founded mostly by
music composers, is very insightful to an emo-
tionally meaningful conception of contextualized
sound. It is supported by the central concept of
soundscape (Schafer, 1973, 1994) and the thereby
developed musical composition (Truax, 1995,
2001). Together, they represent a meaningful body
of knowledge with particular emphasis on context,
emotion, and interaction between the listener and
the environment. The term soundscape means the
“sound heard in a real or virtual environment”
(Wrightson, 2000, p. 10) considered
as a whole
.
A soundscape is an ecologically balanced entity
where sound mediates the relationships between
individuals and the environment. So, acoustic
ecology implies a consideration of how the envi-
ronment is
understood
by those living within it:
regarding sound, the focus is on how it
functions
,
not simply how it propagates.
Acoustic ecology also supports the idea that
an acoustic environment can be understood as
a musical composition. This emphasis on the
concepts of harmony and orchestration is not
mere lyricism. Studies on natural environments
show balance in level, spectra, and rhythm. For
instance, it was observed that “animal and insect
vocalizations tended to occupy small bands of
frequencies leaving 'spectral niches' (bands of
little or no energy) into which the vocalizations
(fundamental and formants) of other animals,
birds or insects can fit” (Wrightson, 2000, p. 11).
Another implication is that the listener
shares
responsibility
in composition (Wrightson, 2000).
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