Human Dimension of the Soundscape: From Individuals to Society - Soundscape Ecology: Principles, Patterns, Methods and Applications - page 106

Fig. 5.1 Schematic
representation of the three
levels at which humans
interact with the soundscape
these the sense of tranquility, that means one is safe from enemies, is probably just
one of the major remnants.
The “prospect and refuge” theory of Appleton ( 1975 ) is an important step,
although its reductionistic vision can limit the application to a more general
problem. However, this theory well explains the attitude of the first hominids to
select favorable places from which to scan the surroundings and to maintain a safe
refuge from predators or hostile competitors.
To a soundscape evaluation concur not only the sonic characters of the environ-
ment but also the visual (aesthetic) components. For instance, a bimodal stimulus
has been proved important for characterizing tranquil spaces, and in fact it has been
observed (Watts et al. 2009 ) that “the medial prefrontal cortex receives significantly
enhanced contribution from the auditory cortex under tranquil visual conditions
when compared to non-tranquil visual conditions.” When a soundscape is
appreciated through a visual scene, this definitely modifies the auditory perception.
Truax ( 1994 ) has distinguished three levels of attention toward sonic ambience:
Listening research, which is an active conscious activity for the listener, tuned in
to a specific sound. Examples include a birdwatcher walking in the fields or the
soundwalking of a researcher in urban parks.
Listening in readiness when the listener's attention is directed elsewhere but is
ready to receive meaningful information.
Background listening or distracted listening, when the listener is engaged in
other activities and does not pay attention to a specific sound.
In reality, these three categories of attentiveness can be better explained in terms
of active functions: in the first case an active function activates contemporarily a
sonic eco-field, and the second case and the third case can be associated with the
same situation based on a nonactive function that could be coupled with a sonic
eco-field. For instance, reading a topic is a function that does not require a sonic
eco-field, but considering that acoustic signals enter in our ears independently of
our will, if the signal is strong this creates an instinctive reaction and if the signal is
weak it can be neglected by our central nervous system.
Alarm or alert sounds modify the perception scenario decreasing the rating also
in the presence of highly valuable visual components.
Another important element to be considered when a sound is analyzed is
represented by the physical structure of sound that can generate alert or alarm. In
this case it seems reasonable to imagine that primitive instinctive components are