Affective responses to upstairs neighbours footsteps sound in a simulated living room: The role of temporal, spatial, and non-acoustic factors

This study investigates the relationship between the affective response evoked by hearing upstairs neighbour footsteps in wooden residential buildings, the acoustic characteristics of those footsteps sounds, and the personal traits of participants. Sound recordings were analysed using parameters extracted from the autocorrelation function (ACF) and interaural cross-correlation function (IACF) to identify temporal and spatial features. A laboratory experiment involving 46 individuals assessed their affective responses in terms of arousal and valence after being exposed to a variety of footsteps sounds. The visual simulation of the living room scenario was generated by inviting participants to wear a head-mounted display (HMD) that showed a 360-degree image of a living room with natural or artificial lighting. Participants self-reported their non-acoustic traits before the test including noise sensitivity, attitude towards neighbours, and circadian rhythm type. Results showed significant correlations between affective responses and all acoustic parameters. Pitch-related parameters (ɸ 1 and τ 1 ) and sound pressure level (SPL) were good predictors of arousal and valence. Without SPL, spatial parameters (IACC and τ IACC ) also contributed to affective ratings. Furthermore, participants with low noise sensitivity and a Morning chronotype reported significantly lower arousal and higher valence compared to those with high noise sensitivity and an Evening chronotype. Finally, participants with a positive attitude towards neighbours exhibited higher valence than those with a negative attitude towards neighbours. This study uniquely explores emotional responses to neighbour sounds in lightweight wooden buildings integrating acoustic and non-acoustic factors and using immersive simulations for a more realistic and ecologically valid assessment. • Arousal and valence ratings were significantly correlated with SPL and parameters extracted from the ACF/IACF functions. • Pitch-related parameters and SPL were good predictors of arousal and valence. • Without SPL, spatial parameters also contributed to affective ratings. • Non-acoustic factors significantly impacted affective responses and their correlations with ACF/IACF parameters.