Bandpass Filtering and Congruence Affect Emotional Responses to Auditory and Auditory–Visual Nonspeech Stimuli

Purpose: This study examined the effects of reduced bandwidth and auditory-visual congruence on emotional responses to nonspeech auditory-only and auditory-visual stimuli. Auditory-visual stimuli were picture/sound pairs that were congruent or incongruent in terms of valence (e.g., pleasant picture/unpleasant sound or vice versa). Method: Twenty adults with normal hearing rated the valence (pleasant to unpleasant) and arousal (exciting to calming) of nonspeech auditory-only and auditory-visual stimuli. Auditory stimuli were presented broadband (~125–8000 Hz) or bandpass filtered (800–2000 Hz). Auditory-visual stimuli were created by combining auditory stimuli with a picture of congruent or incongruent valence. Results: Bandpass filtering of auditory-only stimuli reduced the range of valence responses (less pleasant and less unpleasant). With congruent auditory-visual stimuli, bandpass filtering did not affect valence ratings. Incongruent audiovisual stimuli were rated as less pleasant than were congruent, pleasant, auditory-visual stimuli. Arousal ratings were lower with bandpass filtering but were not affected by congruency. Conclusions: Congruent auditory-visual stimuli resulted in more extreme ratings of valence than did auditory-only stimuli. Incongruent auditory-visual stimuli were generally rated as more unpleasant than pleasant, auditory-only stimuli. Consistent with previous studies of low- and high-pass filtering, bandpass filtering (800–2000 Hz) of auditory-only stimuli resulted in more neutral responses, suggesting that frequencies below 800 Hz and above 2000 Hz are important for ratings of valence. Inconsistent with previous low- and high-pass filtering work, bandpass filtering did not affect ratings of congruent auditory-visual stimuli, suggesting a different set of frequencies are important for ratings of valence when visual cues are also available. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.29971387