@misc{PtasczynskiBlaettermannGregetal.2023, author = {Ptasczynski, Lena Esther and Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Greg, Fabian and Sterzer, Philipp and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Dataset related to the paper "The vibe of musical and social reward: Listening to beat-based music acts as a surrogate for socioemotional support during the Covid-19 pandemic"}, edition = {v0.9}, publisher = {Zenodo}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.7669360}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The set includes data related to the paper "The vibe of musical and social reward: Listening to beat-based music acts as a surrogate for socioemotional support during the Covid-19 pandemic" *************** Information *************** Dataset of the related text publication: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2529116/v1}, language = {en} } @article{SteffensAngladaTort2023, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Anglada-Tort, Manuel}, title = {The effect of visual recognition on listener choices when searching for music in playlists}, series = {Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts}, journal = {Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, issn = {1931-3896}, doi = {10.1037/aca0000562}, year = {2023}, language = {en} } @article{TarlaoSteffensGuastavino2021, author = {Tarlao, Cynthia and Steffens, Jochen and Guastavino, Catherine}, title = {Investigating contextual influences on urban soundscape evaluations with structural equation modeling}, series = {Building and Environment}, volume = {188}, journal = {Building and Environment}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {0360-1323}, doi = {10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107490}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @misc{vonBergSchwoererPrinzetal.2023, author = {von Berg, Markus and Schw{\"o}rer, Paul and Prinz, Lukas and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {OPRA: Akustische Analyse musikalischer Auff{\"u}hrungsr{\"a}ume im Browser}, series = {Akustik Journal}, journal = {Akustik Journal}, number = {3}, issn = {2569-1600}, pages = {41 -- 52}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Der Auff{\"u}hrungsraum leistet einen substantiellen Beitrag zum Erleben von Musikdarbietungen. Zur Beschreibung der Akustik von Auff{\"u}hrungsr{\"a}umen haben sich dabei zahlreiche Messgr{\"o}ßen etabliert, welche bestimmte Wahrnehmungsqualit{\"a}ten, wie z. B. die Halligkeit, abbilden sollen. Dem stellt j{\"u}ngere Forschung rein perzeptive Messinventare gegen{\"u}ber, die den Wahrnehmungseindruck als solchen, losgel{\"o}st vom physikalischen Ursprung, beschreiben. Dieser Artikel beschreibt einen Versuch, diese beiden Forschungsrichtungen zusammenzuf{\"u}hren, indem Bewertungen von Auff{\"u}hrungsr{\"a}umen nach dem perzeptiven Room Acoustical Quality Index (RAQI) durch physikalische Messgr{\"o}ßen modelliert wurden, welche aus einfachen Impulsantwortmessungen ermittelt werden. Dazu wurde eine Auswahl raumakustischer Messgr{\"o}ßen auf f{\"u}nf Dimensionen reduziert und diese als Pr{\"a}diktoren f{\"u}r die einzelnen Wahrnehmungsgr{\"o}ßen des RAQI getestet. Die Berechnung dieser Pr{\"a}diktionsmodelle wird vorgestellt und deren Pr{\"a}zision diskutiert. Anschließend wird die OPRA-Webanwendung vorgestellt, die sowohl die Berechnung der raumakustischen Messgr{\"o}ßen als auch die Pr{\"a}diktion von RAQI-Wahrnehmungsgr{\"o}ßen f{\"u}r die drei Quellsignale Sprache, Orchester und Solotrompete im Browser erm{\"o}glicht. Auch wenn die Pr{\"a}zision der Pr{\"a}diktionsmodelle noch nicht f{\"u}r alle RAQI-Faktoren zuverl{\"a}ssige Ergebnisse liefert, erlaubt OPRA eine umfangreiche akustische Analyse und eine erste Einsch{\"a}tzung der perzeptiven Wirkung von Auff{\"u}hrungsr{\"a}umen.}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{KleinvonBergBirweetal.2024, author = {Klein, Paula and von Berg, Markus and Birwe, Dagmar and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Can the Perceived Spatial Impression of Classical Recordings Be Predicted by Audio Descriptors? [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-939296-22-5}, pages = {1034 -- 1037}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The perceived spatial impression is an important factor in the aesthetic appreciation of classical music recordings. Crucial aspects of spatial perception can be described by the attributes ensemble width, depth, envelopment, and reverberation duration. In a listening experiment, a sample of 30 experts rated 24 orchestra recordings by these attributes. To compare these ratings to signalrelated measures of spatial impression, an audio descriptor for the interaural cross-correlation coefficient in music recordings was chosen as a measure of perceived ensemble width. A second algorithm estimated the reverberation time from decay segments in the recorded music. Linear mixed-effects models were then used to test whether these two descriptors, combined with other audio features related to timbre, are suitable for predicting participants' ratings of the perceptual attributes. Overall, results confirmed that the signal-related measures used can indeed predict perceptual attributes, with 41\% of rating variance explained in the case of reverberation duration. In contrast, these objective measures turned out to be less accurate predictors of the perceived ensemble width, with a variance explanation of 21\%. This study can thus be regarded as a starting point for further studies aiming to predict the perceived spatial impression in music recordings.}, subject = {Raumakustik}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{vonBergWolfSteffens2024, author = {von Berg, Markus and Wolf, Anna-Christina and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Preferences patterns in music requests on a radio show for children [Abstract]}, series = {ESCOM12 (York, La Plata \& Melbourne) - The 12th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music: Book of Abstracts}, booktitle = {ESCOM12 (York, La Plata \& Melbourne) - The 12th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music: Book of Abstracts}, editor = {Schiavio, Andrea and Daffern, Helena and Glasser, Solange and Osborne, Margaret and Martinez, Isabel C. and Marchiano, Maria and Blas P{\´e}rez, Joaquin and Kempf, Adrian and Norton, Naomi and Gibbs, Hannah J. and Owen, Caroline and Kirts, Connor G. and O'Neill, Katherine and Jackson, Rebecca}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t Graz}, address = {Graz}, pages = {257 -- 258}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Background Previous research has observed vast changes in musical preference during childhood and adolescence due to developmental processes such as the experience of aesthetic responses to music (Nieminen et al., 2012) and the formation and expression of social identity through distinct musical preferences (Hargreaves et al., 2016). Most of this research, however, is either based on the evaluation of musical pieces that have been previously selected by adult experimenters, or self-reports on preferences for different musical styles. Aim(s) This study presents another methodological approach by collecting and analysing music that was freely requested on a children's radio show. The aim was to test to what extent findings from self-reports and ratings of pre-selected music apply to this kind of data. Methods A sample of 1412 freely and publicly expressed music requests of children between 4 and 11 years was taken from a German radio program and analysed with regard to age- and sex-specific differences. The music was categorized into genres as listed on Spotify and examined by methods of Music Information Retrieval provided by the Spotify Developer API. Additionally, the music was genre-independently classified as children's music. Results Results showed that, at younger ages, the requests were generally more evenly distributed across different genres. Regarding single genres, logistic regression models revealed small positive relationships between age and the likelihood of requesting the genres Pop and Electro and small negative relationships between age and the likelihood of requesting Acapella, German songwriter, Indie, theme songs, and children's music. Furthermore, contingency table analyses showed that boys requested significantly more Rock and Hip Hop, whereas girls had a higher tendency to ask for Pop. Finally, age was negatively correlated with the Spotify features valence and liveness of the requested music, which was related to the higher preference for children's music at younger ages. Discussion and Conclusion The results suggest that previous findings regarding musically expressed gender roles and increasing formation of distinct genre preferences during infancy also apply to single song requests made on a radio show. References Hargreaves, D. J., North, A. C., \& Tarrant, M. (2016). How and why do musical preferences change in childhood adolescence. In G. McPherson (Ed.), The child as musician: A handbook of musical development (Second edition). Oxford University Press. Nieminen, S., Ist{\´o}k, E., Brattico, E., \& Tervaniemi, M. (2012). The development of the aesthetic experience of music: Preference, emotions, and beauty. Musicae Scientiae, 16(3), 372-391. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864912450454}, subject = {Musikwahrnehmung}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{HammHoernerSteffens2024, author = {Hamm, Jill and H{\"o}rner, Fernand and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Smartphone-Nutzung bei Live-Konzerten: Zwischen Erlebnis und Mediatisierung [Abstract]}, series = {40. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie Digitalisierung in der Musikpsychologie 6.-8. September 2024: Programm und Abstracts}, booktitle = {40. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie Digitalisierung in der Musikpsychologie 6.-8. September 2024: Programm und Abstracts}, address = {Freiburg}, organization = {Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie e.V.}, pages = {52 -- 53}, year = {2024}, subject = {Live-Auftritt}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{WilczekSteffensWeinzierl2019, author = {Wilczek, Tobias and Steffens, Jochen and Weinzierl, Stefan}, title = {Room acoustics, soundscapes and customer satisfaction in restaurants - a field study}, series = {Proceedings of the International Symposium on Room Acoustics (ISRA) 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Symposium on Room Acoustics (ISRA) 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands.}, editor = {Lautenbach, Margriet and Witew, Ingo B. and de Vries, Diemer and Hornikx, Maarten}, publisher = {Nederlands Akoestisch Genootschap}, address = {Heerde}, isbn = {978-90-9032895-9}, doi = {10.18154/RWTH-CONV-240148}, pages = {854 -- 857}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{EgermannLepaHerzogetal.2017, author = {Egermann, Hauke and Lepa, Steffen and Herzog, Martin and Sch{\"o}nrock, Andreas and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Automatische Vorhersage musikinduzierter Attributassoziationen im Kontext von Audio-Branding}, series = {33. Abstract-Band zur Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie (DGM)}, booktitle = {33. Abstract-Band zur Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie (DGM)}, address = {Hamburg}, organization = {Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie}, year = {2017}, language = {de} } @article{HerzogLepaEgermannetal.2020, author = {Herzog, Martin and Lepa, Steffen and Egermann, Hauke and Schoenrock, Andreas and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Towards a common terminology for music branding campaigns}, series = {Journal of Marketing Management}, volume = {36}, journal = {Journal of Marketing Management}, number = {1-2}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis}, doi = {10.1080/0267257X.2020.1713856}, pages = {176 -- 209}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @article{IrrgangSteffensEgermann2020, author = {Irrgang, Melanie and Steffens, Jochen and Egermann, Hauke}, title = {From acceleration to rhythmicity: Smartphone-assessed movement predicts properties of music}, series = {Journal of New Music Research}, volume = {4}, journal = {Journal of New Music Research}, number = {7}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis}, doi = {10.1080/09298215.2020.1715447}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{JakobsBoeldtSelbachetal.2019, author = {Jakobs, Christoph and B{\"o}ldt, Sebastian and Selbach, Dustin and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Extreme response style in listening tests}, series = {Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics: integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019 : 9-13 September 2019 in Aachen, Germany}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics: integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019 : 9-13 September 2019 in Aachen, Germany}, address = {Aachen}, isbn = {978-3-939296-15-7}, doi = {10.18154/RWTH-CONV-239966}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SteffensMuellerSchulzetal.2019, author = {Steffens, Jochen and M{\"u}ller, Franz and Schulz, Melanie and Gibson, Samuel}, title = {Cognitive load influences the evaluation of complex acoustical scenarios}, series = {Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress on Acoustics}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Aachen}, isbn = {978-3-939296-15-7}, doi = {10.18154/RWTH-CONV-239577}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @article{RuthHantschelLoepthienetal.2024, author = {Ruth, Nicolas and Hantschel, Florian and Loepthien, Tim and Randall, Will M. and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {The relation between technology acceptance and music listening: An experience sampling study}, series = {Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie}, volume = {32}, journal = {Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie}, publisher = {Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID)}, issn = {2569-5665}, doi = {10.5964/jbdgm.181}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-44662}, pages = {1 -- 10}, year = {2024}, abstract = {In the intersection of technology and music listening, understanding user experiences is paramount. This research employed the Experience Sampling Method via the smartphone app MuPsych to continuously capture real-time data on individuals' music listening behaviors and related emotional responses. Over a span of two weeks, participants from Germany were prompted to report on various factors as they engaged in music listening, resulting in a rich dataset. Results indicate that Spotify Premium was the most frequently used music application, with personal playlists being the preferred listening format. To unravel the intricacies of these responses and their determinants, linear mixed-effects model analysis was utilized. Among the critical findings, the Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, two of the central constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model, emerged as significant predictors for the valence and enjoyment of the music experienced by users during the onset of music listening sessions. This highlights the imperative role of user-friendly interfaces in enhancing positive emotional states even before fully engaging with the music, underscoring the need for designers and developers of music-related apps to prioritise usability and useful functions.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{ErdmannvonBergSteffens2024, author = {Erdmann, Matthias and von Berg, Markus and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Untersuchung des Einflusses einer Musikvisualisierung auf die {\"a}sthetische Erfahrung des Publikums bei einer Live-Musikdarbietung in Mixed Reality [Abstract]}, series = {40. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie Digitalisierung in der Musikpsychologie 6.-8. September 2024: Programm und Abstracts}, booktitle = {40. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie Digitalisierung in der Musikpsychologie 6.-8. September 2024: Programm und Abstracts}, address = {Freiburg}, organization = {Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Musikpsychologie e.V.}, pages = {26 -- 27}, year = {2024}, subject = {{\"A}sthetische Wahrnehmung}, language = {de} } @misc{SteffensBlaettermannSattleretal.2025, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Sattler, Maximilian and Tang, Kevin}, title = {How does a credible voice sound? [Project Repository]}, publisher = {Open Science Framework}, doi = {10.17605/OSF.IO/MTCUH}, year = {2025}, abstract = {A project repository for the paper: Steffens, Bl{\"a}ttermann, Sattler and Tang (2025, "How does a credible voice sound?"). It contains three components: the dataset, data analyses and the materials to elicit the speech data.}, subject = {Sprechen}, language = {en} } @article{HunkeHuberSteffens2025, author = {Hunke, Til and Huber, Florian and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {The Evolution of Song Lyrics: An NLP-Based Analysis of Popular Music in Germany from 1954 to 2022}, series = {Music \& Science}, volume = {8}, journal = {Music \& Science}, publisher = {Sage Publications}, issn = {2059-2043}, doi = {10.1177/20592043251331155}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-52618}, pages = {20}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Music is an indispensable cultural product, reflecting changes in social, psychological, and cultural contexts. This study analyzes the historical evolution of topics and conveyed affect in popular music lyrics in Germany from 1954 to 2022, using LDA-based topic modeling and transformer-based sentiment analysis. These results show that Love \& Relationships is the most referenced topic, with Dreams \& Longings prominent until the mid-1960s and Society \& Status rising from 2017. The sentiment analysis reveals a significant decline in positive sentiment since the mid-1960s, accompanied by increases in negative, ambiguous, and neutral sentiments. These trends may reflect broader societal changes, including shifts in cultural values, rising individualism, and increasing mental health issues. The study highlights the evolving nature of popular music and its reflection of social dynamics.}, subject = {Popmusik}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{HimmeleinSteffensPoerschmann2024, author = {Himmelein, Hendrik and Steffens, Jochen and P{\"o}rschmann, Christoph}, title = {Influence of the room divergence effect on mental effort and noise perception in virtual environments [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-939296-22-5}, pages = {1226 -- 1229}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Psychoakustische Forschung setzt vermehrt auf den Einsatz audiovisueller virtueller Realit{\"a}t, um multimodaler Bewertungseinfl{\"u}sse Rechnung zu tragen und so die damit zusammenh{\"a}ngende {\"o}kologische Validit{\"a}t und Alltagsn{\"a}he erzielter Ergebnisse aus Laborstudien zu erh{\"o}hen. Studien lassen jedoch vermuten, dass multimodale kontextbezogene Einflussfaktoren wie Raumdivergenz (hier Unterschiede in virtuell pr{\"a}sentiertem Raum und realer Umgebung) und intrinsische Erwartungshaltung einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die durch virtuelle Umgebungen induzierte kognitive Beanspruchung und somit die Ger{\"a}uschbewertung haben. Um zu untersuchen, inwieweit physische Pr{\"a}senz in einem zur VR-Umgebung visuell divergenten realen Raum die kognitive Belastung und die Ger{\"a}uschbewertung beeinflussen, wurde ein 2x2 Between-Subjects-Experiment in einer virtuellen B{\"u}roumgebung durchgef{\"u}hrt. Dazu wurde eine reale Umgebung in Unity nachgebildet und den Versuchsteilnehmer*innen {\"u}ber ein Head-Mounted Display (HMD) pr{\"a}sentiert. Je nach Kondition wurde der Versuch im visuell kongruenten oder divergenten physischen Raum durchgef{\"u}hrt. Dynamische, binaurale, {\"u}ber Kopfh{\"o}rer pr{\"a}sentierte B{\"u}roger{\"a}uschszenarien sollten dabei in allen Konditionen, hinsichtlich ihrer Lautheit und Unangenehmheit retrospektiv bewertet werden. Um zus{\"a}tzlich die induzierte kognitive Beanspruchung genauer zu untersuchen, wurden Teilnehmer*innen aufgefordert, je Kondition entweder lediglich die Ger{\"a}usche zu bewerten oder zus{\"a}tzlich parallel den Stroop-Test durchzuf{\"u}hren. Erste Ergebnisse weisen auf eine signifikante Ver{\"a}nderung der Ger{\"a}uschwahrnehmung im divergenten Raum hin. Implikationen f{\"u}r das experimentelle Design im Bereich der psychoakustischen Forschung werden diskutiert.}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{ErdmannVersuemerSteffens2024, author = {Erdmann, Matthias and Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Advanced Soundscape Search: A Web Application for Interactive Exploration of ISO 12913 Datasets [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-939296-22-5}, pages = {1417 -- 1420}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The development of the ISO 12913 has led to the creation of standardized methodologies for collecting and analyzing individual responses regarding acoustic environments in context, with the aim of enabling comparability, replicability, and the development of modelling algorithms in soundscape prediction and design tasks. The development of methods to represent and explore soundscape data has the potential to facilitate deeper insights into different datasets. Although it is unlikely that any single method will sufficiently capture all information in empirical studies, attempts are worthwhile to facilitate advancements in this realm. Therefore, we propose a web application that fosters an interactive exploration of datasets based on the ISO 12913. The application facilitates a comprehensive soundscape search using the 8 items of the standard, 8 features characterizing the soundscape (e.g., intensities of natural, human, and technical sound sources heard), and 10 distinct acoustic features. The search encompasses all possible combinations of these components, thus facilitating detailed exploration, offering an in-depth dataset overview, and enabling the comparison of different datasets. Further functionalities include text searching and the option to download, save, and load selected soundscapes, enhancing control and flexibility in the design of empirical studies and supporting urban planners in understanding various soundscape items.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{VersuemerSteffens2024, author = {Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Investigating real indoor soundscapes and their predictability for known and unknown subjects [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Understanding people's perception of everyday sound involves a complex interplay of various acoustic and non-acoustic factors. Our objective is to uncover important predictors for predicting real indoor soundscapes. To this end, we re-analyzed soundscape data recorded and evaluated by individuals in their homes, aiming for the utmost ecological validity. Given the intricate nature of sound perception and potential non-linear effects of acoustic and psychoacoustic predictors, we utilized machine-learning methods combined with hierarchical linear modeling to analyze 6375 soundscapes from 96 participants including acoustical, psychoacoustical, as well as situational und person-related predictors. Based on this analysis, we measured both the variability within and between subjects and obtained model fits for the prediction of both soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness. In order to discuss cases where predictions for known individuals or places are of interest, we employed (nested) cross-validation using different data-splitting methods. By doing so, our study sheds light on the generalizability of empirical findings when predicting soundscape evaluations for unknown or known subjects and thus supports a deeper understanding of everyday sound perception.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{DraegerSteffensvonBerg2024, author = {Dr{\"a}ger, Paul and Steffens, Jochen and von Berg, Markus}, title = {How Does Lombard Speech Behave When The Background Noise Level Decreases? [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-939296-22-5}, pages = {1259 -- 1262}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The Lombard Effect and its impact on human speech production, also known as 'Lombard Speech', have been investigated in numerous scientific studies. It is known that the intensity, but also the type of background noise can affect Lombard Speech. By contrast, the potential effect of a gradual reduction of the amplitude of the background noise has received little attention in previous research. To test for such an effect, we split 34 participants into couples and had them orally compare images. In the experimental condition, there was background noise (masker) whose amplitude was reduced from 70 to 50 dB(A) over a period of 100 seconds. Measures of speech production after this decay were compared to those of a reference condition in which the masker was constantly at 50 dB(A). We hypothesized that speech production due to prior exposure to a louder masker would show a stronger expression of Lombard Speech in the experimental compared to the reference condition. The results showed a significant difference regarding the level of the first formant F1 across conditions, but not regarding the overall dB(A) level. However, tendencies could be identified, which can serve as a basis for further investigations.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{vonBergHimmelinSteffens2024, author = {von Berg, Markus and Himmelin, Hendrik and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Does Noise Sensitivity Decrease Auditory Task Performance and Person-Reliability? [Vortrag]}, series = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, booktitle = {Fortschritte der Akustik - DAGA 2024, 18. - 21. M{\"a}rz 2024, Hannover}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Noise sensitivity is a widely used, yet inconsistently defined, concept of being disturbed by environmental noise, independent of loudness levels. The origins of noise sensitivity are mostly unclear, but it has a higher prevalence among people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, and could be caused by increased neural excitation due to sound, resulting in increased cognitive load. In this case, noise sensitivity can be expected to decrease people's mental performance in both auditory and non-auditory tasks. The former was tested in an experiment using a dual-task paradigm where participants had to solve a visual task in the presence of environmental sounds and afterwards had to recall which sounds they perceived and to evaluate the overall soundscape pleasantness and loudness. Preliminary results indicate that participants' noise sensitivity is positively correlated with the experienced cognitive load as well as with loudness and unpleasantness judgments. Also, noise sensitivity was negatively associated with the performance in the recall task and the test-retest-reliability of their judgments. These findings support the idea that noise sensitivity is a consequence of difficulties in filtering irrelevant auditory information.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{BeckmannDenfeldKoehnetal.2024, author = {Beckmann, Felix and Denfeld, Alexander and Koehn, Konrad and Medebach, Ina and Steffens, Jochen and Weinzierl, Stefan}, title = {Untersuchung der akustischen Qualit{\"a}t von Restaurants in Berlin und D{\"u}sseldorf}, isbn = {978-3-939296-22-5}, pages = {271 -- 274}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Widrige akustische Bedingungen stellen einen der Hauptgr{\"u}nde f{\"u}r Beschwerden in Restaurants dar; insbesondere bei h{\"o}rbeeintr{\"a}chtigten G{\"a}sten kann eine schlechte Akustik den Besuch im Restaurant negativ beeinflussen oder gar fr{\"u}hzeitig enden lassen. Um Empfehlungen hinsichtlich optimaler Nachhallzeiten sowie beobachtete Zusammenh{\"a}nge zwischen akustischen und nichtakustischen Faktoren bei Restaurantbesuchen zu {\"u}berpr{\"u}fen und im Hinblick auf verschiedene Restaurantkategorien zu erweitern, wurden in der vorliegenden Studie 20 Restaurants in Berlin und NRW mit insgesamt mehr als 600 G{\"a}sten untersucht. Hierbei wurden sowohl die Nachhallzeit als auch der Lautst{\"a}rkepegel sowie die Anzahl der G{\"a}ste im Raum {\"u}ber die Zeit erfasst. Mittels elektronischem Fragebogen wurden Soundscape-Parameter, Besuchsmotive sowie die empfundene Sprachverst{\"a}ndlichkeit und Restaurantqualit{\"a}t erhoben. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen einen großen Zusammenhang zwischen objektiven akustischen Gr{\"o}ßen und wahrgenommener akustischer Angenehmheit und Sprachverst{\"a}ndlichkeit, welcher je nach Restaurantkategorie variiert. Die Daten zeigen weiterhin, dass sich die akustische Angenehmheit nicht vollst{\"a}ndig durch die Sprachverst{\"a}ndlichkeit im Restaurant aufkl{\"a}ren l{\"a}sst. Implikationen f{\"u}r das akustische Design von Restaurants im Spannungsfeld zwischen Ruhe und Lebendigkeit werden diskutiert.}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{SteffensBlaettermannJoschko2024, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Joschko, Marcel}, title = {Exploring Album Dramaturgy: A Computational Music Analysis Across Pop Music History [Abstract]}, series = {escom12 - The 12th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music: Book of Abstracts}, booktitle = {escom12 - The 12th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music: Book of Abstracts}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t Graz}, address = {Graz}, doi = {10.25364/602.2024.3}, pages = {245 -- 246}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Background A musical album can be considered a central artwork of an artist, and the order of its songs can influence the way the album is perceived by the listener. That is, purposeful sequencing can create an emotional journey and suspense (Lehne \& K{\"o}lsch, 2015), tell a story or reinforce a particular concept or theme in the artist's music. Aim(s) This study thus aimed on examining the evolution of albums over the course of pop music history and on unveiling patterns (i.e. clusters) and temporal shifts in emotion- related album dramaturgy dependent on the cultural context (in terms of genres) by utilizing advanced computational methods. Methods We first created a dataset by scraping titles and artists of the weekly Top 10 albums (n = 14.394) from the Billboard.com charts from 1957 to 2022. We further extracted the emotion-related audio descriptors 'valence' and 'energy' from the Spotify Developer API for each track of the corresponding album, resulting in two-dimensional time series. We then employed Deep Time Series Embedding Clustering (DeTSEC; lenco et al., 2020) which can handle multivariate time series of different length. Finally, k-means clustering was applied on the embeddings produced by the DeTSEC, resulting in a 12 cluster solution. Results To facilitate the interpretation of our solution, we determined the most representative album of a cluster using the smallest Euclidean distance to its centroid. Preliminary time series analysis of the resulting 12 albums confirm different emotional trajectories of the respective clusters, for instance showing decreasing valence and arousal values over time for "I am up" by Young Thug (Cluster 6) or highest valence and arousal values at the beginning and the end of the album for"The New Classic" by Iggy Azalea (Cluster 12). Furthermore, Chi² tests revealed significant associations between an album's cluster membership and both its year of release and its genre. Discussion and Conclusion The study constitutes a first step in shedding light on the evolution of albums in modern popular music since its emergence. It further provides an insight into how temporal dramaturgies in terms of the emotion-related arrangement of songs of albums differ across genres and undergo cultural trends and temporal shifts. References Ienco D, \& Interdonato R (2020). Deep Multivariate Time Series Embedding Clustering via Attentive-Gated Autoencoder. Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining. 318-329 Lehne, M., \& Koelsch, S. (2015). Toward a general psychological model of tension and suspense. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 79.}, subject = {Popmusik}, language = {de} } @article{ErdmannvonBergSteffens2025, author = {Erdmann, Matthias and von Berg, Markus and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Development and evaluation of a mixed reality music visualization for a live performance based on music information retrieval}, series = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality}, publisher = {Frontiers}, issn = {2673-4192}, doi = {10.3389/frvir.2025.1552321}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-51110}, pages = {18}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The present study explores the development and evaluation of a mixed reality music visualization for a live music performance. Real-time audio analysis and crossmodal correspondences were used as design guidelines for creating the visualization, which was presented through a head-mounted-display. To assess the impact of the music visualization on the audience's aesthetic experience, a baseline visualization was designed, featuring the same visual elements but with random changes of color and movement. The audience's aesthetic experience of the two conditions (i.e., listening to the same song with different visualizations) was assessed using the Aesthetic Emotions Scale (AESTHEMOS) questionnaire. Additionally, participants answered questions regarding the perceived audiovisual congruence of the stimuli and questionnaires about individual musicality and aesthetic receptivity. The results show that the visualization controlled by real-time audio analysis was associated with a slightly enhanced aesthetic experience of the audiovisual composition compared to the randomized visualization, thereby supporting similar findings reported in the literature. Furthermore, the tested personal characteristics of the participants did not significantly affect aesthetic experience. Significant correlations between these characteristics and the aesthetic experience were observed only when the ratings were averaged across conditions. An open interview provided deeper insights into the participants' overall experiences of the live music performance. The results of the study offer insights into the development of real-time music visualization in mixed reality, examines how the specific audiovisual stimuli employed influence the aesthetic experience, and provides potential technical guidelines for creating new concert formats.}, subject = {Virtuelle Realit{\"a}t}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{VonBergSchwoererPrinzetal.2023, author = {Von Berg, Markus and Schw{\"o}rer, Paul and Prinz, Lukas and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Analysis of physical and perceptual properties of room impulse responses: development of an online tool}, series = {Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023, September 11 - 15, 2023,Torino, Italy}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023, September 11 - 15, 2023,Torino, Italy}, editor = {Astolfi, Arianna and Asdrubali, Francesco and Shtrepi, Louena}, publisher = {European Acoustics Association}, address = {Turin, Italy}, isbn = {978-88-88942-67-4}, issn = {2221-3767}, doi = {10.61782/fa.2023.0480}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-47929}, pages = {1647 -- 1654}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Over the past decades, research in room acoustics has established several derivative measures of an impulse response, some of which are incorporated in the ISO 3382 standards. These parameters intend to represent perceptual qualities, but were developed without a consistent modeling of room acoustical perception. More recent research proposed comprehensive inventories of room acoustic perception that are purely based on evaluations by human subjects, such as the Room Acoustical Quality Index (RAQI). In this work RAQI scores acquired for 70 room impulse responses were predicted from room acoustical parameters. Except for Reverberance, the prediction of RAQI factors performed rather poor. In most cases, the sound source had a greater impact on RAQI scores. All analyses are published in an online tool, where users can upload omnidirectional and binaural impulse responses, and instantly obtain and visualize several physical descriptors, as well as predicted RAQI scores for three different sound sources. So far, acceptable prediction accuracy is achieved for Reverberance, Strength, Irregular Decay, Clarity and Intimacy. Larger data sets of evaluated impulse responses are required to improve the model performance and enable reliable predictions of room acoustical quality. Therefore, the administration of RAQI evaluations within the website is currently being developed.}, subject = {Raumakustik}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SteffensWeinzierl2023, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Weinzierl, Stefan}, title = {Noise for dinner - Towards a comprehensive statistical model of the acoustical and overall quality of restaurants}, series = {Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023, September 11 - 15, 2023,Torino, Italy}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023, September 11 - 15, 2023,Torino, Italy}, editor = {Astolfi, Arianna and Asdrubali, Francesco and Shtrepi, Louena}, publisher = {European Acoustics Association}, address = {Turin, Italy}, isbn = {978-88-88942-67-4}, issn = {2221-3767}, doi = {10.61782/fa.2023.0483}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-47908}, pages = {3325 -- 3327}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Studies on noise in restaurants have shown a multitude of potential negative effects, for example related to mood, overall satisfaction, intended revisit, the ability to communicate and the actual behaviour in the room. In this paper, we investigated the complex interplay between room acoustics, soundscape evaluation, non-acoustical aspects of a restaurant visit and overall restaurant quality. Based on acoustical measurements and reports from 142 persons visiting 12 restaurants in Berlin, we propose a structural equation model including both acoustical and non- acoustical factors and yielding a good overall fit. The model, for instance, suggests that the A-weighted sound level negatively impacts the assessment of overall restaurant quality, while the effect of soundscape pleasantness on overall restaurant quality is mediated by the restaurant's perceived atmosphere. Moreover, the reverberation time was found to be effective predominantly through its effect on sound strength, which leads patrons to increasingly raise their speech level to ensure intelligibility. These results thus emphasize the need to design actively the restaurant's acoustical atmosphere beyond pure loudness reduction which involves a specific trade-off between comfort and liveliness, depending on the desired character of the place.}, subject = {European Acoustics Association}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SerditovaTangSteffens2025, author = {Serditova, Dana and Tang, Kevin and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Automatic Speech Recognition Biases in Newcastle English: an Error Analysis}, series = {Interspeech 2025, 17 - 21 August in Rotterdam}, booktitle = {Interspeech 2025, 17 - 21 August in Rotterdam}, publisher = {ISCA}, doi = {10.21437/Interspeech.2025-1973}, pages = {3204 -- 3208}, year = {2025}, subject = {Automatische Spracherkennung}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SteffensJoschkoGiangetal.2025, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Joschko, Marcel and Giang, Hien and Huber, Florian}, title = {Using machine learning to identify acoustic fingerprints of concert halls in classical audio recordings [Abstract]}, series = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2025}, subject = {Datenanalyse}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{VersuemerBlaettermannSteffens2025, author = {Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Nonlinearities in generalized models based on different soundscape datasets [Abstract]}, series = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2025}, subject = {Soundscape}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{BlaettermannVersuemerSteffens2025, author = {Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Loadings of Acoustical Metrics on Soundscape Items and their relation to Soundscape Dimensions across different datasets [Abstract]}, series = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2025}, subject = {Soundscape}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{vonLauerMuenchhofenvonBergSteffens2025, author = {von Lauer-M{\"u}nchhofen, Jakob and von Berg, Markus and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Applicability of Common Room Acoustic Parameters for Music Recording Spaces in Recording Studios}, series = {Proceedings of DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {Proceedings of DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, editor = {Dau, Torsten and Epp, Bastian}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {978-3-939296-23-2}, pages = {1224 -- 1227}, year = {2025}, subject = {Raumakustik}, language = {de} } @article{vonBergHimmeleinSteffens2024, author = {von Berg, Markus and Himmelein, Hendrik and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Effects of noise sensitivity and listening effort on perceptual ratings of background noise}, series = {JASA Express Letters}, volume = {8}, journal = {JASA Express Letters}, number = {4}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, issn = {2691-1191}, doi = {10.1121/10.0028201}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-45747}, pages = {7}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Previous research suggests that noise sensitivity is related to inefficient auditory processing that might increase the mental load of noise and affect noise evaluation. This assumption was tested in an experiment using a dual-task paradigm with a visual primary task and an auditory secondary task. Results showed that participants' noise sensitivity was positively correlated with mental effort. Furthermore, mental effort mediated the effect of noise sensitivity on loudness and unpleasantness ratings. The results thus support the idea that noise sensitivity is related to increased mental effort and difficulties in filtering auditory information and that situational factors should be considered.}, language = {en} } @article{VersuemerSteffensWeinzierl2023, author = {Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen and Weinzierl, Stefan}, title = {Day-to-day loudness assessments of indoor soundscapes: Exploring the impact of loudness indicators, person, and situation}, series = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {153}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, number = {5}, publisher = {Acoustical Society of America (ASA)}, issn = {0001-4966}, doi = {10.1121/10.0019413}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-46127}, pages = {2956 -- 2972}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This study investigates loudness perception in real-world contexts using predictors related to the sound, situation, or person. In the study, 105 participants recorded 6594 sound environments in their homes, which were then evaluated based on the Experience Sampling Method. Hierarchical linear regressions using a loudness level based on ISO 532-1 allowed for obtaining the best model fits for predicting perceived loudness and explaining the highest variance. LAeq and LAF5 provided comparable results and may require less computational effort. However, the analysis shows that only one-third of the variance explained by fixed effects was attributable to the loudness level. Sixteen percent stemmed from perceived properties of the soundscape; 1\% were attributable to relatively temporally stable, person-related predictors like participants' age; non-auditory situational predictors made no additional contribution. The results thus did not confirm previous findings on loudness perception under laboratory conditions, emphasizing the importance of the situational context. Along with the current paper, a comprehensive dataset, including the assessed person-related, situational, and sound-related measures as well as LAeq time-series and third-octave spectrograms, is provided to enable further research on sound perception, indoor soundscapes, and emotion.}, subject = {Lautwahrnehmung}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{vonBergBittaVersuemeretal.2025, author = {von Berg, Markus and Bitta, Joshua and Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Investigation of auditory memory through loudness reproduction in the laboratory [Abstract]}, series = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2025}, subject = {Ged{\"a}chtnis}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{HuesenvonBergSteffens2025, author = {H{\"u}sen, Jonas and von Berg, Markus and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual Listening Tests for Balanced Armature Headphone Drivers [Abstract]}, series = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, booktitle = {DAS|DAGA 2025: 51st Annual Meeting on Acoustics, March 17-20, 2025, Copenhagen}, publisher = {Deutsche Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Akustik e.V.}, address = {Berlin}, year = {2025}, subject = {Kopfh{\"o}rer}, language = {en} } @article{SteffensDinneenDonneretal.2024, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Dinneen, Jesse David and Donner, Sascha and Potthoff, Tom}, title = {'Alexa, play metal': exploring music selection and personal information management via voice assistants}, series = {Information Research an international electronic journal}, volume = {29}, journal = {Information Research an international electronic journal}, number = {2}, publisher = {University of Boras, Faculty of Librarianship, Information, Education and IT}, issn = {1368-1613}, doi = {10.47989/ir292646}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-44639}, pages = {50 -- 70}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Introduction. Music streaming services have changed how music is played and perceived, but also how it is managed by individuals. Voice interfaces to such services are becoming increasingly common, for example through voice assistants on mobile and smart devices, and have the potential to further change personal music management by introducing new beneficial features and new challenges. Method. To explore the implications of voice assistants for personal music listening and management we surveyed 248 participants online and in a lab setting to investigate (a) in which situations people use voice assistants to play music, (b) how the situations compare to established activities common during non-voice assistant music listening, and (c) what kinds of commands they use. Analysis. We categorised 653 situations of voice assistant use, which reflect differences to non-voice assistant music listening, and established 11 command types, which mostly reflect finding or refinding activities but also indicate keeping and organisation activities. Results. Voice assistants have some benefits for music listening and personal music management, but also a notable lack of support for traditional personal information management activities, like browsing, that are common when managing music. Conclusion. Having characterised the use of voice assistants to play music, we consider their role in personal music management and make suggestions for improved design and future research.}, language = {en} } @article{vonBergVersuemerBittaetal.2025, author = {von Berg, Markus and Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Bitta, Joshua and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Reduced reproduction levels of outdoor soundscapes are deemed appropriate - even after real-world exposure}, series = {Acta Acustica}, journal = {Acta Acustica}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, issn = {2681-4617}, doi = {10.1051/aacus/2025062}, pages = {16}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Laboratory experiments in psychoacoustical and soundscape research indicate that participants perceive a reproduction sound level lowered by 8-10 dB as more plausible than the original level. This bias supposedly roots in an adaptation of perceptual loudness scaling to the laboratory environment, that is overall quieter than urban outdoor soundscapes. To gain further insights into the nature of such loudness bias, we conducted a listening experiment in both field and laboratory using a within-subjects design. Thirty-one participants visited a street and listened to the environmental sounds for one minute, while these sounds were also recorded using a dummy head. Thereafter, they listened to the recording in a quiet laboratory nearby and adjusted its level as they remembered it. About half of the sample did this immediately, the other half about 20 minutes after the recording. Results confirm a bias towards lower levels with a mean of about 8.9 dB, regardless of the time between the recording and the reproduction in the laboratory. Also, participants with higher musical abilities tended to select higher, more accurate levels, whereas noise-sensitive participants deemed lower levels appropriate. Results suggest that the hypothesized adaptation of perceptual scaling to the laboratory happens immediately and is affected by individual factors.}, subject = {Psychoakustik}, language = {en} } @misc{vonBergVersuemerSteffensetal.2025, author = {von Berg, Markus and Vers{\"u}mer, Siegbert and Steffens, Jochen and Bitta, Joshua}, title = {Reproduction levels of outdoor soundscapes in the lab after in-situ exposure: participant responses and recording level envelopes}, publisher = {Zenodo}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.17663267}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Supplemental material for https://doi.org/10.1051/aacus/2025062 To investigate loudness biases in the lab, where outdoor sounds are perceived as being too loud if reproduced with physically accurate levels in the lab, a listening experiment was conducted, where thirty-one participants visited a street and listened to the environmental sounds for one minute. These sounds were also recorded using a dummy head. Afterwards, participants listened to the recording in a quiet laboratory and adjusted its level as they remembered it. About half of the sample did this immediately, the other half about 20 min after the recording, during which the performed another listening tests. Afterwards, previous experience with acoustics, musical sophistication and noise sensitivity were assessed. The results revealed a mean gain adjustment of 8.9 dB below the original. The data uploaded here comprises participants gain adjustment, the recording levels averaged other A) the entire recording and B) the first and last 7.5s or 15s, respecitvely and all questionnaire responses as well as aggregate scores for musical sophistication and noise sensitivity, as well as a binary categorization of the respondent into laymen and experienced, based on their previous experience with acoustics. For sociodemographic information, participants age, sex and educational degree are reported as well. Content - 00_Description: - Description of the data files - Includes a list of explanation of the columns names in "data_questionnaires_aggregateLevels.csv - data_questionnaires_aggregateLevels.csv - Participants' adjusted recordings levels - Several level and loudness aggregates of each participant's recording that were analyzed in the paper - Participants' responses to the administered questionnaires - level_envelopes.zip - Archive with 31 CSV files containing level envelopes of each participant's recording. - A-weighted and unweighted level envelope for the dummy head's left and right ear - One-minute recordings with a temporal resolution of 125ms}, subject = {Psychoakustik}, language = {en} } @article{HimmeleinvonBergPoerschmannetal.2025, author = {Himmelein, Hendrik and von Berg, Markus and P{\"o}rschmann, Christoph and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Influence of mental effort on sound evaluations in virtual and real experimental environments}, series = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in Virtual Reality}, publisher = {Frontiers Media SA}, issn = {2673-4192}, doi = {10.3389/frvir.2025.1672595}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-57985}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Psychoacoustic research increasingly relies on virtual reality (VR) to account for the complexity of acoustic scenarios and enhance the ecological validity of laboratory findings. However, recent studies suggest that virtual environments can alter mental effort compared to real-world settings, for example, through increased perceptual complexity which in turn may affect auditory perception.This could bias experimental outcomes and compromise the ecological validity of studies conducted in VR. To investigate this, a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted to assess whether VR environments increase mental effort and thereby influence auditory perception. A real office environment was visually reconstructed in Unity and presented to the participants via a head-mounted display (HMD) and compared to its real counterpart. Participants in both environments were asked to retrospectively rate the loudness and unpleasantness of dynamically rendered binaural office noise scenarios presented via headphones and to report perceived sound sources. Moreover, participants were divided into two groups to induce different levels of mental effort. One group was asked to listen only to the sounds, while the other performed the Stroop Color-Word interference test in parallel. The results show no significant difference in the overall induced mental effort between environment conditions. Furthermore, performing the Stroop test had an effect on loudness and unpleasantness that was mediated by subjective effort. The results also suggest that auditory jugment depend primarily on individual sound properties, regardless of the visual environment.}, subject = {Psychoakustik}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{vonBergPrinzSteffens2022, author = {von Berg, Markus and Prinz, Lukas and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Comparing individual perception of timbre and reverberance}, publisher = {International Commission for Acoustics}, address = {Gyeoungju, S{\"u}dkorea}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-38706}, pages = {5}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Room reverberation alters the spatial impression and timbre of a sound by modulating its spectral and temporal characteristics. Thus, we argue that, on a perceptual level, reverberation basically breaks down into interaural differences and spectro-temporal cues and that the separation of a perceived timbre into a sound source and a surrounding room is a purely cognitive process. To investigate the connection between the perception of reverberation cues and timbre analysis, the sensitivity for changes in reverberation was compared to timbre perception abilities. The Timbre Perception Test was used to measure the perception of the temporal envelope, spectral centroid, and spectral flux of artificial sounds. Sensitivity for changes in reverberation time was tested with a discrimination task using speech and noise with speech-alike spectral and temporal envelopes as source signals. Musical and acoustical expertise was assessed through the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index and self-reports on experience with and knowledge of acoustics. There was a considerable correlation between timbre and reverberance perception ability, but timbre perception and academic experience predicted only 41\% of the variance in reverberance perception. Still, perception abilities related to similar acoustical phenomena seem to be better indicators of listening skills than self-reports on acoustical or musical expertise.}, language = {en} } @article{vonBergWolfSteffens2024, author = {von Berg, Markus and Wolf, Anna-Christina and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Age- and Sex-Related Differences in Music Requests on a Radio Show for Children}, series = {Music \& Science}, volume = {7}, journal = {Music \& Science}, publisher = {Sage Publications}, issn = {2059-2043}, doi = {10.1177/20592043241288335}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-46588}, pages = {1 -- 16}, year = {2024}, abstract = {In research on the development of musical preferences, children are often asked either to evaluate musical pieces that have been previously selected by adult experimenters, or to give self-reports on preferences for different musical styles. This study involved analyzing a sample of 1,412 freely and publicly expressed music requests from children aged between 4 and 11 years taken from a German radio program, with regard to age- and sex-specific differences. The music was categorized into genres, as listed on Spotify, and examined using methods of music information retrieval provided by the Spotify Developer application programming interface. Results showed that, at younger ages, the requests were generally more evenly distributed across different genres. Regarding single genres, we observed small positive relationships between age and the likelihood of requesting the genres pop or electro and small negative relationships between age and the likelihood of requesting A capella, German songwriter, indie, theme songs, or children's music. Furthermore, we found that boys requested significantly more rock or hip-hop, whereas girls had a higher tendency to ask for pop. Finally, age- (but no sex-) related differences regarding the Spotify features of valence and liveness of the requested music were found, which were related to the preference for children's music at younger ages. The results thus suggest that previous findings regarding differences between boys and girls and an increasing formation of distinct genre preferences during infancy also apply to single song requests made on a radio show.}, language = {en} } @article{SteffensBlaettermannSattleretal.2025, author = {Steffens, Jochen and Bl{\"a}ttermann, Patrick and Sattler, Maximilian and Tang, Kevin}, title = {How does a credible voice sound?}, series = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {157}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, number = {5}, publisher = {Acoustical Society of America}, issn = {1520-8524}, doi = {10.1121/10.0036646}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:due62-opus-53133}, pages = {3780 -- 3792}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Credibility is a crucial social factor that influences people's perception and decision-making. This study explores the acoustic attributes that define credible speech compared to neutral and ironic speech. A custom-built German corpus was developed, containing speech samples recorded from amateurs to enhance ecological validity. The study extracted a broad set of audio features from these samples, employing recursive feature elimination to identify the most influential attributes. These were then analyzed using a machine-learning-supported multinomial logistic regression model. The results indicated significant differences in the acoustic features associated with credible speech compared to neutral and ironic speech. Key findings include the role of a higher energy level (1st mel-frequency cepstral coefficient) in credible compared to neutral and ironic speech and a higher speaking rate in both credible and ironic compared to neutral speech. Also, irony is characterized by more high-frequency content (mean spectral centroid) compared to credible or neutral speech. Gender differences in spoken irony involve a greater influence of speaking rate in women's speech, while high pitch plays a more significant role in men's speech. This research thus contributes to the understanding of how credibility is conveyed through speech and offers insights for applications in communication, media, and artificial intelligence. The study also highlights the methodological advancements made by incorporating a diverse range of acoustic features and employing a robust machine-learning framework.}, subject = {Sprechen}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{HuesenvonBergSteffens2025, author = {H{\"u}sen, Jonsa and von Berg, Markus and Steffens, Jochen}, title = {Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual Listening Tests for Balanced Armature Headphone Drivers}, series = {AES International Conference on Headphone Technology 2025 August 27-29, Espoo, Finland}, booktitle = {AES International Conference on Headphone Technology 2025 August 27-29, Espoo, Finland}, number = {3}, publisher = {Audio Engineering Society}, year = {2025}, language = {en} }