Introduction
In this experiment we tried to investigate the influence of sound on spatial perception and orientation. The objective was to comprehend how different auditory stimuli impact the perception of space and aid individuals in understanding its dimensions. In the experimental setup, participants were blindfolded and exposed to three distinct point sources of music, including horror, calming sound, and tribal beats, within an unfamiliar location. Subsequently, participants were instructed to explore the space and their experiences were recorded. Additionally, they were asked to create a sketch of the perceived environment. By analyzing these observations, we can gain insights into the role of sound in shaping spatial perception and cognitive mapping.
Interview of participants
Q. How you explored the space, did it get affected by the sounds that were playing?
Chia
“Not change because I was trying so hard to figure out were the sounds are coming from. Like I knew there were leaves but I did not pay too much attention. I mainly paid attention to finding the sources of sound.”
Julian
“Yeah, I tried to go towards all the sounds. First the positive one, then the one closer to it, then I wanted to know how many sources of sounds are there. I explored the space by the triangle.”
Mi
“Yes a little bit. With the peaceful one I touched the leaves and felt like I am in the garden. With the spooky one it felt like night pond, scary, shadow so I didn’t want to go there. I stayed close to the peaceful one.“
Q. Did the sound help you orient yourself or identify the dimensions of the place?
Chia
“Now I know that it is a garden and it is an elongated shape but to me it felt like a triangle shape with with source of sound being the corners. Also I think it did not help orient. I would also not say that it did not help.”
Julian
“Orient yes, dimensions no. Because for me it is really hard to estimate the dimensions when I am blindfolded because it is a new space so I can’t estimate how fast I am walking or how big my steps are. But it definitely helped with orientation.”
Mi
“Because I had to find the way back so I tried to think that if I listen to the peaceful sounds because it was at the entrance so I tried to go back behind the peaceful sound.”
Q. Which sound attracted you the most?
Chia
“The first thing is that the natural sound with water. Then I walked around and I noticed there were 3 sound sources but by the time I walked to the third one there was a clicking sound like a very bright and dry clink sound and that caught my attention and I tried to walk all the way back. Tried to find which one was that. So these two were the most attractive ones.”
Julian
“The one on the left of birds which was atmospheric. At first I heard noticed the sound in the middle because it was the loudest but the I oriented myself to the one that felt the most closest.”
Mi
“The peaceful one. I can hear the spooky and rhythmical one. I did not want to go to the spooky one so I went to the peaceful one. I tried to not go to spooky sound.“
