Development of a New Evaluation Method for Auditory Signals in Living Environments Considering Circadian Rhythms

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18706
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 10:Psychology and related fields
• Research Institution: Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Katagiri Mako 地方独立行政法人大阪産業技術研究所, 和泉センター, 研究員 (50359379)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 若村 智子 京都大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (40240452) ; 長島 俊輔 京都大学, 医学研究科, 助教 (80826503)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: サイン音 / 定位反応 / 心拍変動 / 気づきやすさ / 客観的評価

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In our living environment, there are auditory signals called sign sounds that play a role in conveying some information or message. This study proposed a method to objectively evaluate differences in people's responses to unexpected sounds based on the Orienting Response (OR) of heart rate when exposed to sound stimuli in an environment that simulates daily life. Sixteen test sounds with different frequencies and timbres were created, and listening experiments were conducted with 22 adult males according to an experimental protocol with accommodation for circadian rhythms. The noticeability to the test sounds were evaluated by the OR value calculated from the RRI of the heartbeats for the five beats before and after the presentation of the test sound. This method revealed sounds that were less sensitive to the time of day, and also enabled us to extract sounds that were valid as auditory signals.

Free Research Field

聴覚心理、人間工学、音響心理

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ヒトの暮らしと関わりの深いサイン音は、どのような状況下においても正しく知覚されなければならない。しかし多くの場合サイン音の評価は、静かな実験室において提示された音のみに対する主観的調査が一般的である。これでは、日常生活の一般的な環境音から対象とするサイン音の評価結果と乖離する可能性もある。そこで、心拍の定位反応に着目し、予期せぬ刺激に対する人の反応の違いを客観的に評価する手法を検討した。