Ansani, A., Marini, M., D’Errico, F., & Poggi, I. (2020)
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This article presents two studies that deepen the theme of how soundtracks shape our interpretation of audiovisuals.
Embracing a multivariate perspective, Study 1 (N = 118)
demonstrated, through an online between-subjects experiment, that two different music
scores (melancholic vs. anxious) deeply affected the interpretations of an unknown
movie scene in terms of empathy felt toward the main character, impressions of his
personality, plot anticipations, and perception of the environment of the scene. With
the melancholic music, participants felt empathy toward the character, viewing him
as more agreeable and introverted, more oriented to memories than to decisions,
while perceiving the environment as cozier. An almost opposite pattern emerged with
the anxious music. In Study 2 (N = 92), we replicated the experiment in our lab but
with the addition of eye-tracking and pupillometric measurements. Results of Study 1
were largely replicated; moreover, we proved that the anxious score, by increasing the
participants’ vigilance and state of alert (wider pupil dilation), favored greater attention
to minor details, as in the case of another character who was very hard to be noticed
(more time spent on his figure). Results highlight the pervasive nature of the influence of
music within the process of interpretation of visual scenes.
With the advent of artificial intelligence and natural user interfaces,the need for multimedia material that can be semantically interpreted in real time becomes critical. In