Situational and person-related factors influencing momentary and retrospective soundscape evaluations in day-to-day life

Soundscape research draws on both experiments conducted in laboratory settings and studies in the field to explore peoples' perception and understanding of their acoustic environments. One opportunity to combine the strength of both approaches is the so-called Experience Sampling Method (ESM). This method was used to investigate the influence of situational and person-related variables on soundscape evaluations. Further, the relationship between momentary and retrospective soundscape judgments was explored. In the course of the 7-day ESM study, 32 participants were prompted ten times per day by a smartphone application to evaluate their soundscape and report on situational factors. Additionally, they performed summary retrospective judgments evaluating the whole of each day and their whole week. Upon completion, an exit interview probed personality traits (e.g., Big Five, information processing styles). Results revealed that both situational and person-related factors significantly contributed to the judgments of three soundscape dimensions (pleasantness, eventfulness, familiarity). Retrospective judgments of soundscape pleasantness were not only the average of the momentary judgments, but were also affected by the peak moment, the linear trend of the experience, and a person's mood while performing the judgment. Hence, the study provides valuable insights into the complex structure of momentary and retrospective soundscape evaluations.