Auditory Preferences and Aesthetics

This chapter explores sounds that evoke hedonic and aversive responses in humans. The most commonly cited example is the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, the mere thought of which is enough to make many people grimace. The attractiveness of voices is of particular interest because the voice is believed to provide important signals of the fitness of potential partners. Humans historically tended to engage in sexual activity at night, when little light was available to judge visual characteristics. Low voice pitch in men is more attractive to female listeners, who associate it with other attractive male physical features and signals of sexual maturity. Music is the domain in which one's aesthetic response to sound is most obvious and striking. For the typical human listener, music is a highly rewarding stimulus. Sounds can make people sigh in contentment, spend their time and money, or cringe in pain. Context matters, as does experience, because people like things they have heard before.