| Abstrakt: |
This study was designed to explore intensity preferences in music listening through an operant task that allowed subjects to alter loudness (intensity) levels for four selected frequency bands. Comparisons were made relating the effects of age, sex, frequency band, song, and presentation condition to intensity preferences and to the initial presentation volume. Six age groups comprising 18- through 90-year-old subjects (N = 180) participated in the study. Subjects, representing both active and passive community music participants, were individually tested using six songs specifically chosen for their popular appeal. Initial audiometric evaluations indicated typical presbycusic changes as age increased. Subsequent loudness preferences were assessed for four frequency bands (110, 330, 1,000, and 3,000 Hz) using a graphic frequency equalizer. Results obtained from equalizer settings indicated a significant difference between age groups. Subjects in the three younger age groups (18-53) preferred louder volume levels than did subjects in the oldest age group. Older subjects with deteriorating hearing abilities did not compensate by increasing the listening volume, while younger subjects with much better hearing did increase loudness levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
