Importance of personal, attitudinal and contextual variables in the assessment of pleasantness of the urban sound environment

Abstract

The present study analyses the incidence that physical context, personal and attitudinal variables have on soundscape judgments. A sample of 311 participants assessed 9 sound environments and visual settings, separately and combined (sound-image), in terms of pleasantness (7-point Likert scale). The study confirmed that the pleasantness response to sound environments was related to their identification, to the meaning conferred on sound, to noise sensitivity and attitudes to environmental and noise pollution. The effect of sociodemographic variables (age, sex, level of studies) was not found in the assessment of urban sounds. Notwithstanding, the results showed a significant, complex influence on visual setting in the assessment of urban sound environments.