Study: wavy ominous sounds convey uncertainty, calm tones signal neutral
Co-design study reveals wavy auditory qualities evoke uncertainty, while clear sounds feel neutral.
In "Sounds Uncertain," researchers Marcel-Simon Dutt, Sita A. Vriend, Elias Elmquist, and Daniel Weiskopf investigate how sonification can communicate emotion in uncertainty visualizations. Through a co-design study, participants created two sonifications to accompany a visualization—one conveying the affective component of uncertainty and one conveying neutrality. Uncertainty was commonly associated with wavy auditory qualities tied to an ominous sentiment, while neutrality was linked to clear, relaxing qualities. Accepted to the IEEE Workshop on Uncertainty Visualization, these findings offer insights for designing visualizations that integrate sonification to communicate uncertainty's affective side.
- Dutt, Vriend, Elmquist & Weiskopf (University of Stuttgart) ran a co-design study to explore sonification for uncertainty visualization.
- Uncertainty mapped to wavy, ominous auditory qualities; neutrality mapped to clear, relaxing tones.
- Paper accepted to IEEE Workshop on Uncertainty Visualization, offering design insights for affective audio cues in data displays.
Why It Matters
Sound can make uncertainty in dashboards and decision tools emotionally legible, improving accessibility and user trust.