TY - JOUR

T1 - Wrapped into sound

T2 - Development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI)

AU - Wycisk, Yves

AU - Sander, Kilian

AU - Kopiez, Reinhard

AU - Platz, Friedrich

AU - Preihs, Stephan

AU - Peissig, Jürgen

N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by a research grant from “Niedersächsisches Vorab”, a joint program funded by the Volkswagen Foundation in conjunction with the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (funding reference: ZN3497).

PY - 2022/9/16

Y1 - 2022/9/16

N2 - Although virtual reality, video entertainment, and computer games are dependent on the three-dimensional reproduction of sound (including front, rear, and height channels), it remains unclear whether 3D-audio formats actually intensify the emotional listening experience. There is currently no valid inventory for the objective measurement of immersive listening experiences resulting from audio playback formats with increasing degrees of immersion (from mono to stereo, 5.1, and 3D). The development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI) could close this gap. An initial item list (N = 25) was derived from studies in virtual reality and spatial audio, supplemented by researcher-developed items and items extracted from historical descriptions. Psychometric evaluation was conducted by an online study (N = 222 valid cases). The N = 222 Participants (female = 112, mean age = 38.6) were recruited via mailing lists (n = 34) and via a panel provider (n = 188). Based on controlled headphone playback, participants listened to four songs/pieces, each in the three formats of mono, stereo, and binaural 3D audio. The latent construct “immersive listening experience” was determined by probabilistic test theory (item response theory, IRT) and by means of the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). As a result, the specified MFRM model showed good model fit (62.69% of explained variance). The final one-dimensional inventory consists of 10 items and will be made available in English and German.

AB - Although virtual reality, video entertainment, and computer games are dependent on the three-dimensional reproduction of sound (including front, rear, and height channels), it remains unclear whether 3D-audio formats actually intensify the emotional listening experience. There is currently no valid inventory for the objective measurement of immersive listening experiences resulting from audio playback formats with increasing degrees of immersion (from mono to stereo, 5.1, and 3D). The development of the Immersive Music Experience Inventory (IMEI) could close this gap. An initial item list (N = 25) was derived from studies in virtual reality and spatial audio, supplemented by researcher-developed items and items extracted from historical descriptions. Psychometric evaluation was conducted by an online study (N = 222 valid cases). The N = 222 Participants (female = 112, mean age = 38.6) were recruited via mailing lists (n = 34) and via a panel provider (n = 188). Based on controlled headphone playback, participants listened to four songs/pieces, each in the three formats of mono, stereo, and binaural 3D audio. The latent construct “immersive listening experience” was determined by probabilistic test theory (item response theory, IRT) and by means of the many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). As a result, the specified MFRM model showed good model fit (62.69% of explained variance). The final one-dimensional inventory consists of 10 items and will be made available in English and German.

KW - 3D audio

KW - emotion

KW - immersion

KW - item response theory

KW - many-facet Rasch measurement

KW - music

KW - psychometrics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139066051&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951161

DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951161

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85139066051

VL - 13

JO - Frontiers in psychology

JF - Frontiers in psychology

SN - 1664-1078

M1 - 951161

ER -