Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 29;17(9):e0275308. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275308. eCollection 2022.
People prefer music with an intermediate level of predictability; not so predictable as to be boring, yet not so unpredictable that it ceases to be music. This sweet spot for predictability varies due to differences in the perception of predictability. The symptoms of both psychosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder have been attributed to overestimation of uncertainty, which predicts a preference for predictable stimuli and environments. In a pre-registered study, we tested this prediction by investigating whether psychotic and autistic traits were associated with a higher preference for predictability in music. Participants from the general population were presented with twenty-nine pre-composed music excerpts, scored on their complexity by musical experts. A participant's preferred level of predictability corresponded to the peak of the inverted U-shaped curve between music complexity and liking (i.e., a Wundt curve). We found that the sweet spot for predictability did indeed vary between individuals. Contrary to predictions, we did not find support for these variations being associated with autistic and psychotic traits. The findings are discussed in the context of the Wundt curve and the use of naturalistic stimuli. We also provide recommendations for further exploration.
人们更喜欢可预测性处于中等水平的音乐；既不能太可预测以至于无聊，也不能太不可预测以至于不再是音乐。这种可预测性的最佳点因可预测性感知的差异而有所不同。精神分裂症和自闭症谱系障碍的症状都归因于对不确定性的高估，这预示着人们更喜欢可预测的刺激和环境。在一项预先注册的研究中，我们通过调查精神分裂症和自闭症特征是否与对音乐可预测性的更高偏好有关，来检验这一预测。我们让普通人群的参与者听了 29 首预先创作的音乐片段，由音乐专家根据其复杂程度进行评分。参与者喜欢的可预测性水平与音乐复杂性和喜好之间倒 U 形曲线的峰值相对应（即，Wundt 曲线）。我们发现，可预测性的最佳点确实因人而异。与预测相反，我们没有发现这些变化与自闭症和精神分裂症特征有关的证据。研究结果在 Wundt 曲线和自然刺激的使用背景下进行了讨论。我们还提供了进一步探索的建议。
