Sentimental Audio Memories: Exploring the Emotion and Meaning of Everyday Sounds

Numerous studies have shown the beneficial effect of music for people with dementia, particularly within reminiscence therapy. In this project we explored the potential role of everyday sound recordings which evoke an emotional response for producing similar benefits. To first explore what we call ‘sentimental’ sounds we conducted an online survey in partnership with a dementia organisation, using a co-design approach with carers and family members of people with dementia. Sounds and memories for each of the four quadrants of a circumplex emotion space were captured as free text narratives. The survey demonstrated what sounds are sentimental, and the memories and emotions associated with these sounds. Sounds eliciting positively valenced emotions and memories comprised natural, familiar soundscapes. In contrast, sounds evoking negatively valenced emotions and memories were manmade and intrusive. Results showed consistency across people as to the types of sounds eliciting the same emotions, although the meanings of these sounds were highly idiosyncratic. Further, some sounds were associated with both positive and negative emotions through poignant memories, depending upon the context and nature of the particular sound. Results also indicated the value of narratives for structuring the presentation of sounds themselves.