On cross-modal perception of musical tempo and the speed of human movement

Abstract

Studies in crossmodal perception often use very simplified auditory and visual contexts. While these studies have been theoretically valuable, it is sometimes difficult to see how the findings can be ecologically valid or practically valuable. This study hypothesizes that a musical parameter (tempo) may affect the perception of a human movement quality (speed) and finds that although there are clear limitations, this may be a promising first step towards widening both the contexts in which cross-modal effects are studied and the application areas in which the findings can be used. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.