Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Driving Under the Influence: How Music Listening Affects Driving Behaviors
Published on: March 27, 2019
Influence of vehicle color on loudness judgments
Daniel Menzel1, Hugo Fastl, Ralf Graf
1Arbeitsgruppe Technische Akustik, MMK, Technische Universität München, München, Germany. menzel@tum.de
Abstract:
This experiment investigates the effect of images of differently colored sports cars on the loudness of a simultaneously perceived car sound. Still images of a sports car, colored in red, light green, blue, and dark green, were displayed to subjects during a magnitude estimation task. The sound of an accelerating sports car was used as a stimulus. Statistical analysis suggests that the color of the visual stimulus may have a small influence on loudness judgments. The observed loudness differences are generally equivalent to a change in sound level of about 1 dB, with maximum individual differences of up to 3 dB.
Related Concept Videos
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
Changes in Skin Color: Clinical Perspectives
Albinism
Albinism is a genetic disorder that affects (completely or partially) the coloring of skin, hair, and eyes. The defect is primarily...
Sound Intensity

