Personalised vs generic soundscapes: Effects on perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses

Soundscapes are increasingly understood as multidimensional environments that shape perceptual, emotional, cognitive, and physiological responses. However, most soundscape studies rely on generic designs that may not reflect individual preferences or sensitivities. This study compares personalised soundscapes, constructed by participants to represent specific emotional-cognitive states, with generic soundscapes across perceptual, emotional, cognitive, and physiological domains. Participants created personalised soundscapes representing Relaxation, Pleasant, Energetic, Annoying, and Focus states using a structured design interface. These were evaluated alongside generic counterparts using ISO 12913-based perceptual scales, emotional ratings, a cognitive Stroop task, and physiological measures including electrodermal activity (EDA), photoplethysmography-derived heart rate variability, and electroencephalography. Within-subject non-parametric analyses were applied throughout. Personalised soundscapes were consistently rated as more pleasant, calmer, and more closely aligned with their intended experiential states than generic soundscapes, with parallel effects observed for emotional evaluations. Cognitive results showed a task-dependent pattern: Energetic soundscapes elicited faster Stroop response times and lower Inverse Efficiency Scores than Focus soundscapes, despite Focus being perceived as calmer and more conducive to self-regulation. Physiological responses were largely descriptive; most effects did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. EDA showed selective significant contrasts for Focus soundscapes, while cardiovascular and electroencephalographic measures showed directionally consistent but statistically unreliable trends. Overall, the findings indicate that personalisation enhances perceptual and emotional alignment and yields partially convergent physiological patterns, while highlighting the importance of task context in soundscape evaluation.