![]() “Tranquil” is a synonym for “quiet” in the second and third meaning. The third meaning of “quiet” refers to mind states that are not disturbed or interrupted: “ He wanted a quiet drink to contemplate his life”. ![]() When used in reference to a place, period of time, or situation it means without much activity, disturbance, or excitement. When used in direct reference to a sound or sound source, “quiet” refers to making little or no noise. The word “quiet” has different dictionary meanings (here from the New Oxford Dictionary). In the absence of safety indicators, attentional resources are continuously on alert to address immediate needs reactively, which corresponds to aroused mind-states and an associated focus on the here and now. We propose that the sonic features that facilitate freedom of mind-states comprise audible indications of safety: if basic and evolutionary old perceptual processes find ample safety indicators, they allow the newer and higher centers of the brain (typically the cortex) full freedom to address needs that transcend the here and now proactively. Prolonged presence in annoying sonic environments limits proactive adaptive behavior, which erodes proactive optimization of long-term needs with ensuing health effects. This paper therefore interprets pleasantness, and the absence thereof, as an indication of whether we exhibit proactive or reactive behavior. In contrast, annoying sounds “force” one to be vigilant or to attend particular sources. The core idea of this paper is that quiet and pleasant sonic environments allow the listener full freedom and control over mind-states. The outcome of this paper is a qualitative cognitive model that explains how the sounds that comprise sonic environments promote or impede health. This theoretical paper approaches the relation between quiet or pleasant areas and sustainable health from a cognitive science point of view. The role of safety indicators, mediated by proximal situational awareness and subtle sounds, should become more important in future soundscape research. These will take into account that louder sounds typically contribute to distal situational awareness while subtle environmental sounds provide proximal situational awareness. The model leads to a number of detailed predictions that can be used to provide existing soundscape approaches with a solid cognitive science foundation that may lead to novel approaches to soundscape design. ![]() This conceptual basis allows the formulation of a detailed cognitive model describing how sonic content, related to indicators of safety and danger, either allows full freedom over mind-states or forces the activation of a vigilance function with associated arousal. The article comprises a literature analysis and an interpretation of how the bidirectional influence of appraising the environment and the feelings of the perceiver can be understood in terms of core affect and motivation. This theoretical paper addresses the cognitive functions via which quiet and in general pleasurable sounds promote and annoying sounds impede health.
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