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The Psychology Behind Headphones

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thinking-about-it-way-to-hard dept.

pvt_medic writes "The BBC has an interesting article today about portable music players and personal space. The article is on the research that Dr Michael Bull has done on portable music players. He analyzes them as a "tool whereby users manage space, time and the boundaries around the self." This article goes on to analyze the social and psychological aspects related to listening to music in public with headphones. A good quick read for those who do this."

12 of 395 comments (clear)

  1. Written up in Wired magazine, too. by The+I+Shing · · Score: 4, Informative

    Dr. Michael Bull was written up in Wired magazine, too, and Slashdot carried that story last month. Here it is.

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  2. Headphones rocks, but... by Lord+Graga · · Score: 5, Informative

    I got tinitus (constant ringing for my ears) from too much heavy metal with headphones. So, be warned, it's not really worth it when you are home (I'm talking about people who use headphones in front of the computer).

    1. Re:Headphones rocks, but... by junkymailbox · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's why I use professional earphones that are isolated. Some rate at -20 to -30db. http://www.shure.com. I can hear my own heartbeat when i put these on and I cant hear anything else. Instead of turning the music up and damaging my ear I can block everyone out and enjoy music at lower decibels.

    2. Re:Headphones rocks, but... by junkymailbox · · Score: 5, Informative

      You can try sony ex 51 or sony ex 71. (Sony MDREX71SL) The 71s are with softer / more comfortable seal but essentially the same. Head Fi or Ipod Lounge for more info. You can buy them at some apple stores or amazon.com or buy.com

    3. Re:Headphones rocks, but... by Radius9 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I DJ as well as tend to work in noisy cubicle environments during the day, and I swear by the Sony MDR-7506 and MDR-7509 headphones. The MDR-7506 is a bit cheaper price-wise and more compact than the 7509s, but both do an excellent job of blocking out noise as well as having excellent audio quality. You won't find these headphones at a regular Best Buy, etc., I always have to go to Guitar Center to buy them, and even then they are stored in back and aren't usually out on display. They'll run you about $100 for a pair of 7506s, a bit more for the 7509s.

    4. Re:Headphones rocks, but... by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 2, Informative

      I've heard nothing but good words for Koss' "The Plug" earphones. They're set into those squidgy foam ear-plugs used by so many professionals in loud environments so have excellent blocking ability.

      They're also surprisingly cheap. (Approx $50(US) equivalent, IIRC.)

      Word of warning with these and all well-sealed earphones: the relatively small volume of air increases efficiency by a huge amount, particularly with an in-the-ear-canal pair. When using these, start with the volume *very low* and turn up *slowly*.

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  3. Pointing out the bleedin' obvious... by omarin · · Score: 2, Informative
    ...hmmm, I think the article points out the bleedin' obvious... I use my walkman as "personal space" AND "anti-freak" protection... I use public transportation LOTS, and for some reason I am a freak-magnet even though my personal "freak level" is pretty near zero: I have been acosted by people asking for money/men offering heroin and asking for sex/women with putrid teeth putting the moves on me in very bad Spanish/men or women that ramble on about their sad lives/etc...

    (I DON'T know why, but these people find me on any public transport! Do I have a friggin' stamp on my forehead stating "freaks welcome"???)

    Using my walkman (or even wearing headphones with the walkman turned off) helps me cast an "anti-freak" personal wall...

    ...hmm... sounds like a new Angband spell! ;-)

    I bet you the next article by the same author will be: "Water: It's wet" , sheesh!

  4. Re:anti-social behaviors... by moonbender · · Score: 2, Informative

    Unless he is using modern headphones which seal off the ear from everything but the music, it probably doesn't make that much of a difference compared to those morons whose car speakers are always run loud enough to entertain a whole traffic jam.

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  5. Re:original walkman by CrazyTalk · · Score: 4, Informative

    I remember when the walkman first came out (yes, I'm that old) around 1980 or so. The big thrill at the time was not that you could be shielded from outside sound, it was quite the opposite - unliked the big bulky headphones of the day, you could actually hear the outside world/carry on a conversation with someone AND listen to music at the same time. That and, of course, portability were some of the selling points for the "early adopters".

  6. Re:Music while cycling by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Presumably the reason for this law is so that you can hear car horns, sirens & other audible warnings. (Don't give me the old argument about deaf people riding bikes/driving/whatever. They are USED to depending only on visual cues - hearing people aren't.) Therefore, try using only a single earbud. You won't get the deluxe stereo sound that you might prefer, but you can hear your music AND the sirens, etc.

  7. Re:anti-social behaviors... by garcia · · Score: 2, Informative

    Tarzan? No, not Tarzan. Think of mentally deficient, socially inept, and physically retarded.

    Kasper Hauser Syndrome has a lot to do w/a lack of social interaction as a child. It causes problems with stature, mental development (which is sometimes reversable), and social interactions.

    Book here at Amazon.

  8. Soundscape studies did this decades ago by gobbo · · Score: 2, Informative
    Since this is a rerun story, I'm going to repost myself from a few weeks back:

    Hildegard Westerkamp wrote about Walkmans and personal audio space as a key part of her 1988 thesis "Listening and Soundmaking-A Study of Music-as- Environment", but the World Soundscape Project generally had a pretty good analysis of this right from the beginning of the phenomenon.

    The composer R. Murray Shafer's concept of "schizophonia" became used to describe an effect of electroacoustic tech: essentially something you hear that happens in another place and time. Barry Truax's definitive book Acoustic Communication develops the whole idea further.

    The thing about PLD's is that they supplant the actual soundscape with a soundtrack, often a remedy to noise and stress but usually just fun. There may be a long-term chronic danger from extreme schizophonia, but I don't think it's been studied empirically. Soundscape studies is fringe, most of the work being done in the area is engineering and psych.

    Now I don't know that Bull has ignored soundscape studies in general, but it is the true home of sound nerds who move beyond the engineering and get into the social, psychophysics, and ecological aspects of sound, and the article should have mentioned it at least. If you're interested in the field at all, you need to check out the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, where this stuff is hashed out on many levels.

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