Domain-specific perception of emotional intensity in brief musical and vocal expressions

Auditory emotional intensity perception was investigated using behavioral ratings of voice and music stimuli. Principal component analysis revealed distinct domain-specific structures [principal component 1 (PC1) 48%, PC2 11.2%), with the primary dimension for music intensity judgments explaining larger variance. Domain-specific analyses converged on a two-dimensional valence–arousal space, indicating shared structure yet differing variability. These findings advance theoretical understanding of how emotional intensity is organized across auditory domains of voice and music and highlight music as a particularly rich substrate for inter-individual differences in affective intensity perception.