Cross-cultural relationships between music, emotion, and visual imagery: A comparative study of Iran, Canada, and Japan [Stage 1 Registered Report]

Many people experience emotions and visual imagery while listening to music. Previous research has identified cross-modal associations between musical and visual features as well as cross-cultural links between music and emotion and between music and visual imagery. However, few studies have simultaneously investigated cross-cultural links between music, visual imagery, and emotion in order to distinguish the role of cultural experiences in contrast to more widespread perceptual capabilities. In this study, we investigate the relationship between emotional arousal and visual density induced by 6 musical excerpts differing in tempo and texture (solo vs group) in 72 participants from Japan, Iran, and Canada (24 each). We hypothesize that there are cross-culturally consistent relationships between tempo changes and 1) visual density associations, and 2) arousal ratings. The aim of this study is to understand whether relationships between music, emotion, and visual imagery are cross-culturally consistent.