Based on previous research, this study formulates hypotheses concerning (1) the psychophysical relationship between musical tempo and perceived activity, (2) a nonmonotonic hedonic effect of musical tempo on affective responses, and (3) a shift in this preference function due to differences in situational arousal. An experiment manipulates tempo in the same piece ot music at 14 different speeds varying by equal percentage increases. T he findings appear to support (1) a strong psychophysical relationship between a multi-item index of perceived activity and the logarithm of musical tempo, (2) a nonmonotonic hedonic curve wherein affective responses reach their most favourable peak at an intermediate level of musical tempo, and (3) a sympathic shift of this single-peaked preference function to the right with increases in situational arousal.
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