Hedonic Preferences to Audio and Visual Stimulation in Seniors with Cognitive Impairments

BACKGROUND: Hedonic (or aesthetic) preferences to repeated sensory stimulation can remain stable over time (Island of Stability Effect, ISE) or vary with prior exposures (Mere Exposure Effect, MEE). OBJECTIVE: Here we compared the liking ratings of seniors with cognitive impairments (mostly mild-to-moderate dementia, DPs) and neurotypical senior controls (CNs) to audio and visual stimuli and examined whether those ratings conformed to the ISE or the MEE predictions. METHOD: Participants (n = 212) rated sets of stimuli repeated three times at weekly intervals: images of Picasso’s paintings, PANTONE color cards, and avant-garde music clips. RESULTS: The aggregated liking ratings of DPs and CNs were stable over time, in line with the ISE model. However, latent growth modeling indicated that those stable responses might have masked differences at the individual level, since seniors in both cohorts exhibited clusters of different responses over the time evaluated, supporting the predictions of the MEE. Notably, there was a dampening of hedonic experiences in DPs comparatively to CNs. CONCLUSION: The presence of hedonic responses (and individual variations) in DPs is relevant not only to their wellbeing and therapy interventions involving audio and visual stimulation, but also to the design of spaces that offset the downturn in hedonic experiences affecting seniors with cognitive impairments.