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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Royal Society Open Science

Preferences for pitch sequence complexity are consistent with an inverted U-shape in humans and parrots

  • Oliver T. Bellmann1,2,3
  • Marisa Hoeschele1
  • Melina Witt1,2,3
  • Eva Shair Ali1
  • Pui Chu1
  • Roberta Bianco4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences 1 , Vienna, Austria
  2. 2Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna 2 , Vienna, Austria
  3. 3Vienna Doctoral School in Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience, University of Vienna 3 , Vienna, Austria
  4. 4Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa 4 , Pisa, Italy
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Abstract

A well-established inverted U-shape relationship links stimulus complexity and human music preference, with preferences peaking at intermediate levels. We investigated whether preference for intermediate complexity is unique to humans or shared with other species. We compared the acoustic preferences of humans and budgerigars, a species known for their vocal learning and pattern recognition abilities, using a three-option place preference paradigm. Participants were presented with choices between stimuli of different, computationally defined complexity: pitch sequences with tones arranged either randomly (high complexity), repeating patterns with changes (medium) or fully repetitive patterns (low). Our results demonstrate that, without specific goals or external rewards, both humans and budgerigars spontaneously exhibit a nonlinear (intermediate) preference profile, indicating a pattern consistent with an inverted U-shape relationship. Because a U-shape relationship may reflect a strategy to seek informative sources maximally useful for learning—that is, for building and refining internal models of the environment—this preference in the acoustic domain may support vocal learning. However, further testing could determine whether it also exists in vocal non-learning species. Because vertebrates show inverted U-shape responses in a variety of non-auditory contexts, our findings may stem from general processes, but potentially depend on vocal learning to translate to acoustic contexts.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bellmann2026preferences,
  title = {{Preferences for pitch sequence complexity are consistent with an inverted U-shape in humans and parrots}},
  author = {Oliver T. Bellmann and Marisa Hoeschele and Melina Witt and Eva Shair Ali and Pui Chu and Roberta Bianco},
  journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1098/rsos.252399},
  url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252399/483788/Preferences-for-pitch-sequence-complexity-are},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Preferences for pitch sequence complexity are consistent with an inverted U-shape in humans and parrots
AU  - Oliver T. Bellmann
AU  - Marisa Hoeschele
AU  - Melina Witt
AU  - Eva Shair Ali
AU  - Pui Chu
AU  - Roberta Bianco
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - Royal Society Open Science
DO  - 10.1098/rsos.252399
UR  - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252399/483788/Preferences-for-pitch-sequence-complexity-are
AB  - A well-established inverted U-shape relationship links stimulus complexity and human music preference, with preferences peaking at intermediate levels. We investigated whether preference for intermediate complexity is unique to humans or shared with other species. We compared the acoustic preferences of humans and budgerigars, a species known for their vocal learning and pattern recognition abilities, using a three-option place preference paradigm. Participants were presented with choices between stimuli of different, computationally defined complexity: pitch sequences with tones arranged either randomly (high complexity), repeating patterns with changes (medium) or fully repetitive patterns (low). Our results demonstrate that, without specific goals or external rewards, both humans and budgerigars spontaneously exhibit a nonlinear (intermediate) preference profile, indicating a pattern consistent with an inverted U-shape relationship. Because a U-shape relationship may reflect a strategy to seek informative sources maximally useful for learning—that is, for building and refining internal models of the environment—this preference in the acoustic domain may support vocal learning. However, further testing could determine whether it also exists in vocal non-learning species. Because vertebrates show inverted U-shape responses in a variety of non-auditory contexts, our findings may stem from general processes, but potentially depend on vocal learning to translate to acoustic contexts.
SN  - 2054-5703
ER  -