Abstract
Understanding the way in which listeners move their heads must be part of any objective model for evaluating and reproducing the sonic experience of space. Head movement is part of the listening experience because it allows for sensing the spatial distribution of parameters. In the first experiment, the head positions of subjects was recorded when they were asked to evaluate perceived source location, apparent source width, envelopment, and timbre of synthesis stimuli. Head motion was larger when judging source width than when judging direction or timbre. In the second experiment, head movement was observed in natural listening activities such as concerts, movies, and video games. Because the statistics of movement were similar to that observed in the first experiment, laboratory results can to be used as the basis of an objective model of spatial behavior. The results were based on 10 subjects.