Evidence for episodic retrieval of inadequate prime responses in auditory negative priming.

Four experiments are reported in which the mechanisms underlying auditory negative priming were investigated. In Experiments 1A and 1B, preprime-prime intervals and prime-probe intervals were manipulated. The ratio between the 2 intervals determined the size of the negative priming effect. Results are compatible with the episodic retrieval account, according to which the retrieval of inappropriate response information associated with the previous distractor slows down responding when that stimulus becomes the target. Experiment 2 tested a variant of this account, according to which the retrieval of the prime response rather than the retrieval of nonresponse information interferes with responding. Consistent with this variant, participants erroneously responded with the prime response more frequently in the ignored repetition condition than in the control condition. Experiment 3 replicated this finding and generalized it to the visual modality. The authors conclude that the retrieval of the inappropriate prime response is a determinant of the negative priming phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory Attentional Capture: Effects of Singleton Distractor Sounds.

The phenomenon of attentional capture by a unique yet irrelevant singleton distractor has typically been studied in visual search. In this article, the authors examine whether a similar phenomenon occurs in the auditory domain. Participants searched sequences of sounds for targets defined by frequency, intensity, or duration. The presence of a singleton distractor that was unique on an irrelevant dimension (e.g., a low-frequency singleton in search for a target of high intensity) was associated with search costs in both detection and discrimination tasks. However, if the singleton feature coincided with the target item, search was facilitated. These results establish the phenomenon of auditory attentional capture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Habituation to auditory distractors in a cross-modal, color–word interference task.

The speed of naming the color of a colored square was examined with acoustic distraction to study the effects of the formation of a mental representation (neural model) of distractors. In Experiment 1, practice with the distractors (color words, noncolor words, and tones) was examined, and in Experiments 2 and 3 each color-naming trial was preceded by preexposures to sounds that could be dissimilar, similar, or identical to the upcoming auditory distractor. Consistency in the identity of ignored sounds, whether during color-naming practice or between preexposures and test, reduced interference with color naming. Consistency in voice played no role, and attended preexposures were ineffective in reducing interference. Given these results, the authors propose that mental representations of distractors include information about their task relevance, which modulates disruption of the primary task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequential grouping of pure-tone percepts evoked by the segregation of components from a complex tone.

A sudden change applied to a single component can cause its segregation from an ongoing complex tone as a pure-tone-like percept. Three experiments examined whether such pure-tone-like percepts are organized into streams by extending the research of Bregman and Rudnicky (1975). Those authors found that listeners struggled to identify the presentation order of 2 pure-tone targets of different frequency when they were flanked by 2 lower frequency “distractors.” Adding a series of matched-frequency “captor” tones, however, improved performance by pulling the distractors into a separate stream from the targets. In the current study, sequences of discrete pure tones were substituted by sequences of brief changes applied to an otherwise constant 1.2-s complex tone. Pure-tone-like percepts were evoked by applying 6-dB increments to individual components of a complex comprising harmonics 1–7 of 300 Hz (Experiment 1) or 0.5-ms changes in interaural time difference to individual components of a log-spaced complex (range 160–905 Hz; Experiment 2). Results were consistent with the earlier study, providing clear evidence that pure-tone-like percepts are organized into streams. Experiment 3 adapted Experiment 1 by presenting a global amplitude increment either synchronous with, or just after, the last captor prior to the 1st distractor. In the former case, for which there was no pure-tone-like percept corresponding to that captor, the captor sequence did not aid performance to the same extent as previously. It is concluded that this change to the captor-tone stream partially resets the stream-formation process, and so the distractors and targets became likely to integrate once more. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Irrelevant Sound Phenomenon Revisited: What Role for Working Memory Capacity?

High-span individuals (as measured by the operation span [OSPAN] technique) are less likely than low-span individuals to notice their own names in an unattended auditory stream (A. R. A. Conway, N. Cowan, & M. F. Bunting, 2001). The possibility that OSPAN accounts for individual differences in auditory distraction on an immediate recall test was examined. There was no evidence that high-OSPAN participants were more resistant to the disruption caused by irrelevant speech in serial or in free recall. Low-OSPAN participants did, however, make more semantically related intrusion errors from the irrelevant sound stream in a free recall test (Experiment 4). Results suggest that OSPAN mediates semantic components of auditory distraction dissociable from other aspects of the irrelevant sound effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distractor modality can turn semantic interference into semantic facilitation in the picture–word interference task: Implications for theories of lexical access in speech production.

A number of recent studies have questioned the idea that lexical selection during speech production is a competitive process. One type of evidence against selection by competition is the observation that in the picture–word interference task semantically related distractors may facilitate the naming of a picture, whereas the selection by competition account predicts them to interfere. In the experiments reported in this article, the authors systematically varied, for a given type of semantic relation—that is, basic-level distractors (e.g., fish) during subordinate-level naming (e.g., carp)—the modality in which distractor words were presented (auditory vs. visual) and the proportion of response-congruent trials (i.e., trials allowing for the correct naming response to be derived from both the distractor and the target). With auditory distractors, semantic interference was obtained irrespective of the proportion of response-congruent trials (low in Experiment 1, high in Experiment 2). With visual distractors, no semantic effect was obtained with a low proportion of response-congruent trials (Experiment 3), whereas a semantic facilitation effect was obtained with a high proportion of response-congruent trials (Experiment 4). The authors propose that two processes contribute to semantic effects observed in the picture–word interference paradigm, namely selection by competition (leading to interference) and response congruency (leading to facilitation). Whether facilitation due to response congruency overrules the interference effect because of competition depends on the relative strength of these two processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Within- and between-dimensional processing in the auditory modality.

Participants made speeded target-nontarget responses to singly presented auditory stimuli in 2 tasks. In within-dimension conditions, participants listened for either of 2 target features taken from the same dimension; in between-dimensions conditions, the target features were taken from different dimensions. Judgments were based on the presence or absence of either target feature. Speech sounds, defined relative to sound identity and locale, were used in Experiment 1, whereas tones, comprising pitch and locale components, were used in Experiments 2 and 3. In all cases, participants performed better when the target features were taken from the same dimension than when they were taken from different dimensions. Data suggest that the auditory and visual systems exhibit the same higher level processing constraints. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating warning sound urgency with reaction times.

It is well-established that subjective judgments of perceived urgency of alarm sounds can be affected by acoustic parameters. In this study, the authors investigated an objective measurement, the reaction time (RT), to test the effectiveness of temporal parameters of sounds in the context of warning sounds. Three experiments were performed using a RT paradigm, with two different concurrent visuomotor tracking tasks simulating driving conditions. Experiments 1 and 2 show that RT decreases as interonset interval (IOI) decreases, where IOI is defined as the time elapsed from the onset of one sound pulse to the onset of the next. Experiment 3 shows that temporal irregularity between pulses can capture a listener's attention. These findings lead to concrete recommendations: IOI can be used to modulate warning sound urgency; and temporal irregularity can provoke an arousal effect in listeners. The authors also argue that the RT paradigm provides a useful tool for clarifying some of the factors involved in alarm processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-Modal Dynamic Capture: Congruency Effects in the Perception of Motion Across Sensory Modalities.

This study investigated multisensory interactions in the perception of auditory and visual motion. When auditory and visual apparent motion streams are presented concurrently in opposite directions, participants often fail to discriminate the direction of motion of the auditory stream, whereas perception of the visual stream is unaffected by the direction of auditory motion (Experiment 1). This asymmetry persists even when the perceived quality of apparent motion is equated for the 2 modalities (Experiment 2). Subsequently, it was found that this visual modulation of auditory motion is caused by an illusory reversal in the perceived direction of sounds (Experiment 3). This "dynamic capture" effect occurs over and above ventriloquism among static events (Experiments 4 and 5), and it generalizes to continuous motion displays (Experiment 6). These data are discussed in light of related multisensory phenomena and their support for a "modality appropriateness" interpretation of multisensory integration in motion perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic and phonological codes interact in single word production.

The relationship between semantic–syntactic and phonological levels in speaking was investigated using a picture naming procedure with simultaneously presented visual or auditory distractor words. Previous results with auditory distractors have been used to support the independent stage model (e.g., H. Schriefers, A. S. Meyer, & W. J. M. Levelt, 1990), whereas results with visual distractors have been used to support an interactive view (e.g., P. A. Starreveld & W. La Heij, 1996). Experiment 1 demonstrated that with auditory distractors, semantic effects preceded phonological effects, whereas the reverse pattern held for visual distractors. Experiment 2 indicated that the results for visual distractors followed the auditory pattern when distractor presentation time was limited. Experiment 3 demonstrated an interaction between phonological and semantic relatedness of distractors for auditory presentation, supporting an interactive account of lexical access in speaking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of manipulation and irrelevant noise on working memory capacity of patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

The effect of manipulation and distracting noise on immediate serial recall was measured in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), neurologically healthy elderly individuals, and young adults. In Experiment 1, the authors compared serial word recall with word recall in alphabetical order. Alphabetical recall requires the active manipulation of the contents of working memory. Findings indicated that DAT patients were severely impaired in the alphabetical recall task, whereas the performance of neurologically healthy elderly participants was comparable with the performance of young adult participants. In Experiment 2, the authors investigated the effect of different irrelevant auditory backgrounds on immediate digit recall. In this task, both elderly participants and DAT patients performed similarly to the group of young adult participants, indicating comparable efficacy to resist auditory distraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relative importance of visual and auditory feedback in speed typewriting.

16 skilled typists took speed typing tests under 4 different conditions: (a) normal speed typing conditions; (b) normal, but no sight of the printed line; (c) normal, but the sound of the typewriter was masked by noise fed through earphones worn by the typists; and (d) a combination of Conditions b and c (neither visual nor auditory feedback). The effects of these conditions were measured in terms of speed and accuracy of typing. Some differences among the conditions may be considered statistically significant (p≤.05 on a per comparison basis), but the small magnitudes of the differences suggest: in speed typing situations the presence or absence of visual and/or auditory feedback has a relatively unimportant effect on speed and accuracy of typing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When does between-sequence phonological similarity promote irrelevant sound disruption?

Typically, the phonological similarity between to-be-recalled items and TBI auditory stimuli has no impact if recall in serial order is required. However, in the present study, the authors have shown that the free recall, but not serial recall, of lists of phonologically related to-be-remembered items was disrupted by an irrelevant sound stream (end rhymes) sharing similar phonological content. These findings can be explained by the notion that between-sequence phonological similarity effects emerge when category-cueing processes become an important determinant for recall, such as when shared category information can be used as a retrieval aid to cue list items or plausible list candidates. In this case, the presence of categorically similar irrelevant items impairs the retrieval of list items and leads to intrusion error. Implications of these results for theories of auditory distraction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive sex differences in auditory motion perception: Looming sounds are special.

In 4 experiments, the authors examined sex differences in audiospatial perception of sounds that moved toward and away from the listener. Experiment 1 showed that both men and women underestimated the time-to-arrival of full-cue looming sounds. However, this perceptual bias was significantly stronger among women than among men. In Experiment 2, listeners estimated the terminal distance of sounds that approached but stopped before reaching them. Women perceived the looming sounds as closer than did men. However, in Experiment 3, with greater statistical power, the authors found no sex difference in the perceived distance of sounds that traveled away from the listener, demonstrating a sex-based specificity for auditory looming perception. Experiment 4 confirmed these results using equidistant looming and receding sounds. The findings suggest that sex differences in auditory looming perception are not due to general differences in audiospatial ability, but rather illustrate the environmental salience and evolutionary importance of perceiving looming objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory scene analysis in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): Discrimination of song segments, their segregation from multiple and reversed conspecific songs, and evidence for conspecific song categorization.

The ability of male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to perceive conspecific song amid a variety of background distractor conditions was investigated. In Experiment 1, test starlings rapidly discriminated 10 song segments produced by conspecific Starling A from 10 song segments produced by Starling B. Experiment 2 demonstrated that birds maintained the A vs. B discrimination against a background of song from a novel singer, Starling C. Experiment 3 demonstrated that birds could discriminate song segments from Starling A and Starling B amid superimposed distractor songs from 4 conspecifics. Experiment 4 demonstrated that the Starling A vs. Starling B discrimination could be maintained in the presence of starling song played backward. Experiments 1 and 5 suggested that test starlings were treating the A and B songs as open-ended, possibly abstract, auditory categories. Thus, starlings identify and discriminate conspecific songs amid many types of conspecific distractors. The results are well described by principles of auditory scene analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effects of Auditory and Visual Linguistic Distractors on Target Localization.

In this experiment, a Stroop-like paradigm was used to investigate the ability to attend to visuospatial cues while ignoring distracting stimuli in the auditory or visual modality. In Part 1, the authors investigated whether linguistic cue words (i.e., RIGHT, LEFT, DOWN, and UP) would induce endogenous shifts of attention to visual targets. In Part 2, a relevant distractor stimulus was introduced in a different modality from the endogenous cues to investigate effects of interference. Twenty-five right-handed students served as participants. Auditory and visual linguistic cues were effective in inducing shifts of visual attention when cues were presented alone. Furthermore, introducing a distractor stimulus decreased the efficacy of these cues differently depending on modality, suggesting that language processing and visuospatial attention may share neuronal resources. Implications for unimodal and supramodal mechanisms of selective attention and relevant neuronal networks are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferences about the location of food in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in two sensory modalities.

The authors tested the ability of capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) to make inferences about hidden food. In Experiment 1, we showed the content of 2 boxes, 1 of which was baited (visual condition, VC) or we shook both boxes producing noise from the baited box (auditory condition, AC). Seven subjects (out of 8) were above chance in the VC, whereas only 1 was above chance in AC. During treatment, by manipulating empty and filled objects subjects experienced the relation between noise and content. When tested again, 7 capuchins were above chance in the VC and 3 in AC. In Experiment 2, we gave visual or auditory information only about the empty box and, consequently, successful choice implied inferential reasoning. All subjects (out of 4) were above chance in the VC, and 2 in the AC. Control tests ruled out the possibility that success resulted from simply avoiding the shaken noiseless box, or from the use of arbitrary auditory information. Similar to apes (Call, 2004), capuchins were capable of inferential reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensional interaction between color and pitch.

In three experiments I investigated the nature of cross–modal dimensional interaction by testing speeded classification of the synesthetically corresponding dimensions of color (white–black) and pitch (high–low). Experiment 1 showed significant Garner interference when these dimensions were varied orthogonally—redundancy gain for positively correlated dimensions and redundancy loss for negatively correlated dimensions. Attributes from synesthetically congruent stimuli were classified faster than attributes from incongruent stimuli (a congruity effect). Experiment 2 tested a perceptual explanation of this interaction (i.e., that color and pitch are configural dimensions) by using Pomerantz's (1986) diagnostic (comparison of selective and divided attention performance). The configurality hypothesis received little support. Experiment 3 examined the effect of optional processes on color and pitch classification. The results suggest that partly strategic and partly mandatory components may constitute overall performance. Three alternative explanations of the color–pitch interaction—perceptual, semantic, and response based—are evaluated in the context of the present results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does auditory streaming require attention? Evidence from attentional selectivity in short-term memory.

R. P. Carlyon, R. Cusack, J. M. Foxton, and I. H. Robertson (2001; see record 2001-16068-008) have argued that attention is crucial for auditory streaming. The authors review R. P. Carlyon et al.'s (2001) arguments and suggest that a pertinent literature, the irrelevant sound paradigm--demonstrating preattentive auditory streaming--has been overlooked. In illustration of this alternative approach, the authors include a novel single experiment demonstrating the impact of preattentive auditory streaming on short-term serial memory. It is concluded that R. P. Carlyon et al.'s (2001) results do not definitively demonstrate that auditory streaming processes are dependent on attention; indeed, they are compatible with alternative accounts of the relationship between perceptual organization and attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring auditory saltation using the "reduced-rabbit" paradigm.

Sensory saltation is a spatiotemporal illusion in which the judged positions of stimuli are shifted toward subsequent stimuli that follow closely in time. So far, studies on saltation in the auditory domain have usually employed subjective rating techniques, making it difficult to exactly quantify the extent of saltation. In this study, temporal and spatial properties of auditory saltation were investigated using the "reduced-rabbit" paradigm and a direct-location method. In 3 experiments, listeners judged the position of the 2nd sound within sequences of 3 short sounds by using a hand pointer. When the delay between the 2nd and 3rd sound was short, the target sound was shifted toward the subsequent sound. The magnitude of displacement increased when the temporal and spatial distance between the sounds was reduced. In a 4th experiment, a modified reduced-rabbit paradigm was used to test the hypothesis that auditory saltation is associated with an impairment of target sound localization. The findings are discussed with regard to a spatiotemporal integration approach in which the processing of auditory information is combined with information from subsequent stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)