Auditory perception of fractal contours.

A series of experiments examined auditory contour formation, investigating listeners' sensitivities to a family of random fractals known as fractional Brownian noises. Exps 1A and 1B looked at identification of contours when 3 different noises were portrayed using variations in the pitch, duration, or loudness of successive notes of a sequence. Listeners could categorize pitch and loudness encodings, but not duration mappings. Exp 2 looked at the effect of simultaneous presentation of pitch and loudness information, finding that these dimensions combined additively to increase identification of the noise distributions. Exp 3 looked at discrimination of pitch contours as a function of changing fractal dimension. Discrimination curves approximated an inverted U shape, a finding that is not understandable in terms of sensitivity to differences in fractal dimension per se, nor in terms of "tuned" perceptual sensitivity to statistical regularities of the environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On cross-modal similarity: The perceptual structure of pitch, loudness, and brightness.

Examined how pitch and loudness correspond to brightness. In Experiment 1, 16 Ss identified which of 2 lights more resembled each of 16 tones; in Experiment 2, 8 of the same 16 Ss rated the similarity of lights to lights, tones to tones, and lights to tones. (1) Pitch and loudness both contributed to cross-modal similarity, but for most Ss pitch contributed more. (2) Individuals differed as to whether pitch or loudness contributed more; these differences were consistent across matching and similarity scaling. (3) Cross-modal similarity depended largely on relative stimulus values. (4) Multidimensional scaling revealed 2 perceptual dimensions, loudness and pitch, with brightness common to both. A simple quantitative model can describe the cross-modal comparisons, compatible with the view that perceptual similarity may be characterized through a malleable spatial representation that is multimodal as well as multidimensional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of pitch and timbre by musically trained and untrained listeners.

Investigated how musicians and nonmusicians differentially perceive the dimensions of pitch and timbre. A categorization task was used in Exp 1 to assess Ss' ability to identify how 2 consecutively presented tones changed along these dimensions. A speeded classification task was used in Exp 2 to measure Ss' ability to ignore or take advantage of information in one dimension while attending to the other. The 2 groups differed in the degree to which variation along the dimensions influenced responses. Timbre variation affected nonmusicians' judgments of pitch more than the reverse. Musicians showed no such asymmetry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual primacy of dimensions: Support for a model of dimensional interaction.

Do Ss always process multidimensional stimuli according to psychologically primary dimensions? Our hypothesis is that they do: Primary dimensions provide one component of a new model of dimensional interaction, a model that distinguishes information processed at the level of attributes from information processed at the level of the stimulus. By using sound stimuli created from the dimensions pitch–loudness (Experiments 1 and 2), pitch–timbre (Experiment 3), and loudness–timbre (Experiment 4), we tested performance in selective- and divided-attention tasks at each of three orientations of axes: 0°, 22.5°, and 45°. Each experiment revealed strong evidence of primacy: As axes rotated from 0° to 45°, selective attention deteriorated, but divided attention improved, producing a distinct pattern of convergence. Each experiment also revealed effects of congruity: Attributes from corresponding poles of a dimension (e.g., high pitch and loud) were classified faster than those from noncorresponding poles. The results fit well with our new conception but are inconsistent with other current models of dimensional interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of an irrelevant location dimension as a function of the relevant stimulus dimension.

The effect of an irrelevant location dimension on choice reactions to the relevant stimulus dimension was examined. Exp 1 used variations of the spatial Stroop task and the Simon task that differed in whether the relevant dimension (location name or color) was similar to the irrelevant location dimension. Congruity of the stimulus dimensions and stimulus–response (S–R) mapping had additive effects in the Simon task but overadditive effects in the Stroop task. Exps 2–4 showed that each pattern could be obtained for both tasks, suggesting that dimensional similarity is not crucial; overadditivity occurred only when stimulus identification was prolonged. Results can be interpreted in terms of the relative timing of activation for the relevant and irrelevant information, if it is assumed that the activation function for irrelevant location varies across different S–R mappings. (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)     

Impulsivity and perception: Individual differences in the processing of the local and global dimensions of stimuli.

In Exp I, 48 undergraduates differing in impulsivity (as measured by a self-report inventory) performed 2 versions of filtering, interference, and invariant control tasks. In one version, Ss sorted according to the value of the local dimension; in the other, the global dimension was the relevant one. In addition, Ss performed a task in which the 2 dimensions were perfectly correlated. Results show that Ss sorted more quickly when the global dimension was relevant than when the local dimension was relevant. In Exp II, 43 of the Ss from Exp I were used to determine whether failure to find a relationship between impulsivity and filtering performance was due to correlations of local and global dimensions; results were negative. In Exp III, the same 43 Ss used in Exp II were used to test the information-integration hypothesis. Results support the hypothesis—high impulsives were more impaired than other Ss when the task required that they integrate information from the global dimension with information from the local dimension. Findings can be explained in terms of individual differences in the value placed on speed, relative to accuracy, in information processing. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual sensitivity, integral perception, and the similarity classifications of preschool children and adults.

Assessed the developmental role of the salience characteristics of dimensions. In Exp I, 40 children (mean age 4 yrs 5 mo, from upper-middle SES backgrounds were asked to classify compound stimuli according to their similarity. Perceptual sensitivity to the component dimensions of the compounds was varied by means of predisposed and distinctiveness-based salience to determine its effects on the accuracy of similarity classifications. In Exp II, 20 undergraduates completed the same task. Classifications of both the children and adults were more accurate when the salience of the solution-relevant dimension was high than when it was low. Furthermore, sensitization training on a classification-relevant dimension that was initially low in predisposed salience resulted in increasing the subsequent classification accuracy of 4-yr-olds. It was concluded that the similarity classifications of both young children and adults are affected by the salience characteristics of the dimensions of compound stimuli. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Equal loudness contours derived from comparisons of sensory differences.

Determined whether stimuli differing in both frequency and intensity can be compared with respect to loudness alone or if comparisons need to be based on pitch dissimilarity, using the author and undergraduates. Ss were asked to report which of 2 pairs of tones presented sequentially had the greater loudness difference for a possible 17,995 combinations. Results indicate that loudness is an analyzable dimension of tonal experience and is separable from pitch. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tests of a translational model of Stroop interference: Translation or attention?

Examined the hypothesis that Stroop interference would increase in both the position and word tasks when the 2 task were mixed. In Exp 1, 34 Ss reported the position of a word by a manual response or read the word aloud. Results show that substantial interference occurs when Ss must be prepared to respond to either dimension, suggesting that translation is an obligatory process when attention is divided between the 2 dimensions. Exp 2 (40 Ss) showed that this interference is reduced if a cue that indicates the relevant dimension is presented 300 or 1,000 ms prior to the stimulus. Results are discussed in terms of a strength of processing model in which the degree of Stroop interference is attributed to the degree of attention to the irrelevant dimension of the Stroop stimulus. This model assumes that the degree of attention to a stimulus dimension is subject to both top-down and bottom-up influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual interactions between musical pitch and timbre.

Three experiments examined perceptual interactions between musical pitch and timbre. Exp 1, through the use of the Garner classification tasks, found that pitch and timbre of isolated tones interact. Classification times showed interference from uncorrelated variation in the irrelevant attribute and facilitation from correlated variation; the effects were symmetrical. Exps 2 and 3 examined how musical pitch and timbre function in longer sequences. In recognition memory tasks, a target tone always appeared in a fixed position in the sequences, and listeners were instructed to attend to either its pitch or its timbre. For successive tones, no interactions between timbre and pitch were found. That is, changing the pitches of context tones did not affect timbre recognition, and vice versa. The tendency to perceive pitch in relation to other context pitches was strong and unaffected by whether timbre was constant or varying. In contrast, the relative perception of timbre was weak and was found only when pitch was constant. These results suggest that timbre is perceived more in absolute than in relative terms. Perceptual implications for creating patterns in music with timbre variations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction between synesthetically corresponding dimensions.

This article presents findings of cross-sensory dimensional interaction for the visual dimension of vertical position and the auditory dimension of pitch. Subjects were simultaneously presented with attributes from both dimensions and performed speeded classification of one dimension. There were four task conditions. The irrelevant dimension was varied orthogonally or held constant, and attributes were always synesthetically congruent or always synesthetically incongruent. Subjects displayed reaction time (RT) interference when the second dimension varied orthogonally (a failure of selective attention). In addition, redundancy gain was asymmetric. Reaction time facilitation was only present when attributes were synesthetically congruent. Negatively correlated redundancy (incongruence) yielded neither facilitation nor interference. Interaction was unaffected by changes in the spatial origin of signals (Experiment 3) and was still evident when signals were temporally separated (Experiment 4). Several explanations for these results are considered. It is argued that these results may represent a new form of dimensional interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of spectral and dynamic cues in imagery for musical timbre.

The musical quality of timbre is based on both spectral and dynamic acoustic cues. Four 2-part experiments examined whether these properties are represented in the mental image of a musical timbre. Exp 1 established that imagery occurs for timbre variations within a single musical instrument, using plucked and bowed tones from a cello. Exps 2 and 3 used synthetic stimuli that varied in either spectral or dynamic properties only, to investigate imagery with strict acoustic control over the stimuli. Exp 4 explored whether the dimension of loudness is stored in an auditory image. Spectral properties appear to play a much larger role than dynamic properties in imagery for musical timbre. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of serial stimulus relations by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): Loudness.

Four experiments investigated the ability of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to perceive stimulus relations in serial sound patterns. Loudness was the relevant stimulus dimension. In Exp 1, Ss learned to discriminate between patterns of sine tones that increased and decreased monotonically in loudness. The discrimination transferred successfully to novel loudness levels outside the baseline training range. Starlings also maintained the discrimination when the loudness intervals between successive pattern elements were doubled in Exp 2 and when frequency was shifted in Exp 4. Successful discrimination was directly contingent on stimulus relations (i.e., increasing vs decreasing loudness levels) in Exp 3. When loudness relations were removed, the discrimination was lost. The research shows that the birds used stimulus relations as the basis for serial pattern discrimination. These results contrast with the results of earlier work on serial pitch-pattern discriminations in which birds attended preferentially to absolute as compared with relational features to guide performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Doppler illusion: The influence of dynamic intensity change on perceived pitch.

Four studies illustrate a new auditory illusion associated with the Doppler effect and demonstrate a new influence of dynamic intensity change on perceived pitch. Experiment 1 confirmed the existence of a popular belief that the pitch of a moving sound source rises as the source approaches. Because there is no corresponding rise in frequency, the authors refer to the perceived pitch rise as the Doppler illusion. Experiment 2 confirmed that the effect occurs perceptually, so the belief in a "naive principle" of physics has a perceptual basis. Experiment 3 confirmed the effect does not occur under matched static conditions. Experiment 4 showed that the influence of dynamic intensity change on perceived pitch occurs outside the realm of Doppler stimuli. The findings support a dynamic dimensional interaction of pitch and loudness, with marked differences in the perception of pitch and loudness under static and dynamic conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrophysiologic indices of Stroop and Garner interference reveal linguistic influences on auditory and visual processing

The purpose of this study was to examine linguistic influences on the auditory and visual processing of words both behaviorally and electrophysiologically. Our task yielded measures of the effect of irrelevant semantic content (Stroop interference) and of the effect of irrelevant linguistic variability (Garner interference). The behavioral results allow us to assess whether the linguistic and nonlinguistic dimensions of verbal stimuli are processed dependently or independently. The electrophysiologic results allow us to determine where any processing interactions are arising, particularly regarding perceptual versus postperceptual underpinnings, and to evaluate the similarity and dissimilarity between the two interference effects. Results show pronounced Stroop and Garner interference both behaviorally and electrophysiologically, indicating linguistic influences on auditory and visual processing. Subjects could not ignore the irrelevant linguistic dimension and attend selectively to the physical dimension of either spoken or written words. The results indicate that the physical and linguistic dimensions of words are not processed independently. With regard to the stage of processing underlying the interference effects, our results suggest that both Stroop and Garner interference involve multiple stages of processing. The two interference effects are not duplicate measures, however, and different electrophysiologic signatures were observed. Stroop interference is characterized by perceptual and postperceptual components. Similar electrophysiologic patterns within the auditory and visual modalities suggest that each interference effect is tapping similar processes for spoken and written stimuli.     

Processing integral dimensions: The whole view.

In the traditional view, integral dimensions are said to be processed as unitary wholes and only occasionally analyzed. Converging operations establish that (1) pitch and loudness and (2) hue, saturation, and brightness are true psychological dimensions and yet constitute integral dimensions in just this sense. Recent challenges provided by R. D. Melara et al (see record 1994-08285-001) are shown to be based on narrow and faulty interpretations of evidence for privileged axes. They are also undermined by strong evidence of the holistic processing of pitch and loudness and of the dimensions of color that emerge within both their own data and the larger literature. The traditional view, including the strong claim that integrality entails mandatory holistic processing, continues to fare very well as an account of a substantial and varied set of findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bias in Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales: Global or scale-specific?

Murphy and Constans (1987) showed that behavioral anchors can be a source of bias in ratings but did not determine whether bias in ratings of one dimension would spread to rating of other performance dimensions. In two separate studies, we manipulated behavioral anchors on one of the scales developed by Murphy and Constans (1987) and examined the effect of bias in these scales on ratings of dimensions that varied in their conceptual and evaluative similarity to the dimension that was manipulated. Neither study showed evidence that bias in ratings of one dimension spreads to ratings of other performance dimensions. These results suggest that rating bias of the sort reported by Murphy and Constans will not have a substantial effect on performance ratings in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensional interactions in language processing: Investigating directions and levels of crosstalk.

In this article we evaluate current models of language processing by testing speeded classification of stimuli comprising one linguistic and one nonlinguistic dimension. Garner interference obtains if subjects are slower to classify attributes on one dimension when an irrelevant dimension is varied orthogonally than when the irrelevant dimension is held constant. With certain linguistic–nonlinguistic pairings (e.g., Experiment 1: the words high and low spoken either loudly or softly), significant Garner interference obtained when either dimension was classified; this indicated two-directional crosstalk. With other pairings (e.g., Experiment 3: spoken vowels and loudness), only the nonlinguistic dimension (e.g., loudness) displayed interference, suggesting unidirectional crosstalk downstream from a phonemic/graphemic level of analysis. Collectively, these results indicate the interaction can occur either within or across levels of information processing, being directed toward either more advanced or more primitive processes. Although poorly explained by all current models of language processing, our results are strikingly inconsistent with models that posit autonomy among levels of processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)