Implicit versus explicit frequency comparisons: two mechanisms of auditory change detection.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 2011-01-01; 37(2): 597-605
DOI: 10.1037/a0020368
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1. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2011 Apr;37(2):597-605. doi: 10.1037/a0020368.
Implicit versus explicit frequency comparisons: two mechanisms of auditory change
detection.
Demany L(1), Semal C, Pressnitzer D.
Author information:
(1)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,, Université de Bordeaux,
Bordeaux, France.
Listeners had to compare, with respect to pitch (frequency), a pure tone (T) to a
combination of pure tones presented subsequently (C). The elements of C were
either synchronous, and therefore difficult to hear out individually, or
asynchronous and therefore easier to hear out individually. In the
« present/absent » condition, listeners had to judge if T reappeared in C or not.
In the « up/down » condition, the task was to judge if the element of C most
similar to T was higher or lower than T. When the elements of C were synchronous,
the up/down task was found to be easier than the present/absent task; the
converse result was obtained when the elements of C were asynchronous. This
provides evidence for a duality of auditory comparisons between tone frequencies:
(1) implicit comparisons made by automatic and direction-sensitive
« frequency-shift detectors »; (2) explicit comparisons more sensitive to the
magnitude of a frequency change than to its direction. Another experiment
suggests that although the frequency-shift detectors cannot compare effectively
two tones separated by an interfering tone, they are largely insensitive to
interfering noise bursts.
DOI: 10.1037/a0020368
PMID: 20854002 [Indexed for MEDLINE]