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Related Experiment Video

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Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses

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Spectral content as a cue to perceived auditory distance.

A D Little¹, D H Mershon, P H Cox

¹Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7801.

|January 1, 1992

Summary

Spectral content changes in auditory stimuli can indicate sound source distance. This study found spectral information acts as a relative cue for perceived auditory distance, not an absolute one, independent of sound level.

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Area of Science:

Acoustics
Psychoacoustics
Auditory Perception

Background:

Spectral content changes in auditory stimuli are proposed cues for sound source distance.
Previous research has not clarified if spectral cues are absolute or relative.
The influence of sound level and loudness changes requires evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine if spectral content provides an absolute or relative cue for auditory distance.
To assess the role of spectral changes in perceived sound source distance.
To evaluate confounding effects of sound level and loudness.

Main Methods:

Investigated wide-band auditory stimuli with varying spectral content.
Manipulated sound levels and loudness to isolate spectral cue effects.
Compared listener perception of auditory distance with controlled spectral variations.

Main Results:

A decrease in high-frequency content correlated with increased perceived auditory distance.
This effect was observed only when listeners could compare sounds with differing spectral content.
Spectral information functions as a relative cue for auditory distance.

Conclusions:

Spectral content serves as a relative cue for perceived auditory distance.
The perception of distance using spectral cues is independent of overall sound level changes.
Listeners require comparative spectral information to judge auditory distance effectively.