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Sequence effects in the categorization of tones varying in frequency
Neil Stewart1, Gordon D A Brown
1Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom. neil.stewart@warwick.ac.uk
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 26, 2004
Summary
This study shows that recent stimulus differences, not stored memories, influence categorization. A memory and contrast model accurately predicts how sequential effects impact tone frequency categorization.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Perception
- Auditory Perception
Background:
- Traditional categorization models rely on long-term stimulus representations.
- An alternative approach suggests categorization based on recent stimulus comparisons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sequential effects in auditory categorization.
- To test a memory and contrast model against exemplar and decision-bound models.
Main Methods:
- Binary categorization task with 10 frequency-varying tones.
- Analysis of sequential effects on current stimulus response.
Main Results:
- Stimuli up to two trials prior significantly influenced categorization.
- Interactions were observed between the effects of preceding stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Categorization relies on differences from recent stimuli, not stored magnitudes.
- A memory and contrast model best explains sequential effects in tone categorization.