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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
07:13
A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
Published on: November 9, 2018
Using monkeys to explore perceptual "loss" versus "learning" models in English and Spanish voice-onset-time
Joan M Sinnott1, Laura A Powell, Jazmin Camchong
1Comparative Hearing Laboratory, Psychology Department, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|April 6, 2006
Summary
Monkeys and Spanish speakers perceive voicing cues differently than English speakers. English listeners showed reduced sensitivity to Spanish lead cues, suggesting perceptual loss, which training could overcome.
Area of Science:
- Speech Perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Cross-linguistic Phonetics
Background:
- Cross-language research indicates Spanish lead VOT contrasts are less salient than English lag VOT contrasts.
- Voice-onset-time (VOT) is a crucial cue for distinguishing consonant voicing across languages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To obtain a linguistically unbiased estimate of lead versus lag salience using monkey identification of CV VOT series.
- To compare monkey and human (Spanish, English) perception of VOT contrasts.
- To investigate the impact of explicit training on VOT boundary perception.
Main Methods:
- A labial consonant-vowel (CV) voice-onset-time (VOT) series from -60 to +70 ms was used.
- Two-choice identification tests were conducted with monkeys, Spanish, and English listeners.
- Listeners were explicitly trained via feedback to differentiate lead and lag VOT stimuli.
Main Results:
- Monkey and Spanish listeners showed variable identification functions sensitive to three voicing cues (lead, simultaneous, lag).
- English listeners exhibited highly categorical functions, sensitive to only two cues (lead/simultaneous, lag).
- Extended training improved performance for all groups, reducing initial differences in lead boundary sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- Monkey and human perception of VOT contrasts reveal species- and language-specific processing.
- English listeners demonstrate perceptual loss for certain Spanish voicing lead cues.
- Explicit training can enhance perception of VOT contrasts, suggesting plasticity in speech perception systems.
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