Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026
07:34
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
Gradient sensitivity to within-category variation in words and syllables
Bob McMurray1, Richard N Aslin, Michael K Tanenhaus
1Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. bob.mcmurray@uiowa.edu
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|December 3, 2008
Summary
Listeners process subphonetic variation in speech, like voice-onset time (VOT), in a gradient manner. This allows for dynamic compensation of acoustic variability during spoken word recognition.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Speech Perception
- Auditory Neuroscience
Background:
- Subphonetic variation, such as voice-onset time (VOT), plays a crucial role in distinguishing speech sounds.
- Previous research has established the importance of VOT in phoneme and word recognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of within-category subphonetic variation on the perception of stop consonants.
- To examine how listeners process continuous acoustic-phonetic information during spoken word recognition.
Main Methods:
- Five experiments utilized eye movements to monitor participants' responses during phoneme and lexical identification tasks.
- Synthetic voice-onset time (VOT) continua were employed to systematically vary subphonetic information.
- Factors such as response alternatives, task type (lexical vs. phoneme decision), and token type were manipulated.
Main Results:
- Gradient effects of voice-onset time (VOT) were consistently observed across all experimental conditions.
- Listeners demonstrated sensitivity to continuous subphonetic variation, even within phonetic categories.
- Results replicated previous findings with natural speech and extended them to synthetic speech stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Spoken word recognition involves the activation of lexical competitors in proportion to their continuous acoustic-phonetic distance from category boundaries.
- This gradient processing mechanism enables listeners to anticipate acoustic-phonetic information and dynamically adapt to speech variability.
- The findings highlight the sophisticated and continuous nature of phonetic perception in real-time language processing.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect
The similarity-dissimilarity effect, a fundamental concept in social psychology, explains how interpersonal similarities and differences influence attraction and social interactions. This effect is supported by three key psychological perspectives: balance theory, social comparison theory, and consensual validation.Balance Theory and Cognitive ConsistencyBalance theory, developed by Fritz Heider, posits that individuals seek cognitive consistency in their relationships. When two people share...
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
The human ear is not equally sensitive to all frequencies in the audible range. It may perceive sound waves with the same pressure but different frequencies as having different loudness. Moreover, the perception of sound waves depends on the health of an individual's ears, which decays with age. The health of one's ears may also be affected by regular exposure to loud noises.
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...
01:05Difference from Background: Limit of Detection
The limit of detection (LOD) is the smallest amount of analyte that can be distinguished from the background noise. The LOD value corresponds to the concentration at which the analyte signal is three times larger than the standard deviation of the blank signal. Below this value, the analyte signal cannot be differentiated from the background noise. It is calculated by dividing the calibration slope by 3 times the standard deviation of the blank signals.
The LOD indicates the presence or absence...
The LOD indicates the presence or absence...
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
01:11Variability: Analysis
Measures of variability are statistical metrics that reveal the dispersion pattern within a dataset. They are pivotal in biostatistics, providing insights into the heterogeneity within health and biological data. Variability signifies the degree to which data points diverge from one another, helping researchers understand the potential range of values and associated uncertainty within the data.
The range is a simple measure of variability, indicating the difference between the highest and...
The range is a simple measure of variability, indicating the difference between the highest and...