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Published on: June 3, 2013
Context sensitivity and invariance in perception of octave-ambiguous tones
Bruno H Repp1, Jacqueline M Thompson
1Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511-6624, USA. repp@haskins.yale.edu
Psychological Research
|November 27, 2009
Summary
Unambiguous context tones minimally influenced the perception of octave-ambiguous tritone intervals. However, context tone pitch range significantly affected single ambiguous tone perception, showing context sensitivity.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Music Cognition
Background:
- Octave-ambiguous (OA) tones present perceptual challenges due to their inherent ambiguity.
- The influence of unambiguous (UA) context tones on OA tone perception requires further investigation, particularly concerning interval judgments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how UA context tones affect the perception of OA tones, specifically focusing on interval direction and pitch height.
- To determine if the perceived relative pitch height of OA tones, known as the 'tritone paradox,' is invariant in UA tone contexts.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using OA and UA tones.
- Experiment 1 used UA tone pairs to prime OA tritone pairs, assessing priming effects on perceived interval direction.
- Experiments 2 and 3 involved comparing pitch heights of single OA and UA tones, manipulating UA tone pitch range and spectral center.
Main Results:
- Little to no priming was observed when judging the direction of OA tritone pairs preceded by UA tones.
- Perception of single OA tone pitch height was strongly influenced by the pitch range of UA context tones.
- Perception of OA tritone interval direction showed limited sensitivity to UA tone context.
Conclusions:
- The perceived pitch height of single OA tones is context-sensitive.
- The perceived relative pitch height of OA tones, as described by the tritone paradox, appears largely invariant within UA tone contexts.
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