Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
07:13
A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
Published on: November 9, 2018
11.6K
Discrimination of frequency variance for tonal sequences
Andrew J Byrne1, Neal F Viemeister1, Mark A Stellmack1
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|December 7, 2014
Summary
Human listeners can discern differences in auditory stimulus variability. Performance, while poorer than an ideal observer, followed Weber's Law, suggesting a consistent discrimination pattern.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal processing
Background:
- Real-world sounds exhibit significant variability.
- Understanding human sensitivity to this variability is crucial for auditory processing models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate human listeners' ability to discriminate global stimulus variability.
- To characterize the sensitivity to differences in variance of auditory sequences.
Main Methods:
- A two-interval, forced-choice task was employed.
- Listeners discriminated variance in sequences of Gaussian-distributed tone frequencies.
- Psychometric functions were measured across different standard variances.
Main Results:
- Listener performance showed high inter-subject consistency.
- Performance was below that of an ideal observer but exhibited Weber's Law behavior.
- A model incorporating frequency-resolution and computational noise fit the data.
Conclusions:
- Humans possess a quantifiable sensitivity to auditory variance.
- Weber's Law applies to auditory variance discrimination.
- Noise in frequency resolution and computation impacts performance.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Properties of Fourier series II
770
Time scaling of signals is a crucial concept in signal processing that affects the Fourier series representation without altering its coefficients. The process modifies the fundamental frequency, thereby changing how the series represents the signal over time. This principle is essential in various applications, including audio and image processing, where signal manipulation is frequent. Understanding function symmetries is fundamental to simplifying the Fourier series.
A function f(t) is...
A function f(t) is...
770
01:01Perception of Sound Waves
6.1K
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...
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
6.1K
01:20Discrete-Time Fourier Series
897
The Discrete-Time Fourier Series (DTFS) is a fundamental concept in signal processing, serving as the discrete-time counterpart to the continuous-time Fourier series. It allows for the representation and analysis of discrete-time periodic signals in terms of their frequency components. Unlike its continuous counterpart, which utilizes integrals, the calculation of DTFS expansion coefficients involves summations due to the discrete nature of the signal.
For a discrete-time periodic signal x[n]...
For a discrete-time periodic signal x[n]...
897
01:18Aliasing
881
Accurate signal sampling and reconstruction are crucial in various signal-processing applications. A time-domain signal's spectrum can be revealed using its Fourier transform. When this signal is sampled at a specific frequency, it results in multiple scaled replicas of the original spectrum in the frequency domain. The spacing of these replicas is determined by the sampling frequency.
If the sampling frequency is below the Nyquist rate, these replicas overlap, preventing the original...
If the sampling frequency is below the Nyquist rate, these replicas overlap, preventing the original...
881
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
1.4K
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...
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...
1.4K
01:08Determination of Expected Frequency
2.8K
Suppose one wants to test independence between the two variables of a contingency table. The values in the table constitute the observed frequencies of the dataset. But how does one determine the expected frequency of the dataset? One of the important assumptions is that the two variables are independent, which means the variables do not influence each other. For independent variables, the statistical probability of any event involving both variables is calculated by multiplying the individual...
2.8K