Shaping perceptual learning of synthetic speech through feedback

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Auditory Perception
• Speech Processing

Background:

• Listeners adapt to accented speech by remapping acoustic cues to phonetic categories.
• Adaptive perceptual learning, crucial for understanding accented speech, can be achieved through implicit exposure or explicit feedback.
• Previous research established both implicit and explicit learning methods for synthetic speech perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the comparative effectiveness of implicit exposure versus explicit feedback on adaptive perceptual learning.
• To determine the influence of a written identification task on learning new acoustic-to-phonetic mappings.
• To elucidate the mechanisms underlying perceptual learning in speech processing.

Main Methods:

• The study employed a design crossing implicit exposure and explicit feedback conditions.
• Participants were exposed to synthetic speech with altered acoustic-phonetic mappings.
• A written identification task was included in some conditions to assess its impact on learning.

Main Results:

• Simple exposure to accented speech resulted in some perceptual learning.
• Explicit feedback led to substantially stronger adaptive perceptual learning than mere exposure.
• The presence of a written identification task did not significantly affect the learning observed.

Conclusions:

• Explicit feedback is a more potent driver of adaptive perceptual learning for accented speech than implicit exposure.
• Written identification tasks do not appear to enhance or impede this form of perceptual learning.
• Findings suggest explicit feedback actively guides the recalibration of acoustic-phonetic mappings.