Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Encoding01:19

Encoding

561
Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
561
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

572
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
572
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

551
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
551
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location01:21

Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location

638
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...
638
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory01:22

Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory

396
Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...
396
Non-Verbal Cues01:29

Non-Verbal Cues

126
Non-verbal communication extends beyond gestures and facial expressions to include vocal elements known as paralanguage. Paralanguage consists of non-verbal vocal cues such as pitch, loudness, speech rate, pauses, and non-verbal vocalizations like laughter, sighs, and moans. These elements not only accompany speech but also provide critical emotional and contextual information.The Role of Paralanguage in CommunicationParalanguage adds depth to spoken language by conveying emotions and...
126

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Short-term and long-term adaptive changes in prosodic comprehension.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same author

Receptive prosody adaptation to contextual feedback in autistic young adults.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same author

The accent atlas: A geolocation-based assessment of nonnative accent familiarity and linguistic diversity.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same author

Publisher Correction: Perception and adaptation of receptive prosody in autistic adolescents.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Intonation adaptation to multiple talkers.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2025
Same author

Perception and adaptation of receptive prosody in autistic adolescents.

Scientific reports·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

1.8K

Encoding and decoding of meaning through structured variability in intonational speech prosody.

Xin Xie1, Andrés Buxó-Lugo2, Chigusa Kurumada1

  • 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.

Cognition
|February 18, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Listeners learn talker-specific prosody statistics to better understand speech. This research shows how learning individual speaking patterns improves comprehension of questions versus statements.

Keywords:
AdaptationIntonationLanguage comprehensionLanguage productionMeaningProsodyVariability

More Related Videos

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

666
Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
05:22

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

5.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
05:48

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

1.8K
Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

666
Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
05:22

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

5.6K

Area of Science:

  • Psycholinguistics
  • Computational Linguistics
  • Speech Communication

Background:

  • Speech prosody is crucial for conveying meaning.
  • Understanding the cognitive and computational basis of prosody processing is ongoing.
  • Variability in prosodic cues across speakers and conditions creates ambiguity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if listeners learn talker-specific prosodic statistics to reduce ambiguity.
  • To examine the production and recognition of question versus statement prosody.
  • To determine if learning these statistics aids in prosody recognition.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: Elicited question and statement productions from 65 talkers to analyze prosodic statistics and variability.
  • Bayesian ideal observer models were used to predict the impact of variability on recognition.
  • Experiment 2: A comprehension experiment exposed listeners to different prosodic statistics to test recognition shifts.

Main Results:

  • Learning talker-specific prosodic statistics is predicted to enhance recognition beyond standard normalization methods.
  • Listener recognition of prosody in Experiment 2 aligned with predictions from Experiment 1.
  • Listeners adjusted their question/statement categorization boundary after exposure, supporting the learning hypothesis.

Conclusions:

  • Listeners adapt to talker-specific prosodic variations by learning statistical patterns.
  • This learning mechanism aids in resolving ambiguity and improving the recognition of prosodic cues.
  • Findings contribute to understanding the cognitive flexibility in speech perception.