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Detection of simple and complex changes of spectral shape.
1Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|November 1, 1987
Summary
Listeners can detect spectral shape changes, often predicted by a simple two-region level difference model. However, this model doesn't fully explain detection when the number of spectral components changes.
Area of Science:
- Psychoacoustics
- Auditory perception
- Signal detection theory
Background:
- Previous studies on spectral shape detection focused on simple increments to single components in multicomponent backgrounds.
- A key question is whether listener sensitivity to complex spectral changes can be predicted from simpler detection tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate listener sensitivity to a diverse range of simple and complex spectral changes.
- To determine if existing models can predict sensitivity across various spectral change complexities.
Main Methods:
- A single group of listeners performed tasks involving detection of spectral shape changes.
- Data collected included detection thresholds for various spectral alterations.
Main Results:
- A simple calculation scheme, assuming detection occurs when signal addition creates a level difference between two spectral regions, predicted most observed thresholds.
- This predictive scheme was successful for the specific dataset but failed to account for data involving alterations in the number of spectral components.
Conclusions:
- Listener sensitivity to spectral shape changes can often be predicted by a model focusing on level differences between two spectral regions.
- The proposed simple model has limitations and does not fully explain spectral profile analysis data when the number of components is varied.