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The Pip-and-Pop Effect in Depth: How Multisensory Stimuli Influence Depth Perception
Haami Yusein1,2,3, Durk Talsma2, Klaas Bombeke3
1Laboratory of Medical Psychology and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), 26659Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F. Roosevelt 50, CP191, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Multisensory Research
|June 2, 2026
Summary
Audiovisual integration speeds up attention and biases distance perception. Synchronous sounds with visual targets made them seem closer, demonstrating multisensory effects on spatial awareness in virtual reality.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Perception Psychology
- Virtual Reality Applications
Background:
- Multisensory integration enhances attentional selection.
- Its impact on depth perception is not well understood due to measurement challenges.
- Virtual reality offers controlled environments to study multisensory perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how audiovisual integration affects distance perception.
- To adapt the pip-and-pop paradigm for immersive virtual reality.
- To determine if audiovisual cues influence spatial awareness beyond attentional facilitation.
Main Methods:
- Adapted the pip-and-pop paradigm in immersive virtual reality.
- Participants (N=30) searched for visual targets with or without synchronous nonspatial auditory stimuli.
- Post-target identification, participants reported target location in 3D space (laterality, elevation, depth).
Main Results:
- Audiovisual pairing significantly increased response speed (pip-and-pop effect).
- Targets with synchronous tones were perceived as closer, indicating distance underestimation.
- Exploratory analyses showed effects of target vertical and lateral position.
Conclusions:
- Multisensory integration influences both attentional selection speed and perceived target distance.
- Audiovisual synchrony can bias spatial perception, extending the pip-and-pop effect.
- Spatially mismatched, temporally synchronous audiovisual events impact distance estimates in VR.
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