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Beyond Categorical Perception: Gradient Lexical Tone Processing Revealed by Visual Analog Scale
Bing Cheng1, Xi Xiang1, Xiangrong Dai1
1English Department & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of AI-Empowered Language and Culture Research, School of Foreign Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China.
Summary
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) effectively measures lexical tone perception, revealing gradient perception in suprasegmental features. This study compares VAS with two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) for tone categorization, offering new insights into speech perception research.
Area of Science:
- Phonetics and Phonology
- Auditory Perception
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) has been used to study gradient perception in segmental speech sounds.
- Lexical tones, a crucial suprasegmental feature, remain understudied regarding their perceptual categorization.
- Previous research has primarily used the two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) method for tone perception studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate lexical tone categorization using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
- To directly compare the efficacy of VAS with the traditional two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) method in tone categorization.
- To explore gradient perception in the suprasegmental domain of lexical tones.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-four native Mandarin Chinese speakers participated in the study.
- Participants categorized an 11-step fundamental frequency (F0) continuum from Mandarin Tone 1 to Tone 2 using both VAS and 2AFC tasks.
- Categorization sharpness (slope) and response variability were analyzed using four-parameter logistic functions; within-category sensitivity was quantified from VAS responses.
Main Results:
- The VAS task demonstrated significantly shallower slopes and lower response variability compared to the 2AFC task (p < .001).
- Listeners showed reliable discrimination of fine-grained differences within categories in both tasks.
- Slope and response variability showed weak correlation in VAS but strong negative correlation in 2AFC; response variability correlated across tasks, but slopes did not.
Conclusions:
- Gradient aspects of perception are observable at the suprasegmental level, specifically in lexical tone categorization.
- The VAS serves as a sensitive tool for probing lexical tone categorization, complementing existing methods.
- Task-dependent gradiency and stable response variability help reconcile conflicting findings in categorical perception literature, suggesting methodological influences.
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