title: Forward-masked intensity discrimination: duration effects and spectral effects.
abstract: Three experiments were completed to examine the effect of masker duration and spectrum on forward-masked intensity discrimination. Four listeners participated in each experiment. Intensity discrimination was measured in quiet and in the presence of forward maskers using adaptive forced-choice procedures. The standard duration was either short (10 ms) or long (250 ms) in experiment 1 and short (10 ms) in experiment 2. The standard always occurred 100 ms after the offset of the masker. In the first experiment employing 1.0-kHz maskers and standards, a short duration masker (10 ms) produced more masking than a long duration masker (250 ms). A mid-level elevation of the Weber fraction was observed for all conditions. To ensure that the results of experiment 1 were not influenced by off-frequency listening, the second experiment employed a broadband noise masker. As before, a short duration (10 ms) masker produced more masking than a long duration masker (100 ms) and a mid-level elevation of Weber fractions was observed. This outcome is inconsistent with a peripheral sensory effect for which an increase in masker duration should result in a greater amount of adaptation, and, as a consequence more masking. A third experiment employing a broadband noise masker and standard showed the greatest amount of masking for low-level standards, but only when the duration of the masker and standard was short. This result is similar to one seen for a single listener in the first experiment for short duration tonal maskers and standards. For this listener, a second tone presented at 4.133 kHz presented simultaneously with the 1.0 kHz masker reduced significantly the amount of masking for low-level standards, but the mid-level elevation of the Weber fraction remained. Taken together, these results suggest that perceptual similarity plays a role in forward-masked intensity discrimination but does not account entirely for the mid-level elevation of the Weber fraction.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. Schla001@maroon.tc.umn.edu
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Schlauch
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lanthier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neve
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D006801:Humans; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D000159:Vestibulocochlear Nerve / Q000502:physiology