Illusory conjunctions of pitch and duration in unfamiliar tone sequences.
In 3 experiments, the authors examined short-term memory for pitch and duration in unfamiliar tone sequences. Participants were presented a target sequence consisting of 2 tones (Experiment 1) or 7 tones (Experiments 2 and 3) and then a probe tone. Participants indicated whether the probe tone matched 1 of the target tones in both pitch and duration. Error rates were relatively low if the probe tone matched 1 of the target tones or if it differed from target tones in pitch, duration, or both. Error rates were remarkably high, however, if the probe tone combined the pitch of 1 target tone with the duration of a different target tone. The results suggest that illusory conjunctions of these dimensions frequently occur. A mathematical model is presented that accounts for the relative contribution of pitch errors, duration errors, and illusory conjunctions of pitch and duration.
Thompson
W F
WF
Department of Psychology, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. billt@yorku.ca
Hall
M D
MD
Pressing
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*