The Time-Error in Auditory Perception

Abstract

In the psychophysical method of constant stimuli, if the variable is presented second, the subject''s judgments are likely to show consistent tendencies toward over- or under-estimation, and the direction and magnitude of this time-error will vary with the parameters of the expt. The results of the present expt. failed to show a significant time-error for pitch. Interpolation of continuous background stimuli of other pitches also failed to result in a time-error. Significant time-errors were obtained for loudness. The functions are not significantly different at different sensation levels. Moreover the same patterns occur for judgments of loudness of noise. The results are interpreted as being consonant with the physiologic evidence regarding the central after-effects of auditory stimulation. There is good evidence for the assumption that frequency reception in the auditory cortex reproduces the patterns of excitation on the basilar membrane and is essentially sub- stitutive. There is also reason to believe that cortical response to intensity is cyclical in nature, with alternating periods of hyperactivity and depression of function, and that it is essentially additive.