Auditory discontinuities interact with categorization: Implications for speech perception

Holt, Lori L.; Lotto, Andrew J.; Diehl, Randy L.

doi:10.1121/1.1778838

Cited by 45 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, subjects in the Pisoni et al (1982) experiment were asked to learn a different category boundary location, one that may be easier to learn than that used in the present experiment due to the location of regions of heightened psychoacoustic sensitivity (cf. discussion by Holt, Lotto, & Diehl, 2004).…”

Section: Generalizationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Training to use voice onset time as a cue to talker identification induces a left-ear/right-hemisphere processing advantage

Francis

Driscoll

2006

Brain and Language

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined the effect of perceptual training on a well-established hemispheric asymmetry in speech processing. Eighteen listeners were trained to use a within-category difference in voice onset time (VOT) to cue talker identity. Successful learners (n=8) showed faster response times for stimuli presented only to the left ear than for those presented only to the right. The development of a leftear/right-hemisphere advantage for processing a prototypically phonetic cue supports a model of speech perception in which lateralization is driven by functional demands (talker identification vs. phonetic categorization) rather than by acoustic stimulus properties alone.

show abstract

Section: Generalizationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Training to use voice onset time as a cue to talker identification induces a left-ear/right-hemisphere processing advantage

Francis

Driscoll

2006

Brain and Language

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The experiment used methods from auditory categorylearning experiments ͑e.g., Holt et al, 2004;Mirman et al, 2004͒ whereby distributions of sounds drawn from a twodimensional acoustic space were sampled in stimulus presentation. Listeners labeled the sound and received feedback to learn to assign category labels during training.…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Cue weighting in auditory categorization: Implications for first and second language acquisition

Holt

Lotto

2006

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Self Cite

256

274

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to integrate and weight information across dimensions is central to perception and is particularly important for speech categorization. The present experiments investigate cue weighting by training participants to categorize sounds drawn from a two-dimensional acoustic space defined by the center frequency ͑CF͒ and modulation frequency ͑MF͒ of frequency-modulated sine waves. These dimensions were psychophysically matched to be equally discriminable and, in the first experiment, were equally informative for accurate categorization. Nevertheless, listeners' category responses reflected a bias for use of CF. This bias remained even when the informativeness of CF was decreased by shifting distributions to create more overlap in CF. A reversal of weighting ͑MF over CF͒ was obtained when distribution variance was increased for CF. These results demonstrate that even when equally informative and discriminable, acoustic cues are not necessarily equally weighted in categorization; listeners exhibit biases when integrating multiple acoustic dimensions. Moreover, changes in weighting strategies can be affected by changes in input distribution parameters. This methodology provides potential insights into acquisition of speech sound categories, particularly second language categories. One implication is that ineffective cue weighting strategies for phonetic categories may be alleviated by manipulating variance of uninformative dimensions in training stimuli.

show abstract

“…Holt, Lotto, & Kluender, 2001;Hauser, Newport, & Aslin, 2001). Likewise, training human adults to categorize complex nonspeech acoustic stimuli that model some of the complexity of speech stimuli has demonstrated that there are important perceptual (Holt, Lotto, & Diehl, 2004) and cognitive (Holt & Lotto, 2006) constraints on auditory learning that extend to speech categorization. Considering speech perception from a general cognitive-science perspective, it also becomes possible to integrate findings from visual categorization into theories of speech.…”

Section: Speech and Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

Speech Perception Within an Auditory Cognitive Science Framework

Holt

Lotto

2008

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The complexities of the acoustic speech signal pose many significant challenges for listeners. Although perceiving speech begins with auditory processing, investigation of speech perception has progressed mostly independently of study of the auditory system. Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that cross-fertilization between the two areas of research can be productive. We briefly describe research bridging the study of general auditory processing and speech perception, showing that the latter is constrained and influenced by operating characteristics of the auditory system and that our understanding of the processes involved in speech perception is enhanced by study within a more general framework. The disconnect between the two areas of research has stunted the development of a truly interdisciplinary science, but there is an opportunity for great strides in understanding with the development of an integrated field of auditory cognitive science.Keywords speech perception; auditory perception; auditory cognitive scienceThe ease with which a listener perceives speech in his or her native language belies the complexity of the task. A spoken word exists as a fleeting fluctuation of air molecules for a mere fraction of a second, but listeners are usually able to extract the intended message. The seemingly trivial ability to determine that the spoken words dean, den, dune, and dawn begin with the same English consonant, /d/, is actually a remarkable accomplishment. There are a number of physical acoustic characteristics associated with the production of /d/, and they unfold quickly across just tens of milliseconds. These acoustic correlates vary with the following vowel (such that the initial sound in dean is distinct from that of dune) and the preceding word context, as well as with the dialect, gender, emotional state, and physical stature of the speaker. To make matters more challenging, the particular acoustic correlates utilized by a listener depend on that listener's native language and expectations. Invariant perception ("these are all /d/s") in the face of variable acoustic signals has been one of the central puzzles in the study of speech perception for more than 50 years.Presumably, understanding how the auditory system processes complex sounds can be informative about how speech perception is accomplished; and, likewise, investigation of speech perception can provide clues to how the auditory system functions. Unfortunately,

show abstract

Auditory discontinuities interact with categorization: Implications for speech perception

Cited by 45 publications

References 49 publications

Training to use voice onset time as a cue to talker identification induces a left-ear/right-hemisphere processing advantage

Training to use voice onset time as a cue to talker identification induces a left-ear/right-hemisphere processing advantage

Cue weighting in auditory categorization: Implications for first and second language acquisition

Speech Perception Within an Auditory Cognitive Science Framework

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About