Effect of acoustics on auditory and visual autokinesis

Abstract

An experiment measured visual and auditory autokinesis under two acoustical conditions. The visual stimulus was a 2-mm light source, the auditory stimulus a 2,000-Hz sine wave. Both stimuli were presented singly and simultaneously in a reverberation room and in an anechoic room. More visual than auditory movement was reported, and statistical analysis showed a significant interaction between mode of sti.1'1ulus presentation and kind of environment: visual autokinesis was greater in the anechoic room, but auditory autokinesis was greater in the reverberation room. The interaction was interpreted within frame-of-reference theory.