Errors in auditory direction-finding after compensation for visual re-arrangement

Rekosh, Jerold H.; Freedman, Sanford J.

doi:10.3758/bf03208796

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Accumulated auditory-visual spatial experiences also may generally contribute to improvements in sound localization in the absence of visual-localization cues. Knowledge of the correspondence between the visual location of a source and the acoustic cues corresponding to a source at that location may be acquired with experience (e.g., Held, 1955; Rekosh & Freedman, 1967). Thus, there may be a common mapping of auditory-visual space (e.g., Shelton & Searle, 1980; Whittington, Hepp-Reymond, & Flood, 1981), and age-related improvements in sound localization during infancy may reflect an extended learning or calibration process involving the acquisition and refinement of a sight-sound map of space (see also Morrongiello, in press, 1987; Morrongiello & Rocca, 1987a, 1987b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infants' localization of sounds along the horizontal axis: Estimates of minimum audible angle.

Morrongiello¹

1988

Developmental Psychology

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Localization acuity was examined by determining the smallest sound shift off midline and along the horizontal axis that infants could reliably discriminate (i.e., minimum audible angle). Infants 6,9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age were seated in a dark room facing an array of nine loudspeakers positioned along the horizontal axis and at ear level. One loudspeaker was positioned at midline, 0 B , and four others each were positioned to the right and left of 0°. A two-alternative forced-choice procedure was used in conjunction with a method of constant stimuli. A sequence of white-noise bursts was presented i nitially at 0° and was then shifted horizontally (right or left of 0°). The sequence continued to be presented until the infant made a directional head or eye movement, or both. Correct responses were visually reinforced. With increasing age, infants demonstrated a finer partitioning of auditory space along the horizontal axis. At 6 months, only a location shift of at least 12° off midline was reliably discriminated, whereas, by 18 months, infants reliably discriminated a shift of only 4°.Localization of a sound in space is a fundamental feature of the auditory system and is an ability that is present in nearly all animals that possess a hearing mechanism (see Erulkar, 1972). This ability enables organisms to direct attention toward significant events in the environment (e.g., nearby prey, approaching enemies) and facilitates learning of important sight-sound correspondences in young organisms (e.g., the facial and vocal features of their mother). Despite the significance of this ability, our knowledge and understanding of the development of soundlocalization skills in humans is very limited (for further discussion see, e.g., Clifton, Morrongiello, Kulig, & Dowd, 1981a; Muir & Clifton, 1985). The aim in the present research was to provide information on the development, during infancy, of acuity in sound localization with regard to a single spatial dimension, the horizontal axis.Research with adults reveals that localization of a sound along the horizontal axis depends primarily on binaural cues that derive from the pattern of differences in time and intensity of the signal reaching the two ears (e.g., Mills, 1972;Shelton & Searle, 1978). Furthermore, accuracy in localization varies with spatial position of the sound along the horizontal axis. Resolution of auditory space is greatest at midline, where adults can detect a P-2° change in the location of a sound, and steadily worsens as sounds are located at more extreme off-midline locations (Mills, 1958(Mills, ,1972.Research with young infants reveals their ability to show di-This research was supported by the University of Western Ontario and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.I gratefully acknowledge Patricia Gorman, Caroline Roes, Patrick Rocca, and Amina Shamsie for their outstanding assistance in conducting this research. I also thank the parents and infants for their participation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infants' localization of sounds along the horizontal axis: Estimates of minimum audible angle.

Morrongiello¹

1988

Developmental Psychology

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“…Pick, Pick, and Klein (1967) summarize control data from several similar studies which further support the generalization that vision is a more precise system for localization. In a quite different setting, Rekosh and Freedman (1967) studied the effects of wearing a wedge prism upon the ability to align visual or auditory stimuli with the midline. Comparing pretest versus posttest and trial-by-trial responses, the alignments made by control 5s, who did not wear prisms during "adaptation," were more variable for auditory than for visual targets.…”

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confidence: 99%

Latency of locating lights and sounds.

1972

Journal of Experimental Psychology

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As a complement to past research on the accuracy of visual and auditory spatial localization, three experiments investigated localization latency. Stimulus azimuth and auditory intensity were varied as was response mode-• key pressing or verbalization ("right," "left"). Reaction time (RT) for localization was compared against simple RT control data. Analyses of mean RT and variablitiy of RT supported the hypothesis that auditory localization processes are more complex than visual localization processes. Giving S foreknowledge of the modality of a stimulus affected simple and localization RTs equally, indicating that stimulus uncertainty did not affect localization per se.

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“…Research with adults reveals improvements in localization accuracy related to increasing familiarization with the acoustic properties of sounds (Coleman, 1962;Hebrank and Wright, 1974b) and with sight-sound correspondences in space (Rekosh and Freedman, 1967). Several studies suggest, too, that there may exist a common mapping of auditory-visual space (e.g., Shelton and Searle, 1980;Whittington et al, 1981), and that sound localization may depend directly on visual-spatial experiences (e.g., Held, 1955; Rekosh and Freedman, 1967).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Infants’ localization of sounds in the median sagittal plane: Effects of signal frequency

Morrongiello

1987

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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The purpose of this research was to determine if infants, like adults, show differential localization performance in the median sagittal plane (MSP) as a function of the spectrum of the signal. Infants 6-18 months of age were seated in a dark room facing an array of nine loudspeakers, with one loudspeaker positioned at ear level, 0 degrees, and four each positioned above and below ear level at 4 degrees, 8 degrees, 12 degrees, and 16 degrees. A two-alternative, forced-choice procedure was used in which a sequence of noise bursts was presented at 0 degrees and then shifted vertically, above or below 0 degrees, and continued to be presented until the infant made a directional head and/or eye movement; correct responses were visually reinforced. For each of three bandpass noise conditions (less than 4 kHz, 4-8 kHz, 8-12 kHz), minimum audible angle (MAA) for each listener, i.e., the smallest of the four angular shifts in vertical sound location that the listener could reliably detect, was estimated. Results indicated that MAA systematically decreased with increasing age, revealing an increasingly finer partitioning of auditory space. Moreover, performance at each age revealed the importance of high frequencies for localization in the MSP. Infants did not reliably localize the low-pass signal (less than 4 kHz) and showed the best performance to the signal comprising the highest frequencies (8-12 kHz). These findings reveal systematic age-related improvements in sound localization abilities during infancy, and suggest that spectral cues similar to those for adults operate for infants in vertical localization.

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Errors in auditory direction-finding after compensation for visual re-arrangement

Cited by 8 publications

References 6 publications

Infants' localization of sounds along the horizontal axis: Estimates of minimum audible angle.

Infants' localization of sounds along the horizontal axis: Estimates of minimum audible angle.

Latency of locating lights and sounds.

Infants’ localization of sounds in the median sagittal plane: Effects of signal frequency

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