Predictive Uncertainty Underlies Auditory Boundary Perception

Abstract

Anticipating the future is essential for efficient perception and action planning. Yet the role of anticipation in event segmentation is understudied because empirical research has focused on retrospective cues such as surprise. We address this concern in the context of perception of musical-phrase boundaries. A computational model of cognitive sequence processing was used to control the information-dynamic properties of tone sequences. In an implicit, self-paced listening task ( N = 38), undergraduates dwelled longer on tones generating high entropy (i.e., high uncertainty) than on those generating low entropy (i.e., low uncertainty). Similarly, sequences that ended on tones generating high entropy were rated as sounding more complete ( N = 31 undergraduates). These entropy effects were independent of both the surprise (i.e., information content) and phrase position of target tones in the original musical stimuli. Our results indicate that events generating high entropy prospectively contribute to segmentation processes in auditory sequence perception, independently of the properties of the subsequent event.

The Application of the Gestalt Theory in Music Psychotherapy for Piano

“…However, different styles of music stimulate different areas of the brain with different intensities and induce different emotional experiences in individuals. In music therapy, by listening to music or the music therapist creating a special musical background atmosphere, the patient can not only achieve improved therapeutic effects on mental illness but also improve the ability to focus and maintain concentration for a long time [ 14 ]. Deterministic discrete models include a wide range of mathematical tools such as holistic planning, graph theory, response theory, and network flow can be used to build discrete models in addition to differential equation models.…”

Linked auditory and motor patterns in the improvisation vocabulary of an artist-level jazz pianist

“…To investigate this issue further, we tested whether the identified 5-note patterns exhibited the probabilistic hallmarks of phrase boundaries in terms of being immediately followed by unexpected notes (Pearce et al, 2010a) and by generating locally higher entropy at the melodic phrase boundaries (Hansen et al, 2021). This entailed contrasting the 5 th and "6 th " note of patterns on information content as well as the 4 th and 5 th note of patterns on generated entropy while still accounting for fixed effects of pattern type, correlation, and all interactions between these three variables.…”

“…However, to our knowledge, no research has investigated the issue of linked pitch and motor pattern length in music improvisations empirically. A recent study demonstrated that listeners associate peaks in predictive uncertainty with perceived phrase boundaries in music (Hansen, Kragness, Vuust, Trainor, & Pearce, 2021). In other words, when our expectations about which note comes next are governed by increasing uncertainty, we tend to chunk the sequence and presume that the phrase has ended.…”

“…In other words, when our expectations about which note comes next are governed by increasing uncertainty, we tend to chunk the sequence and presume that the phrase has ended. Musical phrases also tend to begin with relatively unexpected notes (Hansen et al, 2021;Pearce, Müllensiefen, & Wiggins, 2010a).…”

Entropy, Amnesia, and Abnormal Déjà Experiences

“…There is also direct evidence of the effect of this pattern on time perception. Hansen et al (2021) observe that final notes of musical phrases that are quantified as high-entropy and greater in uncertainty are experienced as lengthened. They posit this could be a perceptual bias of the listener resulting from the high demands of processing uncertainty.…”