Rapid Perceptual Learning and Individual Differences in Speech Perception: The Good, the Bad, and the Sad

Abstract

The function of rapid perceptual learning for speech in adult listeners is poorly understood. On the one hand, perceptual learning of speech results in rapid and long-lasting improvements in the perception of many types of distorted and degraded speech signals.On the other hand, this learning is highly specific to stimuli that were encountered during its acquisition. Therefore, it is unclear whether past perceptual learning could support future speech perception under ecological conditions. Here, we hypothesize that rapid perceptual learning is a resource that is recruited when new speech challenges are encountered and used to support perception under those specific conditions. We review three lines of evidence related to aspects of this hypothesis -about the specificity of learning, the general nature of associations between rapid perceptual learning and speech perception and rapid perceptual-learning in populations with poor perception under adverse conditions.

Speech Perception in Older Adults: An Interplay of Hearing, Cognition, and Learning?

“…Rapid perceptual learning also relates to the variability in perception of speech under challenging conditions ( Peelle and Wingfield, 2005 ; Golomb et al, 2007 ; Manheim et al, 2018 ; Banai and Lavie, 2020 ; Rotman et al, 2020b ). Rapid perceptual learning, defined as the ability to rapidly adapt to changes in one’s environment, occurs under many adverse or sub-optimal conditions ( Samuel and Kraljic, 2009 ).…”

“…Perceptual learning and speech perception are related in the sense that learning contributes to future perception ( Ahissar et al, 2009 ; Samuel and Kraljic, 2009 ; Banai and Lavie, 2021 ). However, recent studies suggest that the links could go beyond what could be expected from associations across different speech tasks ( Banai and Lavie, 2021 ).…”

“…Perceptual learning and speech perception are related in the sense that learning contributes to future perception ( Ahissar et al, 2009 ; Samuel and Kraljic, 2009 ; Banai and Lavie, 2021 ). However, recent studies suggest that the links could go beyond what could be expected from associations across different speech tasks ( Banai and Lavie, 2021 ). Recent studies on perceptual learning (with both visual and speech materials) suggest that a general learning factor across learning tasks could serve as an individual capacity that supports performance across a range of scenarios ( Yang et al, 2020 ; Dale et al, 2021 ; Heffner and Myers, 2021 ).…”

“…Speech perception and rapid learning have also been found to be associated even when learning is assessed under conditions designed to offset the effects of age and hearing loss on speech perception ( Manheim et al, 2018 ; Rotman et al, 2020b ). We hypothesize that individuals who retain good rapid perceptual learning despite aging and hearing loss, can offset some of their negative impacts through rapid online learning ( Banai and Lavie, 2021 ). To further explore this hypothesis, we now focus on the unique contribution of rapid perceptual learning to other challenging listening conditions, after accounting for sensory and cognitive factors and for the use of hearing aids.…”

Same or Different? Perceptual Learning for Connected Speech Induced by Brief and Longer Experiences

“…On the other hand, if rapid learning is as stimulus speci c as training-induced learning, past learning of either type is unlikely to shape future speech perception because future conditions are unlikely to be an exact replication of the past. Rather, rapid learning could support perception in challenging conditions online by allowing listeners to quickly adapt to the acoustic characteristics of the current situation [14,15]. Here we focus on rapid learning of distorted (timecompressed) speech.…”