Expectancies generated by melodic intervals: Evaluation of principles of melodic implication in a melody-completion task

Bottom-up principles of melodic implication (Narmour, 1990) were evaluated in a melody-completion task. One hundred subjects (50 low training; 50 high training in music) were presented each of eight melodic intervals. For each interval, the subjects were asked to compose a short melody on a piano keyboard, treating the interval provided as the first two notes of the melody. For each melody, the first response—the note immediately following the initial interval—was analyzed. Multinomial log linear analyses were conducted to assess the extent to which responses could be predicted by Narmour’s (1990, 1992) bottom-up principles. Support was found for all of Narmour’s principles, and two additional predictors based on implied tonal structure. Responses of low- and high-training groups were similar.     

Expectancies generated by recent exposure to melodic sequences

In four experiments, we examined the effects of exposure to unfamiliar tone sequences on melodic expectancy and memory. In Experiment 1, 30 unfamiliar tone sequences (target sequences) were presented to listeners three times each in random order (exposure phase), and listeners recorded the number of notes in each sequence. Listeners were then presented target and novel sequences and rated how well the final note continued the pattern of notes that preceded it. Novel sequences were identical to target sequences, except for the final note. Ratings were significantly higher for target sequences than for novel sequences, illustrating the influence of exposure on melodic expectancy. Experiment 2 confirmed that without exposure to target sequences, ratings were equivalent for target and novel sequences. In Experiment 3, new listeners were assessed for explicit memory for target sequences following the exposure phase. Recognition of target sequences was above chance, but unrelated to expectancy judgments in Experiment 1. Experiment 4 replicated the exposure effect, using a modified experiment design, and confirmed that the effect is not dependent on explicit memory for sequences. We discuss the idea that melodic expectancies are influenced by implicit memory for recently heard melodic patterns.     

Perceptual encoding in comparative judgments of race

Ss made comparative judgments along the black-white racial dimension using opposite response sets (“Which is blacker?” or “Which is whiter?”). Three classes of pictures were used: B (black),W (white), and M (racially mixed). I or the BM judgments. “Which is whiter?” took significantly longer. The MW and BW judgments showed no difference between response instructions. Analysis of the stimuli showed that skin tone was not the primary perceptual attribute used in racial encoding. The observation of a funnel effect in the judgment latencies is shown to be consistent with other research demonstrating the effect of response set in comparative judgments Further. the results support sociological observations about the cultural use of the linguistic labels “black” and “white”     

The subjective size of melodic intervals over a two-octave range

Musically trained and untrained participants provided magnitude estimates of the size of melodic intervals. Each interval was formed by a sequence of two pitches that differed by between 50 cents (one half of a semitone) and 2,400 cents (two octaves) and was presented in a high or a low pitch register and in an ascending or a descending direction. Estimates were larger for intervals in the high pitch register than for those in the low pitch register and for descending intervals than for ascending intervals. Ascending intervals were perceived as larger than descending intervals when presented in a high pitch register, but descending intervals were perceived as larger than ascending intervals when presented in a low pitch register. For intervals up to an octave in size, differentiation of intervals was greater for trained listeners than for untrained listeners. We discuss the implications for psychophysical pitch scales and models of music perception.     

Perceptual learning of orientation judgments in oblique meridians

Fourteen daily training sessions in orientation discrimination of foveal lines in the 45-deg meridian improved thresholds in the trained meridian by an average of 25 % in five observers. A substantial amount of training transferred to the other obliques, but none to the cardinal meridians, with a consequent reduction in the oblique effect. The data were interpreted as showing perceptual learning at two levels: performance facilitation specific to the trained orientation and improved proficiency globally. The failure of the cardinal orientations to share in the benefit is likely to have its origin in the fact that contour orientation in these meridians is so well established that it had already reached maximum hyperacuity thresholds. The judgment of obliques depends much more than the judgment of cardinals on whether the comparison and test stimuli are shown simultaneously or in succession, but this effect is not changed by perceptual training.     

An interval size illusion: the influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals

In four experiments, we investigated the influence of timbre on perceived interval size. In Experiment 1, musically untrained participants heard two successive tones and rated the pitch distance between them. Tones were separated by six or seven semitones and varied in timbre. Pitch changes were accompanied by a congruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a dull to a bright timbre), an incongruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a bright to a dull timbre), or no timbre change. Ratings of interval size were strongly influenced by timbre. The six-semitone interval with a congruent timbre change was perceived to be larger than the seven-semitone interval with an incongruent timbre change (interval illusion). Experiment 2 revealed similar effects for musically trained participants. In Experiment 3, participants compared the size of two intervals presented one after the other. Effects of timbre were again observed, including evidence of an interval illusion. Experiment 4 confirmed that timbre manipulations did not distort the perceived pitch of tones. Changes in timbre can expand or contract the perceived size of intervals without distorting individual pitches. We discuss processes underlying interval size perception and their relation to pitch perception mechanisms.     

Reevaluation of two models for judgments of perceptual intervals

In Marks and Cain’s (1972) experiment, 12 Ss estimated magnitudes of stimuli presented one at a time and differences in magnitudes of stimuli presented in pairs for heaviness of weight, roughness of emery papers, and area of circles. Their results appeared inconsistent with the two-stage model of magnitude estimation. But the expressions fitted to the data were different from those previously used in tests of the model. An additive constant was omitted. A reanalysis of their data with the constant included yielded support for the model for all three continua. An alternative model proposed by Marks and Cain was reasonably consistent with the da~a for weight, while inconsistent with the data for roughness and area.     

Discrimination of spatial and temporal intervals defined by three light flashes: Effects of spacing on temporal judgments and of timing on spatial judgments

Observers were presented stimulus patterns consisting of a sequence of three laterally displaced light flashes, which defined two spatial intervals and two temporal intervals. The position and time of the second flash were varied factorially, and observers were asked to make relative judgments of either the two spatial intervals or the two temporal intervals. “Induction” effects of stimulus timing on spatial judgments and of stimulus spacing on temporal judgments were both found; however, the directionality of these effects differed between subjects. The results are inconsistent with the hypothesis, derived from previous findings, that such effects are determined primarily by a tendency toward perceiving constant velocity of apparent motion; it is proposed that the directionality of the induction effects is determined largely by the strategy adopted by the observer for combining spatial and temporal stimulus information.     

Perceptual,affective, and cognitive judgments of odors: pleasantness and handedness effects

The present study sought to examine the differential processing of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors. The effects of the nostril stimulated (left or right) and the type of judgment (perceptual, affective, or cognitive) performed on the olfactory stimuli were also studied. To this end, 64 subjects were asked to smell pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors under four conditions (detection, intensity, pleasantness, and familiarity tasks). The participants were to perform these tasks as quickly as possible, while response times were recorded. The results showed that (i) unpleasant odors were assessed more rapidly than neutral or pleasant odors, and that this was specifically true (ii) during right nostril stimulation, and (iii) during pleasantness assessment, suggesting possible differential cerebral hemisphere involvement, with a right-side advantage for processing of unpleasant affect in olfaction. A handedness effect on familiarity judgment is also discussed.     

Perceptual plane geometry: collinearity judgments probe the perceived orientation of an angle's sides

The task was to position a dot to lie one line length beyond the vertex of an angle by mentally extending one line segment forming the angle (and later the other line segment). Eight angles, variously oriented, provided judgmental errors attributable to the size of the subtended angle and line orientation. Collinearity errors are consistent with the hypothesis that the sizes of all subtended angles are underestimated. Horizontal-vertical assimilation describes the line-orientation effect. The largest error component is associated with the interaction of the two independent variables. Judgmental errors were modeled by a set of theoretically meaningful additive terms. Modeling was facilitated by symmetry assumptions (associated with odd and even mathematical functions) about the absolute magnitude and sign of judgmental errors that lead to the comparison of judgments derived from "interesting pairs" of stimuli.     

Perceptual and memorial constructs in children's judgments of quantity: a law of across-representation invariance

Children at three different ages made judgments of physically presented (perceptual estimation) or symbolically represented (memorial estimation) rectangles. Height and width were integrated according to different, age-dependent algebraic rules. Memorial data obeyed the same integration rules that operated in the original perceptual judgments even when younger children and older children used completely different combination models. Valuation operations were the same in perception and memory for the youngest group (6-year-olds) but became discriminably different at older ages (for the 8- and 10-year olds). Three additional experiments on judgments of volume, liquid quantity, and visual length yielded strong cross-validation support for the general invariance claim (with respect to integration rule theory) but less strong support for the specific invariance claim (with respect to valuation function for the 6-year-old subjects). Results are interpreted as demonstrating lawful and long-enduring ecological constraints on internal representation.     

The informative value of type of repetition: Perceptual and conceptual fluency influences on judgments of truth

We contrast the effects of conceptual and perceptual fluency resulting from repetition in the truth effect. In Experiment 1, participants judged either verbatim or paraphrased repetitions, which reduce perceptual similarity to original statements. Judgments were made either immediately after the first exposure to the statements or after one week. Illusions of truth emerged for both types of repetition, with delay reducing both effects. In Experiment 2, participants judged verbatim and paraphrased repetitions with either the same or a contradictory meaning of original statements. In immediate judgments, illusions of truth emerged for repetitions with the same meaning and illusions of falseness for contradictory repetitions. In the delayed session, the illusion of falseness disappeared for contradictory statements. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of recollection of stimulus details and of perceptual and conceptual fluency to illusions of truth at different time intervals and judgmental context conditions.     

Perceptual weight judgments when viewing one's own and others' movements under minimalist conditions of visual presentation

Across five experiments, we investigated the parameters involved in the observation and in the execution of the action of lifting an object. The observers were shown minimal information on movements, consisting of either the working-point displacement only (ie two points representing the hand and object) or additional configural information on the kinematics of the trunk, shoulder, arm, forearm, and hand, joined by a stick diagram. Furthermore, displays showed either a participant's own movements or those of another person, when different weights were lifted. The participants' task was to estimate the weight of the lifted objects. The results revealed that, although overall performance was not dependent on the visual conditions (working point versus stick diagram) or ownership conditions (self versus other), the kinematic cues used to perform the task differed as a function of these conditions. In addition, the kinematic parameters relevant for action observation did not match those relevant for action execution. This was confirmed in experiments by using artificially altered movement samples, where the variations in critical kinematic variables were manipulated separately or in combination. We discuss the implications of these results for the roles of motor simulation and visual analysis in action observation.     

Perceptual fluency effects in judgments of creativity and beauty: creative objects are perceived fluently yet they are visually complex

ABSTRACT

Perceptual fluency typically has a positive influence on aesthetic evaluations of beauty, but few studies have examined its influence on creativity evaluations. Creativity has two facets, originality and quality. If creativity judgments involve estimating product originality, such judgments may be associated with perceptual disfluency, while product quality may be associated with perceptual fluency. We examined the relationship between perceptual fluency and judgments of creativity and beauty across seven experiments. Creativity judgments were affected by most perceptual fluencysources. We observed a highly-fluent-is-beautiful-and-creative relation when testing repeated exposure and figure-ground contrast. Prototypicality displayed a high-fluency–is-beautiful relation, with creativity judgments unaffected. Visual complexity displayed a consistent disfluent-is-creative effect, with mixed results for beauty. For creativity (but not beauty) evaluations, increased saliency of visual complexity led to discounting fluent-is-creative effects, supporting the hypothesis that there are at least two fluency pathways to creativity judgments that take both originality and quality into account.     

Associative grouping: Perceptual grouping of shapes by association

Perceptual grouping is usually defined by principles that associate distinct elements by virtue of image properties, such as proximity, similarity, and occurrence within common regions. What role does learning play in forming a perceptual group? This study provides evidence that learning of shape associations leads to perceptual grouping. Subjects were repeatedly exposed to pairs of unique shapes that co-occurred within a common region. The common region cue was later removed in displays composed of these shapes, and the subjects searched the display for two adjacent shapes of the same color. The subjects were faster at locating the color repetition when the adjacent shapes with the same color came from the same trained groups than when they were composed of two shapes from different trained groups. The effects were perceptual in nature: Learned pairings produced spatial distortions similar to those observed for groups defined by perceptual similarity. A residual grouping effect was observed even when the shapes in the trained group switched their relative positions but was eliminated when each shape was inverted. These results indicate that statistical co-occurrence with explicit grouping cues may form an important component of perceptual organization, determining perceived scene structure solely on the basis of past experience.     

Perceiving the end: effects of tonal relationships on melodic completion

Two experiments examined listeners' sensitivity to the structural markers of melodic completion. In Experiment 1, both musicians and nonmusicians were asked to rate the ending of folk melodies for their degree of "completeness" and "tonal appropriateness." Results showed that melodies ending with the conventional leading tone-to-tonic progression were rated the most complete and tonally appropriate to the underlying key, more so than melodies ending with the submediant-to-tonic or the tonic-to-dominant progressions. Conversely, melodies ending on the leading tone seemed the most incomplete and tonally inappropriate. In Experiment 2, the perceptual salience of certain pitch functions was enhanced significantly by the pattern of rhythmic accentuation within a melody's context and the presence of the rare tritone interval. The results illustrate an interactive influence of pitch and temporal variables on musical perception and thereby highlight the need to incorporate dynamic pattern factors into internal representations of tonality.     

Perceptual enhancement of contrast by attention

Allocating spatial attention to a visual stimulus or increasing stimulus contrast both enhance neuronal responses. In a recent study Carrasco et al. demonstrated that attention itself changes perceived contrast. Using an elegant experimental manipulation, they showed that the contrast of an attended stimulus was perceived to be higher than when the same stimulus was unattended. This provides evidence that the enhancement of stimulus salience observed in electrophysiological studies creates an enhanced perceptual representation of attended stimuli.     

知觉适应对种族融合面孔的种族分类和知觉辨别的影响

面孔加工的种族效应(the other-race effects)指人们对面孔做个体辨别任务时辨别本族面孔的绩效优于辨别他族面孔的绩效, 而做种族分类任务时分类他族面孔的绩效优于分类本族面孔的绩效。本研究通过知觉适应操纵被试对种族两歧(高加索和亚洲)融合面孔的种族知觉, 进而比较被试在两种条件下对同一张融合面孔进行种族分类和知觉辨别的绩效的差异。结果发现, 知觉适应能使被试产生将两歧融合面孔知觉为与原始面孔所属种族相反种族的知觉偏向, 并且, 伴随着这种知觉偏向, 两歧融合面孔的加工出现了他族分类优势和本族辨别优势, 提示社会认知因素对面孔加工的种族效应有重要作用。