A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL AND SIMILARITY ANALYSIS IN THE MEASUREMENT OF MUSICAL EXPERIENCE

N ordenstreng , K. A comparison between the semantic differential and similarity analysis in the measurement of musical experience. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1968, 9,89–96.—Ten pieces of music were rated by a group of broadcasting sound-controllers using two different scaling techniques, the semantic differential ratings of each sound on 32 scales, and similarity ratings for all pairs of sounds. The two scaling techniques were compared matching factor spaces by transformation analysis. The results indicate almost perfect similarity of the factor structures, which suggests that similarity analysis and the semantic differential in fact measure the same thing.     

Relative alpha desynchronization and synchronization during perception of music

Relative desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS) of the 8–10 Hz and 10–12 Hz alpha freqency bands elicited by music were studied in ten musically untrained right-handed subjects. The subjects listened to two five-minute musical excerpts representing two different musical genres, popular and classical, presented both foward and backward. ERD/ERS of the two alpha frequency bands was examined during the first four minutes of stimulus presentation using one-minute time windows. The results demonstrated that both the 8–10 Hz and the 10–12Hz frequency band exhibited reactivity to musical stimuli. The responses of the 8–10Hz and 10–12 Hz alpha frequency bands were dissimilar, dymanic and dependent on both time and stimulation type. The dynamics of these changes over time may explain some discrepancies in earlier EEG studies during listening to music.     

EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK ON COGNITIVE CONFLICT

BREHMER, B. Effects of communication and feedback on cognitive conflict. Scand. J. Psychol. , 12, 205–216.–The effects of communication and feedback upon policy similarity and policy consistency in cognitive conflict were studied in a 2×2×5 factorial experiment with communication (present/ absent), feedback (present/absent) and blocks of trials as the factors. Communication increased policy similarity and agreement, but feedback had no effect. Both subjects with linear and subjects with nonlinear policies gave up more of their initial policy in the communication condition, but only the nonlinear subjects managed to utilize communication to acquire new policies. In all conditions, including the condition without feedback and communication, the nonlinear subjects' policies were less consistent than those of the linear subjects. This suggests that nonlinear policies may be less stable than linear policies.     

INTERINDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SIMILARITY ESTIMATES OF PAINTINGS

KÜNNAPAS, T. & NORMAN, M. Intel-individual differences in similarity estimates of paintings. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971, 12, 161–167.–Nine paintings by Cézanne were studied by the method of multidimensional similarity analysis. Three different groups of painters, students, and art school pupils participated in three experiments. Three factors were found: Factor I is called 'Complex horizontally arranged motive'; Factor II, 'Vertical central figure'; and Factor III, 'Central figure without background'. Comparison of different groups showed (1) that for paintings with the greatest loading in one of these factors no differences were obtained, (2) that differences between the groups are smallest in Factor I and greatest in Factor III, (3) that differences between the painters and students are greater than those between the painters and pupils, or between the pupils and the students, and (4) that interindividual differences between the groups are due, at least partly, to the formal artistic aspect which is most dominant in painters, in lower degree in pupils, and very little in students.     

Judged similarity in pitch of octave multiples

Subjects with musical training, who could identify musical intervals within octaves, were tested on their ability to identify musical intervals when the higher note was at several different octave multiples. Some subjects (but not all) showed very high scores on such cross-octave interval recognition tests. Two other groups of subjects were tested on ability to recognize pitch similarities for octave multiples. Only a few subjects showed evidence of perceiving pitch similarities. Our results do not support the hypothesis thatall subjects perceive a common pitchchroma at octave multiples.     

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING APPROACH TO THE PERCEPTION OF ART. I

G oude G. A multidimensional scaling approach to the perception of art. I. Scand. J. Psyckol ., 1972, 1 3 , 258–271.—-Five experiments with similarity estimation and ratio estimation of experiences of art (paintings) were used for testing a similarity model for multidimensional scaling. A multidimensional analysis gave five interpreted factors. Graphical estimations were compared with numerical estimations. Results from naive observers were related to results from a specialist group.     

Octave equivalence as measured by similarity ratings

Octave equivalence refers to the musical equivalence of notes separated by one or more octaves; such notes are assigned the same name in the musical scale. The present series of experiments was an attempt to determine whether octave equivalence would be incorporated into subjects’ similarity ratings of pairs of tones or tone sequences. In the first experiment, subjects on each trial rated the similarity of two successively presented tones. The results failed to show evidence of octave equivalence. In subsequent experiments, the range of frequency values presented and the musical context were manipulated. Evidence of octave equivalence was found only when the range of tone height differences presented was small; the effect of musical context was negligible. The implications of these results for theories of music perception and recognition are discussed.     

Hemispheric asymmetries in the perception of musical intervals as a function of musical experience and family handedness background

This study examines the effect of musical experience and family handedness background on the categorization of musical intervals (two-note chords). Right-handed subjects, who were divided into four groups on the basis of musical training and presence (or absence) of left-handed family members, categorized musical intervals which were monaurally presented to left or right ear. The results, based on consistency and discreteness of categorization, showed: (1) Musicians' performance is superior to nonmusicians'; (2) musicians and nonmusicians differ significantly on their ear of preference; (3) family handedness background significantly affects ear of preference among musicians but not among nonmusicians.     

DIMENSIONS OF COLOR SENSATION

W eckroth , J. Dimensions of color sensation. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2 , 65–70.—The investigation is based on a dimensional (similarity) analysis of color sensation by Ekman (1954). It was assumed that the factor loadings of the three first factors extracted in this analysis would correspond to the proportions of blue, green, and red required, when these colors are mixed to match different wave lengths in the spectrum. This assumption was supported by the results. The coefficient of correlation between the two sets of values was 0.973, which indicates good, although not perfect, agreement.     

VISUAL PERCEPTION OF CAPITAL LETTERS

The quantitative similarity of nine capital letters was studied (1) by the direct multidimensional ratio scaling method and (2) by the method of similarity analysis. Three factors, 'E', 'O' and T, were found. Factor loadings were nearly identical in both methods. A previously proposed equation did not describe the relation between subjective similarity and angular separation of percept vectors.     

Perceptual scaling of synthesized musical timbres: Common dimensions,specificities, and latent subject classes

To study the perceptual structure of musical timbre and the effects of musical training, timbral dissimilarities of synthesized instrument sounds were rated by professional musicians, amateur musicians, and nonmusicians. The data were analyzed with an extended version of the multidimensional scaling algorithm CLASCAL (Winsberg & De Soete, 1993), which estimates the number of latent classes of subjects, the coordinates of each timbre on common Euclidean dimensions, a specificity value of unique attributes for each timbre, and a separate weight for each latent class on each of the common dimensions and the set of specificities. Five latent classes were found for a three-dimensional spatial model with specificities. Common dimensions were quantified psychophysically in terms of log-rise time, spectral centroid, and degree of spectral variation. The results further suggest that musical timbres possess specific attributes not accounted for by these shared perceptual dimensions. Weight patterns indicate that perceptual salience of dimensions and specificities varied across classes. A comparison of class structure with biographical factors associated with degree of musical training and activity was not clearly related to the class structure, though musicians gave more precise and coherent judgments than did nonmusicians or amateurs. The model with latent classes and specificities gave a better fit to the data and made the acoustic correlates of the common dimensions more interpretable.     

FACTOR ANALYSES OF QUESTIONNAIRES OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCHOOL WORK

W erdelin , I. Factor analyses of questionnaires of attitudes towards school work. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1968, g, 117–128.—Two studies were carried out. (I) A questionnaire of 35 items was given to 178 boys and 238 girls in the ninth grade of American high schools. (2) A questionnaire of 52 items was given to 405 boys and 405 girls in the seventh grade of Swedish elementary schools. Factor analysis revealed a large number of factors. Some of these measured preference for a certain school subject, others attitudes towards school work across the domain of subjects. One measuring emotional reaction to school work and the individual subjects is particularly important. Two factors, which measured attitudes towards teachers and classmates, were found to be independent of factors measuring attitudes towards school work.     

Representational momentum in memory for pitch

When a visual pattern is displayed at successively different orientations such that a rotation or translation is implied, an observer's memory for the final position is displaced forward. This phenomenon of representational momentum shares some similarities with physical momentum. For instance, the amount of memory shift is proportional to the implied velocity of the inducing display; representational momentum is specifically proportional to the final, not the average, velocity; representational momentum follows a continuous stopping function for the first 250 ms or so of the retention interval. In a previous paper (Kelly & Freyd, 1987) we demonstrated a forward memory asymmetry using implied changes in pitch, for subjects without formal musical training. In the current paper we replicate our earlier finding and show that the forward memory asymmetry occurs for subjects with formal musical training as well (Experiment 1). We then show the structural similarity between representational momentum in memory for pitch with previous reports of parametric effects using visual stimuli. We report a velocity effect for auditory momentum (Experiment 2), we demonstrate specifically that the velocity effect depends on the implied acceleration (Experiment 3), and we show that the stopping function for auditory momentum is qualitatively the same as that for visual momentum (Experiment 4). We consider the implications of these results for theories of mental representation.     

Recognition of transposed melodic sequences

Accuracy of recognition for short (three-note) transposed melodic sequences was measured and compared with accuracy predicted by three models of recognition each of which described a different degree of abstraction and synthesis of the musical intervals contained in the sequence. For subjects with musical training, recognition was best described by a model that assumed abstraction and synthesis of the musical intervals between both adjacent and non-adjacent tones of the sequence. For subjects without musical training, recognition was much less accurate but there was some evidence that intervals between adjacent tones were abstracted. Of major theoretical interest, however, was the finding that none of the models provided a comprehensive account of the data. Not merely the size of the intervals contained in a sequence determines accuracy of recognition of the sequence, but also the order or configuration of the intervals. It is suggested that particular interval configurations facilitate the abstraction of tonal structure.     

少年儿童音乐静坐训练对听觉失匹配负波与P300的影响及其意义

在静坐前后,测定２３例经半年音乐静坐训练（实验组）和未经训练（对照组）的１３岁少年的听觉失匹配负波（ＭＭＮ）和Ｐ３００。结果发现,实验组的ＭＭＮ波幅和面积均比对照组显著增高．并且ＭＭＮ变化发生在组间而不是一次静坐前后,但Ｐ３００没有显著性变化。提示实验组的ＭＭＮ效应是长期的而不是短时的;在本实验条件下评定正常人脑的某些认知功能．ＭＭＮ是比Ｐ３００更为灵敏的电生理学指标。     

THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING IN CRAWLING ON THE MOTOR AND MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS

LAGERSPETZ, K., NYGÅHD, M. & STRANDVIK, C. The effects of training in crawling on the motor and mental development of infants. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971 12, 192–197.–Eleven infants under the age of 1 year were trained in creeping for 15 minutes daily for 3 weeks, while 11 children, who served as controls, spent the corresponding times with the experimenters without training. The experimental group learned to creep significantly earlier, and transfer effects on other locomotor development were observed. Even effects on factors other than motor developmental were obtained. A training experiment with a pair of monozygotic twins is also reported.     

LOUDNESS AS A FUNCTION OF THE DURATION OF AUDITORY STIMULATION

The perceived loudness of a 1000 c/s tone was measured by a direct scaling method under different conditions of intensity (19–35 db) and duration (50–500 msec) of stimulation. It was found that loudness grows as a logarithmic function of stimulus duration; the relation was verified for ten individual subjects and four levels of intensity. In addition, the relation between temporal threshold and level of intensity was tentatively described.     

Classification training in two- and three-year-old children

Two- and three-year-olds who did not group a set of geometric stimuli according to complete similarity on a pretest were divided into three experimental conditions: (a) a modeling condition in which the subjects observed a model group according to complete similarity while verbalizing his strategy, (b) a reinforcement condition in which the subjects were reinforced for sorting similar stimuli into boxes, and (c) a control condition. After the training sessions the Ss were given two posttests—one with stimuli identical to those used during the training session and one with a different set of geometric stimuli. On the posttests significantly more similarity classifications were obtained in the modeling condition than in either the reinforcement or the control conditions, which did not differ. It was concluded (a) that two- and three-year-olds can learn to group according to similarity, and (b) that modeling with verbalization is a very effective method for teaching young children to classify according to similarity.     

A FACTOR ANALYTICAL STUDY OF TRANSFER OF TRAINING

An attempt is made to show that the problem of functional similarity between psychological activities, central to the analysis of transfer of training, can be studied with the aid of factor analysis. Some research designs are discussed, and a 'common factor model' for transfer of training presented. The results of an experimental study of transfer within the common factor space of three factors of manual performance, aiming, tapping, and finger dexterity, indicate that the amount of transfer tends to increase as a function of increasing factorial similarity between the activities involved.     

Similarity and preference judgments of musical stimuli

Two experiments were performed comparing similarity (technical-structural) and preference personal-affective) judgments of jazz improvizations (Experiment 1) and of classical, pop-rock, and jazz music (Experiment 2). A multidimensional scaling paradigm (INDSCAL) was used for pairwise comparisons of the 12 musical pieces in each experiment. Each 2 minute piece was subdivided into 10 second segments in order to reduce fatigue or boredom and provide better sampling across comparison trials. In general, similarity dimensions reflected greater agreement among the subjects that did preference dimensions and were hierarchically ordered. The dominant dimensions for both similarity and preference judgments of jazz improvizations were: Tempo, Dominant Instrument (Horns-guitar), and Articulation. The dominant dimensions for similarity judgments involving all three genres were: Classical-Contemporary, Jazz-Rock, and Tempo. The dominant dimensions for preference judments were: Rock-Classical, Jazz-Classical, and Tempo. In general, the preference judgments of musically sophisticated subjects were less constrained by salient dimensions.