Psychophysical methodology IV: Phi gamma hypothesis and the method of limits

Assuming the phi-gamma hypothesis, deductions concerning the method of limits (ML) are derived. For a given step size, the selection of the initial stimulus for ascending series or for descending series has little effect on the summary statistical measures of the ML. Estimates of ML statistics are derived for different step sizes, and these estimates are used to estimate the mean and standard deviation of the phi-gamma hypothesis. Also considered are how summary statistical measures of the ML are influenced by extremely large and small step sizes and by the definition of a ML threshold.     

Training the absolute identification of pitch

Two methods for training the absolute judgment of pitch, reference training and series training, were studied. Reference training concentrated during training on the identification of three reference tones in a set of nine pure tones, while series training gave equal weight during training to the identification of all nine tones. Results of pre- and posttraining tests, scored for the number of correct judgments, showed that reference training was more effective than series training for listeners with musical experience. In addition, discriminability (d′) scaling of pre- and posttest performance indicated that reference training was particularly effective for training listeners with musical experience when the nine tones of a set were grouped into three pitch classes—high, medium, and low pitch. Listeners without musical experience benefited from both training methods, but their overall improvement was less than that for musical listeners.     

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTENTIONAL PREFERENCE FOR COLOUR OVER FORM1

Huit groupes de sujets, différant par l'instruction et la culture, ont été soumis à un test d'appariement par la couleur ou la forme, (i) Plus le niveau d'instruction s'élève et plus se manifeste une préférence pour la forme, chez les enfants anglais citadins, les Indiens citadins et les Zambiens ruraux, mais non chez les enfants zambiens habitant la brousse lointaine ou la ville. (2) La préférence pour la forme a un rapport moins direct avec l'âge qu'avec l'instruction chez les enfants zambiens ruraux. (3) Les enfants zambiens ruraux et citadins préfèrent plus fréquemment la couleur que les enfants anglais et indiens citadins et moins fréquemment que les enfants zambiens de brousse lointaine de même niveau scolaire. (4) Les étudiants zambiens préfèrent plus fréquemment la forme que les Zambiennes adultes illettrées. (5) Aucune différence entre races n'apparaît chez les sujets d'un jardin d'enfants privilégié.