Learning to utilize information presented over two sensory channels

In three separate experiments, Ss were provided with auditory, visual, or simultaneous auditory and visual information in a classification task. Difficulty of classification was manipulated by varying the stimulus exposure duration. Consistent bisensory facilitation effects were noted for later trials, with interference evident on earlier trials. Exposure duration influenced rate and not amount of learning, with bisensory performance being most affected by duration. A transfer paradigm was used in Experiment III, and little if any transfer was noted between unisensory and bisensory stimulus conditions. It was concluded that Ss were extracting the most salient bisensory stimulus components from the auditory and visual modes of information into a unidimensional information configuration.