The theory of the """"""""unity of the senses"""""""" states that some attributes of perceptual experience (such as intensity, pitch, and brightness) as well as some spatio-temporal features (such as spatial location and temporal pattern) are common to vibrotactile, auditory, and visual perception. The proposed research will first, delineate which attributes and features are common to touch and hearing, and to hearing and vision; second, determine how absolute are the cross-modal equivalences; and third assess how these common properties function in processing perceptual information. To do this we will employ three classes of procedure: (1) """"""""free"""""""" cross-modal natching, where subjects match, for instance, tactile to auditory and auditory to tactile stimuli; (2) cross-modal similarity scaling, where subjects rate the similarity/dissimilarity of, for instance, tactile to auditory as well as tactile to tactile and auditory to auditory stimuli; (3) information processing, where subjects have to identify, discriminate, or classify stimuli, as reaction time is measured. In discrimination, subjects discriminate stimuli in one modality, say two sounds, when these are accompanied by cross-modally matching or mismatching stimuli from another modality; in classification, subjects categories multimodally correlated, multimodally uncorrelated, and unimodal stimuli. From the results of the matching and similarity scaling tasks (1 and 2 above), it will be possible to make quantitative predictions as to the relative effectiveness, in information processing (3 above), of multimodal combinations of various attributes and features. In general it is predicted that greater cross-modal similarity will accrue to features vs. attributes, and to certain attributes compared to others.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS021326-03
Application #
3402358
Study Section
Communication Sciences and Disorders (CMS)
Project Start
1984-07-01
Project End
1987-06-30
Budget Start
1986-07-01
Budget End
1987-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1986
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
John B. Pierce Laboratory, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06519
Melara, R D; Marks, L E (1990) Dimensional interactions in language processing: investigating directions and levels of crosstalk. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 16:539-54
Melara, R D; Marks, L E (1990) Hard and soft interacting dimensions: differential effects of dual context on classification. Percept Psychophys 47:307-25
Algom, D; Rubin, A; Cohen-Raz, L (1989) Binaural and temporal integration of the loudness of tones and noises. Percept Psychophys 46:155-66
Algom, D; Ben-Aharon, B; Cohen-Raz, L (1989) Dichotic, diotic, and monaural summation of loudness: a comprehensive analysis of composition and psychophysical functions. Percept Psychophys 46:567-78
Melara, R D; DeWitt-Rickards, T S; O'Brien, T P (1989) Enhancing lineup identification accuracy: two codes are better than one. J Appl Psychol 74:706-13
Marks, L E (1989) On cross-modal similarity: the perceptual structure of pitch, loudness, and brightness. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 15:586-602
Melara, R D (1989) Similarity relations among synesthetic stimuli and their attributes. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 15:212-31
Algom, D; Palmon, R; Cohen-Raz, L (1989) Loudness scales from loudness processes: a multivariate approach. Int J Neurosci 46:167-83
Marks, L E (1988) Magnitude estimation and sensory matching. Percept Psychophys 43:511-25
Algom, D; Adam, R; Cohen-Raz, L (1988) Binaural summation and lateralization of transients: a combined analysis. J Acoust Soc Am 84:1302-15

Showing the most recent 10 out of 14 publications