Speeded Detection of a Tone Embedded in a Quasi-isochronous Sequence: Effects of a Task-Irrelevant Temporal Irregularity

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amandine Penel ◽  
Mari Riess Jones
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Time Judgment ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Capture Effect ◽  
Expectancy Effects ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Accuracy Measures ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Phoneme Monitoring

One reason why music features temporal regularities is that they elicit expectancies about when an event will occur, focusing a listener�s attention around certain points in time. Evidence comes from phoneme monitoring tasks (using reaction times, J. G. Martin, 1979) and pitch and time judgment tasks (using accuracy measures, M. R. Jones, H. Moynihan, N. MacKenzie,& J. Puente, 2002; E. W. Large & M. R. Jones, 1999). Reaction times were faster and accuracy was higher for rhythmically expected elements than for unexpected elements. By contrast, A. Penel and M. R. Jones (2004) recently reported an inversely related finding: faster reaction times for rhythmically unexpected tones, which they labeled a temporal capture effect. The present research examines expectancy versus capture phenomena by using a speeded detection task in which listeners must respond to a lower pitched target located within monotone and isochronous sequences. One interonset interval was shortened or lengthened independently of the target�s position. Temporal irregularities tended to trigger false alarms, suggesting capture effects. Patterns of reaction times showed expectancy effects when the temporally perturbed event preceded the target, but these effects seemed to decrease with time in the sequence. When the target itself was temporally perturbed, some capture was observed, but only when the target came early in the sequence. We conclude that Martin�s (1979) expectancy effects in phoneme monitoring were coarticulatory rather than rhythmical.

Rapid Serial Auditory Presentation

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Franco ◽  
Julia Eberlen ◽  
Arnaud Destrebecqz ◽  
Axel Cleeremans ◽  
Julie Bertels
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Auditory Presentation ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Speech Stream ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Presentation Procedure

Abstract. The Rapid Serial Visual Presentation procedure is a method widely used in visual perception research. In this paper we propose an adaptation of this method which can be used with auditory material and enables assessment of statistical learning in speech segmentation. Adult participants were exposed to an artificial speech stream composed of statistically defined trisyllabic nonsense words. They were subsequently instructed to perform a detection task in a Rapid Serial Auditory Presentation (RSAP) stream in which they had to detect a syllable in a short speech stream. Results showed that reaction times varied as a function of the statistical predictability of the syllable: second and third syllables of each word were responded to faster than first syllables. This result suggests that the RSAP procedure provides a reliable and sensitive indirect measure of auditory statistical learning.

The role of the Big Five personality factors in vigilance performance and workload

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Laurie Rose ◽  
Laura Bennett Murphy ◽  
Lynn Byard ◽  
Katherina Nikzad
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Perceptual Sensitivity ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Perceived Workload ◽  
Big Five Personality Factors ◽  
Task Parameters

Using the five‐factor personality model, the present study explored the influence of personality factors on sustained attention and perceived workload. Ninety‐six college‐aged participants were administered a 12 minute vigilance fast event rate task. Following the vigil, participants were asked to first, rate their perceived workload of the task using the NASA‐TLX, and then second, complete the NEO‐PI‐R personality inventory. Traditional measures of hits, false alarms, and reaction times were examined as well as the signal detection indices of perceptual sensitivity and response bias. Extraversion correlated with false alarms (r = 0.181; eta2 = 0.055) and conscientiousness correlated with both false alarms (r = −0.275, eta2 = 0.097) and perceptual sensitivity (r = 0.227, eta2 = 0.052). With regard to perceived workload, neuroticism was related to perceived frustration (r = 0.238, eta2 = 0.057). The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications, impact of task parameters, and practical applications. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Speaker Variations Influence Speechreading Speed for Dynamic Faces

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5104 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 595-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen M Kaufmann ◽  
Stefan R Schweinberger
Keyword(s):  
Face Perception ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Dynamic Information ◽  
Static Mode ◽  
Dynamic Stimuli ◽  
Distributed Models ◽  
Garner Interference ◽  
Dynamic Faces ◽  
Task Irrelevant

We investigated the influence of task-irrelevant speaker variations on speechreading performance. In three experiments with video digitised faces presented either in dynamic, static-sequential, or static mode, participants performed speeded classifications on vowel utterances (German vowels /u/ and /i/). A Garner interference paradigm was used, in which speaker identity was task-irrelevant but could be either correlated, constant, or orthogonal to the vowel uttered. Reaction times for facial speech classifications were slowed by task-irrelevant speaker variations for dynamic stimuli. The results are discussed with reference to distributed models of face perception (Haxby et al, 2000 Trends in Cognitive Sciences4 223–233) and the relevance of both dynamic information and speaker characteristics for speechreading.

Spatial recoding of sound: Pitch-varying auditory cues modulate up/down visual spatial attention

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 150-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irune Fernández-Prieto ◽  
Fátima Vera-Constán ◽  
Joel García-Morera ◽  
Jordi Navarra
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Visual Target ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Spatial Processing ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Auditory Cues ◽  
Visual Spatial Attention ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Pitch Direction

Previous studies suggest the existence of facilitatory effects between, for example, responding upwards/downwards while hearing a high/low-pitched tone, respectively (e.g., Occeli et al., 2009; Rusconi et al., 2006). Neuroimaging research has started to reveal the activation of parietal areas (e.g., the intraparietal sulcus, IPS) during the performance of various pitch-based musical tasks (see Foster and Zatorre, 2010a, 2010b). Since several areas in the parietal cortex (e.g., the IPS; see Chica et al., 2011) are strongly involved in orienting visual attention towards external events, we investigated the possible effects of perceiving pitch-varying stimuli (i.e., ‘ascending’ or ‘descending’ flutter sounds) on the spatial processing of visual stimuli. In a variation of the Posner cueing paradigm (Posner, 1980), participants performed a speeded detection task of a visual target that could appear at one of four different spatial positions (two above and two below the fixation point). Irrelevant ascending (200–700 Hz) or descending (700–200 Hz) flutter sounds were randomly presented 550 ms before the onset of the visual target. According to our results, faster reaction times were observed when the visual target appeared in a position (up/down) that was compatible with the ‘pitch direction’ (ascending or descending) of the previously-presented auditory ‘cuing’ stimulus. Our findings suggest that pitch-varying sounds are recoded spatially, thus modulating visual spatial attention.

scholarly journals Which Factors Influence Attentional Functions? Attention Assessed by KiTAP in 105 6- to 10-Year-Old Children

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Tremolada ◽  
Livia Taverna ◽  
Sabrina Bonichini
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
School Grade ◽  
Attentional Difficulties ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors

This research revealed the children with difficulties in attentional functions in healthy children attending primary school and aimed to identify the possible socio-demographic factors such as child’s age, gender and school’s grade that could influence attentive performance. The participants were 105 children aged 6-10 years (M age=8.6; SD=1.04), 57 females, attending primary schools. Family economic condition attested mostly at a medium level (63.5%) and parents had more frequently 13 years of schooling. The computerized test KiTAP was administered to children to assess attentional functions. Results showed higher frequency of omissions and false alarms and a reduced speed in Alertness, Go/No go and Sustained Attention tasks comparing to Italian norms. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were run with school grade, gender and current age as independent variables and mean reaction times (and standard deviation), number of omissions and of false alarms as dependent ones. Results showed male gender and attending a lower primary school grade impacting on lower attentional performance in several subtests. Females showed the best performances in distractibility and impulsive reaction tendencies tests, while higher school grade positively influenced the divided and sustained attention. These results could be useful to identify children with major attentional difficulties and some recommendations for futures studies and implement attention empowerment programmes were proposed.

scholarly journals The relationship between alertness and spatial attention under simulated shiftwork

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Chandrakumar ◽  
J. Dorrian ◽  
S. Banks ◽  
H. A. D. Keage ◽  
S. Coussens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Vigilance Task ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Tentative Evidence ◽  
Stanford Sleepiness Scale ◽  
Psychomotor Vigilance ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Higher and lower levels of alertness typically lead to a leftward and rightward bias in attention, respectively. This relationship between alertness and spatial attention potentially has major implications for health and safety. The current study examined alertness and spatial attention under simulated shiftworking conditions. Nineteen healthy right-handed participants (M = 24.6 ± 5.3 years, 11 males) completed a seven-day laboratory based simulated shiftwork study. Measures of alertness (Stanford Sleepiness Scale and Psychomotor Vigilance Task) and spatial attention (Landmark Task and Detection Task) were assessed across the protocol. Detection Task performance revealed slower reaction times and higher omissions of peripheral (compared to central) stimuli, with lowered alertness; suggesting narrowed visuospatial attention and a slight left-sided neglect. There were no associations between alertness and spatial bias on the Landmark Task. Our findings provide tentative evidence for a slight neglect of the left side and a narrowing of attention with lowered alertness. The possibility that one’s ability to sufficiently react to information in the periphery and the left-side may be compromised under conditions of lowered alertness highlights the need for future research to better understand the relationship between spatial attention and alertness under shiftworking conditions.

The effect of task-irrelevant stimulus ‘graspability’ on reaching actions

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Samuel Couth ◽  
Ellen Poliakoff ◽  
Emma Gowen
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Reaching Movement ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Onset Delay ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
And Control ◽  
Previous Reaction

Reaching and grasping requires integration of visual, proprioceptive and somatosensory inputs. Previous research has shown that manipulating the ‘graspabilty’ of a visual stimulus influences reaction times to that stimulus (e.g., Tucker and Ellis, 1998). Here we explored whether this same effect can be extended to the planning and online control of arm movements. Participants made a mimed reaching movement with their left or right hand depending on the colour of images of affordance (door handles) and control stimuli (a row of dots of similar size and orientation as the door handle). Stimulus onset was manipulated by changing when the grey stimulus changed colour. Stimuli either pointed towards (compatible) or pointed away from (incompatible) the responding hand. Spatially compatible affordance stimuli facilitated reach onset compared to other stimuli and compatibility combinations, replicating previous reaction time studies. This can be attributed to a priming of the motor system by spatially compatible affording items. Results also indicated a larger outwards deviation of reach trajectory for spatially incompatible control stimuli compared to spatially compatible control stimuli, which waned with stimulus onset delay. This reveals an immediate inhibitory effect on reach trajectory, such that outwards movement is over-compensated to negate this incompatible orientation. Overall, we observed that the effect of visual spatial compatibility on reach kinematics differs with the action relevance of the stimulus. We are currently exploring how this multisensory visuomotor effect changes with age.

From Simple to Complex or Vice Versa: Sequence Effects on the Detection of Embedded Figures

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 247-247
Author(s):  
I Ludwig
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Presentation Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Embedded Figures ◽  
Sequence Effects ◽  
Mean Reaction Time

In a series of studies concerning part - whole perception we have investigated effects of perceptual learning, and of systematically varied presentation orders on the detection of embedded figures. In the present study the effects of increasing and decreasing complexity orders on detection performance are reported. Stimuli were 170 pairs of whole and part figures. Half of them were positive items, ie the searched part was contained in the (simultaneously presented) whole. The other half were negative items, ie the searched part was not contained in the whole. The difficulty of all figure pairs was determined from earlier data. On the basis of these difficulty parameters three presentation orders were created: (1) increasing difficulty (from simple to complex), (2) decreasing difficulty (from complex to simple), and (3) randomised order. Sixty subjects performed each of these tasks in three sessions separated by one week. Effects of practice and samples were balanced by permutating the order of the three tasks. The reaction times and error rates for all presentations were registered. The results showed marked differences between the three tasks: The lowest mean reaction time was obtained in the presentation order with increasing difficulty. Error rate, on the other hand, was lowest in the decreasing-difficulty presentation order. For the random-order presentation error rate and reaction time was in between the other orders. Furthermore, differences in benefit from practice were observed between the three orders of difficulty. Results are discussed with respect to the question of how efficient search strategies may be learned and whether one can learn to bend the rules of Gestalt organisation if required.

Chromatic Cues for Face Detection in Natural Scenes

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 294-294
Author(s):  
A Oliva ◽  
S Akamatsu ◽  
P G Schyns
Keyword(s):  
Face Detection ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Colour Space ◽  
Affect Detection ◽  
Detection Of Objects ◽  
Chromatic Cues ◽  
Colour Histograms ◽  
Euclidian Distances

One of the challenging problems of human and machine vision is the detection of objects against complex backgrounds. Our research addresses the question of how faces can be very quickly detected in naturalistic scenes on the basis of luminance and chromatic cues. Although luminance information varies with pose and illumination differences, chromatic information is by and large invariant under these transformations. Hence, chromatic information might be a very powerful cue for segmentation and detection. We compared faces of different pigmentation against background scenes of different colours. Specifically, colour histograms were computed in a perceptually uniform colour space (L*u*v*). We computed the Euclidian distances between the averages of the colour histograms of faces and scenes in L*u*v*. This metric was used to calibrate the contrast between face and scene colour in the experimental design. In a face detection task, subjects saw faces against scene backgrounds at a different distance in colour space. Each combination face - scene was presented for 120 ms (to prevent saccadic explorations), and the subject's task was to indicate whether or not a face was present. Controls involved face - scene pairs on an isoluminant background. Results revealed that luminance information did not affect detection on the basis of chromatic cues. Importantly, the metric of detectability in L*u*v* space between scene and faces predicted reaction times to detection.

The Influence of Different Doses of Caffeine on Visual Task Performance

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Ruijter ◽  
Monicque M. Lorist ◽  
Jan Snel
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Output Stage ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Output Stages

Abstract In this study the influence of caffeine as an energy-increasing substance on visual information processing was examined. Subjects were presented with a dual-task consisting of two choice reaction time tasks. In addition, one of the tasks was presented at two levels of difficulty, influencing the decision-making process. Doses of 1.0, 3.0, and 7.5 mg/kg body weight caffeine and 3.0 mg/kg body weight lactose were administered (within-subjects design). The effect of caffeine was expected to be observable in terms of improved performance on measures like reaction time and type and number of errors, as well as in components of the event-related brain potential (ERP). The highest caffeine dose shortened reaction times on both the primary and the secondary task as compared to placebo. Overall there was a linear decline in reaction times on both tasks with increasing caffeine dose. As measured from ERP results, there was an increasing P3 amplitude as caffeine dose increased, indicating that the quantity of information processed was larger under caffeine. There was, however, no evidence of extra energy in terms of more hits and fewer misses or false alarms. Moreover, subjects reported no doserelated differences in amount of effort needed to perform the dual-task. It is concluded that the effect of caffeine, which is supposed to have its impact on both the input and the output stages of information processing, was evident in the output stage in the form of shortened reaction times. However, no effect of caffeine could be observed at the input stage, probably due to a data limited process.

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