Abstract
Two experiments were conducted to explore the hypothesis that tones widely separated in frequency are processed in separate communication channels. Listeners attempted to detect brief temporal gaps between items in a simple tonal sequence of two high tones followed by two low tones. Temporal resolution within both the high and low groups was near perfect; between-group detection scores were significantly lower. Results are interpreted as evidence for a processing time delay when shifts of focal attention occur between perceptual structures organized within the frequency domain.
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This research was supported by Grant NS-08306 from the National Institutes of Health to I. B. Thomas, and is based on a Master’s thesis submitted to the University of Massachusetts by P. J. Fitzgibbons.
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Fitzgibbons, P.J., Pollatsek, A. & Thomas, I.B. Detection of temporal gaps within and between perceptual tonal groups. Perception & Psychophysics 16, 522–528 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198581
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198581