Effects of expectations on loudness and loudness difference

Abstract

To determine how expectations affect loudness and loudness difference, in two experiments we induced some subjects to expect loud sounds (condition L), some to expect soft sounds (condition S), and others to have no particular expectations (control). In Experiment 1, all subjects estimated the loudnesses of the same set of three moderately loud 1-kHz tones. Estimates were greatest for subjects in condition S and smallest for subjects in condition L. Control subjects' estimates were intermediate but closer to those of condition S subjects. In Experiment 2, subjects estimated the difference in loudness for pairs of moderately loud 1-kHz tones. Again, estimates were smallest for condition L subjects; estimates were greatest for control subjects, and condition S subjects' estimates were closer to control estimates than to condition L estimates. This pattern of results is explainable by a combination of (1) Parducci's (1995) range-frequency theory and (2) a gain control mechanism in the auditory system under top-down governance (Schneider, Parker, & Murphy, 2011).

Underpredicting Pain: An experimental investigation into the benefits and risks - Preprint

“…These findings are in line with the vast majority of literature on expectancy and placebo effects demonstrating expectations to generally be self-confirming [2,3,8,10,31,32,40,[43][44][45]54,57]. However, they contradict our hypothesis of contrasts effects (i.e., increased pain), which we formulated based on the literature on the occurrence of contrast effects on diverse outcomes in cases of large expectation-experience discrepancies of which one is aware [1,7,11,18,19,33,40,41,57]. A lack of awareness of the discrepancy is unlikely to explain our current findings, as we intentionally drew participants' attention to the expectation-experience (mis)match.…”

“…Most notably, the affective expectation model [57], as other models [8,40,41], suggests that experiences can change away from expectations, referred to as contrast effects. Contrast effects have been observed in various research fields, particularly when there is a large discrepancy between expectations and experiences [1,7,11,18,19,33,40,41]. However, to our knowledge, currently no empirical evidence exists for contrast effects on pain.…”

Prior information can alter how sounds are perceived and emotionally regulated

“…It is possible, for instance, that the relationship between affect and sound intensity is mediated by increased physiological arousal. In previous studies by Asutay and Västfjäll (2017) , as well as Parker et al. (2012) , participants were made to experience fear, which is generally associated with a measurable physiological response.…”

Cross-modal commutativity of magnitude productions of loudness and brightness

“…Another potential explanation for the direction of the present multiplicativity violations is suggested by studies showing that both (auditory) differential sensitivity and direct perceptual evaluations change depending on the range of stimulus levels expected: Particularly, if rare, unexpected high-level tones are mixed into a series of low-level tones, the latter become less well discriminated (Parker et al, 2002 ). Even when high-level stimulation is merely implied by verbal instruction, subsequent ratings of mid-level stimuli are strongly attenuated (Parker et al, 2012 ). By analogy, in the present paradigm, the prospect of being exposed to the high levels required by a ×6 adjustment might lead participants to effectively dampen their psychophysical loudness (or brightness) function, paradoxically requiring even higher levels to produce a ×6 stimulus.…”