Interference effects in tone memory

Abstract

Memory for a standard tone in comparison to a subsequent test tone was examined in three experiments with three intervening tones between the standard and test tones. In each trial, the intervening tones were presented from one of seven frequency range and distance from the standard tone conditions. Experiment 1 tone patterns were played at four different presentation rates, and the subjects judged whether the test was higher or lower than the standard. Memory interference effects caused by the different intervening tone conditions could be accounted for by a directional shift in the standard tone memory toward the intervening tones and by a general decrease in the standard tone memory strength with more distant intervening tones. Interference effects were smaller for the rapid presentation rates because the intervening tones formed separate "perceptual streams." Two additional experiments presented the tone patterns in a task requiring the subjects to match a continuously variable tone to their memory of the standard (Experiment 2) and a task requiring them to judge whether the standard and test tones were the "same" or "different" (Experiment 3). These experiments showed large differences in interference effects as a function of the required judgment and the subjects' musical experience.Memory for the pitch of a tone is disrupted when it is followed by tones of a different pitch. Deutsch and her colleagues have explored this effect in a series of studies which typically involved the sequential presentation of a standard tone, several intervening tones, and a test tone that the subject judged as "same as" or "different from" the standard (see Deutsch, 1975, for a review). In most of these studies, the effects of intervening tones were closely examined only for relatively small frequency separations from the standard and test tones (e.g., Deutsch & Feroe, 1975). This line of research has provided some important insights into the "microstructure" of intervening tone effects on pitch memory, but relatively little is known about the effects of larger intervening tone separations from the standard tone.The present series of studies tested the effects of intervening tones which ranged from 1 to 20 semitones above or below the standard tone. (One semitone is equal to a frequency difference ratio of about 1 : 1.06.) The experiments were designed to explore both the

An improved model of tonality perception incorporating pitch salience and echoic memory.

“…Cook’s work affirms the obvious intuition that more recent sonorities have a greater influence on key determination than sonorities from the distant past. This accords with experimental evidence showing that auditory memory is disrupted by the occurrence of subsequent sounds (Butler & Ward, 1988; Deutsch, 1972; Dewar, Cuddy, & Mewhort, 1977; Massaro, 1970a; Olsen & Hanson, 1977; Wickelgren, 1966)…”

The Processing of Pitch Combinations

“…In this last condition, the interpolated tones formed very large intervals, and as a result, listeners were unable to make use of frameworks of pitch relationships to which the test tones could be anchored. Olson and Hanson (1977) also found that increased distances between the test and interpolated tones were associated with increased errors in pitch recognition (see also Deutsch & Boulanger, 1984).…”

The influence of melodic context on pitch recognition judgment

“…The interpolation of an extra tone during the retention interval produces a further decrement in performance (Wickelgren, 1966(Wickelgren, , 1969. When several tones are interpolated, recognition accuracy varies as a function of the pitch relationships between the tones to be compared and the intervening tones (Deutsch, 1975), and also varies as a function of the pitch relationships between successive tones of the interpolated sequence (Deutsch, 1972(Deutsch, , 1978Olson & Hanson, 1977). It has also been found that pitch recognition judgments can be substantially affected by the relational context in which the standard (S) and comparison (C) tones are placed, when simultaneous tones are used to provide such context.…”