Perceptual constancy of a global spectral property: Spectral slope discrimination

Abstract

The current study investigated perceptual constancy for spectral slope discrimination when fundamental frequency (F0) and spectral shape were varied across three complex stimuli within a single trial. The three stimulus variables were global or emergent properties of a complex sound. The selection of the stimulus variables was in keeping with notions that perception may be organized in terms of a source-filter model of complex sound production; F0 and spectral slope represent properties of sound sources and spectral shape typically represents a filter property. According to the source-filter model, interaction between stimulus properties should depend upon whether the typical origin of the property was common to the source spectrum or the filter transfer function. The four experiments in the current study demonstrated a significant performance decrement in spectral slope discrimination when F0 (a second source property) varied. However, spectral slope discrimination was minimally altered when spectral shape (a filter property) was varied. The study supported claims that listeners treat source properties as a unit which, in perception, is relatively independent of filter properties.

Dialect experience and perceptual integrality in phonological registers: Fundamental frequency, voice quality and the first formant in Cham

“…The first pair of dimensions, voice quality and f0, is purely integral, but with a dimension shift from voice quality to f0 in EC and WC. This confirms the results obtained with artificial stimuli by Li and Pastore (1995). The second pair of dimensions, F1 and f0, also appears to be purely integral in all dialects, but with a dimension shift from F1 to f0 in EC and WC (and limited signs of congruence in WC).…”

“…The second pair of dimensions, F1 and f0, also appears to be purely integral in all dialects, but with a dimension shift from F1 to f0 in EC and WC (and limited signs of congruence in WC). This contradicts previous results obtained with artificial stimuli (Li and Pastore, 1995), and with speech-like stimuli (Kingston et al, 2008). This apparent contradiction could be due to two factors.…”

“…In non-linguistic stimuli, spectral slope (one of the acoustic correlates of voice quality) and f0 are integral; however f0 and spectral peaks (F1), and spectral slope and spectral peaks are separable (Li and Pastore, 1995). Studies using speech or speech-like stimuli suggest similar results: breathiness integrates with pitch in Jalapa Mazatec vowels (Silverman, 2003), but f0 and F1 are separable, at least when they are adjacent to stop closures (Kingston et al, 2008).…”

Perceptual interaction of the harmonic source and noise in voice

“…Many clinical voice evaluation protocols require listeners to rate individual voice features (e.g., Kempster et al, 2009;Hirano, 1981;Laver et al, 1981), and thus implicitly assume the first model. However, the present results, as well as results of a number of behavioral and neuropsychological studies (e.g., Van Lancker et al, 1985a,b;Li and Pastore, 1995;Schweinberger et al, 1997;Andics et al, 2010;Melara and Marks, 1990), are more consistent with the second view of quality. For example, in priming experiments (Schweinberger et al, 1997) reaction times to famous voices were significantly faster when listeners had previously heard a different exemplar of the voice.…”

Covariation between voice quality and pitch: Revisiting the case of Mandarin creaky voice

“…For example, pitch discrimination is more difficult in breathy voice than in modal voice (Silverman, 2003); and spectral discrimination is more difficult when F0 is low (Li and Pastore, 1995). This may be the perceptual reason why in languages with multiple tones, such as Hmong and Zapotec languages, most F0 contrasts occur with modal voice; fewer tones occur with non-modal phonation.…”