Testing multi-scale processing in the auditory system
Controlled listening tasks reveal how we hear fine details and larger patterns in sound.
Connecting a stimulus to an experience
Psychophysics
Psychophysics connects a change in a sound or image with what a person experiences. By carefully varying a stimulus and measuring responses, we discover what people notice and which cues guide their perception.
How it works
Psychophysics connects physical changes in the world with what a person experiences. A participant might decide whether two sounds are the same, which event came first, or whether a faint tone was present. We carefully vary features such as loudness, timing, or rhythm and measure choices and response times.
What it helps us ask
How small a change can someone notice? Which parts of a sound make it seem like speech or music? By controlling what changes between trials, we can discover which cues people use and where the limits of perception lie.
See it in our work
The human auditory system uses amplitude modulation to distinguish music from speech
Changing a sound’s loudness pattern helps reveal what makes it seem like music or speech.