Effect of sound duration on loudness estimates of increasing and decreasing intensity sounds

Abstract

The influence of sound duration on global loudness of non-stationary stimuli was investigated. Loudness of 2 and 6-s increasing and decreasing intensity sounds with different ranges of intensity-variation was assessed using a magnitude estimation procedure. Results once again uphold the existence of a loudness difference between the two patterns: while they only differ in their temporal profile, increasing sounds were perceived louder than decreasing sounds. In addition, global loudness estimates were increased with duration for the two types of sounds, and a small but significant interaction occurred between type and duration. A contrast analysis revealed that while global loudness of increasing and decreasing sounds raised with duration in a similar way in the case of low and moderate intensities (below 75 dB SPL), global loudness was significantly more affected by duration with increasing than with decreasing intensity profiles for high-intensity stimuli. This result suggests the existence of an underlying memory process combined with a “peak-end rule” as being responsible for the loudness asymmetry typically observed between the two types of intensity-pattern being judged [Susini et al. (2010). “End level bias on direct loudness ratings of increasing sounds” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. EL 128(4), 163–168].