Abstract
If one listens to a recording of a word or phrase pronounced distinctly and repeated again and again, illusory changes occur. Warren and Gregory reported that the listener to this repetitive, unchanging stimulus seems to hear the voice shift suddenly to other words and phrases at frequent intervals.' These changes may involve considerable phonetic distortion. A more detailed investigation of this 'verbal transformation' was reported by Warren (Ss called out what they heard initially, and then called out each time they thought they heard a change in what the voice was saying during the 3-min. test-period).2 Verbal transformations were found for all repeating stimulus-words employed (which varied in complexity from see, with only two phonemes, up to short sentences, such as Our side is right). Responses were scored both in terms of numbers of transitions and numbers of different forms reported.3 This scoring allowed a quantitative comparison of responses obtained under a variety of experimental conditions. The data obtained were limited to a group of young Ss -British Naval Ratings in their late 'teens or early twenties. The present study was undertaken to determine if age-differences exist in susceptibility to the verbal transformation effect. Such information might help in understanding the mechanisms underlying this illusion and also afford some insight into possible age-differences in perception.
Published Version
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