Interactions of Perceived Intensity, Duration, and Pitch in Pure Tone Sequences

Abstract

If one dimension of sound is manipulated in a way that suggests a particular rhythmic organization, does perception of other dimensions change in ways that are consistent with the same rhythmic organization? When subjects were asked to judge or adjust intensities of tones, rhythmic manipulations of pitch structure changed the perception of intensity. When subjects were asked to judge timing, rhythmic manipulations of intensity had a similar effect. Timing manipulations did not have an effect on judgments of pitch. The results indicate that temporal structure as a whole is more accessible than the individual physical manipulations that give rise to that structure. It may be concluded that the temporal structure itself, rather than pitches, intensities, and durations in isolation, is a perceptual object.