The apparent movement between visual and acoustic stimulus and the problem of intermodal relations

Abstract

The authors make a series of experiments in order to evidence phenomena of multisensorial integration. The experimental situations consisted principally in presenting simultaneous acoustic and visual stroboscopic movements and in presenting an acoustic and a visual stimulus with optimum exposure time, pause and intensity in order to train subjects to perceive a stroboscopic movement between the two heterogeneous stimuli. In accordance with the results of the experiments the following conclusions are pointed out: 1. (1) the possibility of organising the stroboscopic movement of heterogeneous stimuli really exists: the Ss perceive both the intermodal apparent movement and, in the situations of simultaneous apparent movements, an ‘object’ moving with two qualities (the sonorous and the luminous); 2. (2) the multisensorial integration appears to depend on both the factor time and the factor movement. The authors finally discuss some theoretical implications subsequent to the phenomenon of intermodal apparent movement, which they think enables the opening of a new way of analysing the subjective and objective determining factors of the phenomenon of formal unification.