Visual influences on auditory distance perception

Abstract

Much of the work on sound localization has focused on sound sources in the horizontal plane. This study looks at the auditory perception of distance using a reaching task [L. D. Rosenblum, A. P. Wuestefeld, and K. L. Anderson, Ecological Psych. 8, 1–24 (1996)]. In this task, blindfolded participants judged the reachability of a rattle based on a straight right arm reach. In order to investigate visual influences on auditory distance perception, in another condition, participants judged the reachability of an ‘‘auditory’’ rattle while simultaneously viewing a ‘‘visual’’ rattle that did not produce sound. The ‘‘visual’’ rattle was placed 8 cm in front of the ‘‘auditory’’ rattle or 8 cm behind it. Compared to an auditory alone condition, participants were more likely to judge that the rattle was within reach when the visual stimulus was closer to the participant than the auditory stimulus. These results show that vision influences the perception of sound source distance.