Subject: Re: Does anybody know a similar study? From: David Jackson Morris <dmorris@xxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 15:51:22 +0000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>Dear Massimo and folk, Because of the repetition involved the effect you describe might also be akin to semantic satiation. This is where repetition involuntarily voids or changes the meaning of a target, for instance, when you repeat 'Abe Lincoln' ten times, you might start to hear 'a blinkin''. Jakobovits & Lambert wrote a series of articles on this that may be of interest to you, including, Jakobovits and Lambert. 1964. Stimulus-characteristics as determinants of semantic changes with repeated presentation. Am J Psychol 77: 84-92. David Morris Postdoc Deaprtment of Nordic Studies and Linguistics University of Copenhagen Njalsgade 120 2300 København S http://inss.ku.dk/ansatte/beskrivelse/?id=398661 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 03:25:38 -0400 From: Al Bregman <al.bregman@xxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: Does anybody know a similar study? --047d7bdc82c22750cf04fc172d71 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Hi Massimo & List, I believe that in Skinner's book, "Verbal Behavior" (1957), he reported an experiment he had done getting people to listen to a machine that played a tape of a babble of voices. He called the machine a "verbal summator". I don't remember whether it was a loop or not. He reported that people heard all kinds of words, with different people hearing different words, and thought it tapped people's verbal habits (including thoughts). I recall that he thought it could be used as a projective test. You'd have to check the original to be sure. Also Google finds a number of entries for "Verbal summator", so there may have been follow-up work. I myself frequently hear words, usually short incomplete phrases, as part of irregular environmental sounds, usually involving splashing water in a resonant space, as when I am washing clothing or dishes in a sink. I can't make it happen voluntarily; it always happens as a double-take (e.g., Did I just hear "count the others"?). The stress patterns of the words in the phrase always correspond with loudness variations in the sound. Dick Warren and colleagues experimented with recycling white noise in the 1980s (e.g., Warren & Bashford, 1981, Perception of acoustic iterance: Pitch and infrapitch. *Perception and Psychophysics, 29,* 323-335.) but I don't think words were ever embedded. Best, Al --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor Psychology Department, McGill University Office phone: (514) three-nine-eight-6103, http://webpages.mcgill.ca/staff/Group2/abregm1/web/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 10:46 AM, Massimo Grassi <massimo.grassi@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > Dear list members, > > yesterday I colleague played me a sample (a sentence) of highly degraded > speech. It was a recording made in a highly noisy environment. It included > speech (a conversation) that was hardly intelligible except for a few > occasional words. > > The colleague asked me to listen to the sample and pay attention whether I > was able to spot a few target words. These words were not intelligible to > me. > > The colleague then selected a portion of the recording and played it in > loop. That portion included (according to him) one target word. After a few > loops I was able to "perceive" the word. > > This is exactly the problem. I'm wandering whether it was just a > suggestion due to the repeated listening of an ambiguous auditory signal. A > kid of auditory Rorschach test: there seem to be nothing at the beginning > but if you keep listening you can hear whatever you like. > > Is there anybody out there that is aware of studies that investigated > whether listening in loop to an ambiguous signal can lead to hear things > that are not in the signal? > > I didn't find anything yet. > > Thank you all in advance, > m > > -- > http://www.psy.unipd.it/~grassi/ > http://www.springer.com/978-1-4614-2196-2 > --047d7bdc82c22750cf04fc172d71 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:tahoma,s= ans-serif">Hi Massimo & List,<br><br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default"= style=3D"font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">I believe that in Skinner's bo= ok, "Verbal Behavior" (1957), he reported an experiment he had do= ne getting people to listen to a machine that played a tape of a babble of = voices.=C2=A0 He called the machine a "verbal summator". I don= 9;t remember whether it was a loop or not.=C2=A0 He reported that people he= ard all kinds of words, with different people hearing different words, and = thought it tapped people's verbal habits (including thoughts).=C2=A0 I = recall that he thought it could be used as a projective test.=C2=A0 You'= ;d have to check the original to be sure.=C2=A0 Also Google finds a number = of entries for "Verbal summator", so there may have been follow-u= p work.<br> <br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:tahoma,sans-ser= if">I myself frequently hear words, usually short incomplete phrases, as pa= rt of irregular environmental sounds, usually involving splashing water in = a resonant space, as when I am washing clothing or dishes in a sink.=C2=A0 = I can't make it happen voluntarily; it always happens as a double-take = (e.g., Did I just hear "count the others"?).=C2=A0 The stress pat= terns of the words in the phrase always correspond with loudness variations= in the sound.<br> <br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:tahoma,sans-ser= if">Dick Warren and colleagues experimented with recycling white noise in t= he 1980s (e.g., Warren & Bashford, 1981, Perception of acoustic iteranc= e: Pitch and infrapitch. <i>Perception and Psychophysics, 29,</i> 323-335.)= but I don't think words were ever embedded.<br> <br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:tahoma,sans-ser= if">Best,<br></div><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"font-family:tahoma= ,sans-serif">Al<br></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br clear=3D"all"><div>= <div dir=3D"ltr"> <div>----------------------------------------------------------------------= -----<br>Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor<br>Psychology Department, Mc= Gill University<br>Office phone: (514) three-nine-eight-6103, <br> <a href= =3D"http://webpages.mcgill.ca/staff/Group2/abregm1/web/" target=3D"_blank">= http://webpages.mcgill.ca/staff/Group2/abregm1/web/</a><br> </div><div>----------------------------------------------------------------= -----------</div></div></div> <br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 10:46 AM, Massim= o Grassi <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:massimo.grassi@xxxxxxxx" t= arget=3D"_blank">massimo.grassi@xxxxxxxx</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquo= te class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc so= lid;padding-left:1ex"> Dear list members,<br> <br> yesterday I colleague played me a sample (a sentence) of highly degraded sp= eech. It was a recording made in a highly noisy environment. It included sp= eech (a conversation) that was hardly intelligible except for a few occasio= nal words.<br> <br> The colleague asked me to listen to the sample and pay attention whether I = was able to spot a few target words. These words were not intelligible to m= e.<br> <br> The colleague then selected a portion of the recording and played it in loo= p. That portion included (according to him) one target word. After a few lo= ops I was able to "perceive" the word.<br> <br> This is exactly the problem. I'm wandering whether it was just a sugges= tion due to the repeated listening of an ambiguous auditory signal. A kid o= f auditory Rorschach test: there seem to be nothing at the beginning but if= you keep listening you can hear whatever you like.<br> <br> Is there anybody out there that is aware of studies that investigated wheth= er listening in loop to an ambiguous signal can lead to hear things that ar= e not in the signal?<br> <br> I didn't find anything yet.<br> <br> Thank you all in advance,<br> m<span class=3D"HOEnZb"><font color=3D"#888888"><br> <br> -- <br> <a href=3D"http://www.psy.unipd.it/~grassi/" target=3D"_blank">http://www.p= sy.unipd.it/~<u></u>grassi/</a><br> <a href=3D"http://www.springer.com/978-1-4614-2196-2" target=3D"_blank">htt= p://www.springer.com/978-1-<u></u>4614-2196-2</a><br> </font></span></blockquote></div><br></div></div> --047d7bdc82c22750cf04fc172d71-- ------------------------------ End of AUDITORY Digest - 17 Jun 2014 to 18 Jun 2014 - Special issue (#2014-139) *******************************************************************************