Linkages between auditory perception and action: acoustical facilitation of motor responses

Burton, Joel 2011. Linkages between auditory perception and action: acoustical facilitation of motor responses. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

In our everyday lives we often have to respond quickly to events in the world around us. This thesis examined whether task-irrelevant, moving auditory stimuli facilitated context-appropriate motor responses. The experiments followed the same general methodology: participants responded to a visual target (a box on the screen) which was sometimes accompanied, or preceded, by a moving broadband auditory stimulus. For the experiments in Chapter 2 the auditory stimulus started in one hemifield and moved to the other. The results indicated motor responses were facilitated when the auditory stimulus was moving azimuthally, to a greater degree than when it was static, but only when the direction of the auditory stimulus was opposite to that of the response (incongruent) and only for Experiment 2. Chapter 3 further examined this facilitation, whilst restricting the movement of the auditory stimuli to either the left or right hemifield. The results indicated facilitation from bi-modal presentations, particularly when responses were towards the hemifield the auditory stimulus was presented in. Experiments 3 - 6 indicated responses were facilitated when the auditory stimulus and the required motor response moved in the same direction. Finally, Chapter 4 utilised looming auditory stimuli to test whether they led to greater facilitation than that observed in Chapter 3. The results indicated looming auditory stimuli facilitated responses relative to receding or static stimuli. There was also facilitation from bimodal presentations over their uni-modal counterparts, particularly when the responses were towards the hemifield the auditory stimulus was presented in. There was facilitation when the auditory stimulus moved in the opposite direction to the required response, compared to static, though only in Experiments 7 and 11. This thesis suggests that motor responses can be facilitated by task-irrelevant, moving, particularly looming, auditory stimuli and may be of benefit in tasks that require quick responses.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Acoustics ; Auditory perception ; Motor responses ; Visual target ; Auditory stimulus
Funders:	Qinetic MOD
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2016 22:12
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/7560

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