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A developmental look at an auditory illusion: The precedence effect
Author(s) -
Clifton Rachel K.,
Morrongiello Barbara A.,
Dowd John M.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420170509
Subject(s) - precedence effect , loudspeaker , psychology , illusion , perception , auditory cortex , audiology , auditory perception , task (project management) , sound (geography) , sound localization , cognitive psychology , acoustics , neuroscience , medicine , physics , management , economics
Infants aged 2 and 6 months were tested with the precedence effect, an auditory phenomenon involving sound localization. Each infant was tested with two types of stimuli: sound from a single loudspeaker and precedence‐effect sounds produced by the same sound put through two loudspeakers, with one output leading the other by 7 msec. Older infants localized precedence‐effect stimuli as they did single‐source stimuli, indicating that they perceived this phenomenon as expected. Two‐month‐olds turned their heads toward single‐source sounds, but did not localize precedence‐effect sounds, suggesting that that more difficult perceptual task had not been achieved at this age. In general, headturning toward sound proved far more difficult to elicit in younger infants. A click train was ineffective, but a tape‐recorded human voice elicited above‐chance low‐level turning. The developmental changes in auditory behavior are discussed in terms of the rapid growth of the auditory cortex.