Psychology Publications and Research

Feeling Voices

Paolo Ammirante et al. — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:25:25 PDT

Two experiments investigated deaf individuals' ability to discriminate between same-sex talkers based on vibrotactile stimulation alone. Nineteen participants made same/different judgments on pairs of utterances presented to the lower back through voice coils embedded in a conforming chair. Discrimination of stimuli matched for F0, duration, and perceived magnitude was successful for pairs of spoken sentences in Experiment 1 (median percent correct = 83%) and pairs of vowel utterances in Experiment 2 (median percent correct = 75%). Greater difference in spectral tilt between “different” pairs strongly predicted their discriminability in both experiments. The current findings support the hypothesis that discrimination of complex vibrotactile stimuli involves the cortical integration of spectral information filtered through frequency-tuned skin receptors.

Fertility Desires and Intentions of HIV-Positive Women of Reproductive Age in Ontario, Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mona Loutfy et al. — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 06:48:02 PDT

Background Improvements in life expectancy and quality of life for HIV-positive women coupled with reduced vertical transmission will likely lead numerous HIV-positive women to consider becoming pregnant. In order to clarify the demand, and aid with appropriate health services planning for this population, our study aims to assess the fertility desires and intentions of HIV-positive women of reproductive age living in Ontario, Canada.

Methodology/Principal Findings A cross-sectional study with recruitment stratified to match the geographic distribution of HIV-positive women of reproductive age (18–52) living in Ontario was carried out. Women were recruited from 38 sites between October 2007 and April 2009 and invited to complete a 189-item self-administered survey entitled “The HIV Pregnancy Planning Questionnaire” designed to assess fertility desires, intentions and actions. Logistic regression models were fit to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios of significant predictors of fertility intentions. The median age of the 490 participating HIV-positive women was 38 (IQR, 32–43) and 61%, 52%, 47% and 74% were born outside of Canada, living in Toronto, of African ethnicity and currently on antiretroviral therapy, respectively. Of total respondents, 69% (95% CI, 64%–73%) desired to give birth and 57% (95% CI, 53%–62%) intended to give birth in the future. In the multivariable model, the significant predictors of fertility intentions were: younger age (age<40) (p<0.0001), African ethnicity (p<0.0001), living in Toronto (p=0.002), and a lower number of lifetime births (p=0.02).

Conclusions/Significance The proportions of HIV-positive women of reproductive age living in Ontario desiring and intending pregnancy were higher than reported in earlier North American studies. Proportions were more similar to those reported from African populations. Healthcare providers and policy makers need to consider increasing services and support for pregnancy planning for HIV-positive women. This may be particularly significant in jurisdictions with high levels of African immigration.

Assessing depression symptoms in those with insomnia: An examination of the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II)

Colleen Carney et al. — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:25:32 PDT

Background Due to concerns about overlapping symptomatology between medical conditions and depression, the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) has been assessed in various medical populations. Although Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Primary Insomnia (PI) share some daytime symptoms, the BDI-II has not been evaluated for use with insomnia patients. Method Participants (N = 140) were screened for the presence of insomnia using the Duke Structured Clinical Interview for Sleep Disorders (DSISD), and evaluated for diagnosis of MDD using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID). Participants’ mean BDI-II item responses were compared across two groups [insomnia with or without MDD) using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and the accuracy rates of suggested clinical cutoffs for the BDI-II were evaluated using a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results The insomnia with depression group had significantly higher scores on several items; however, the groups did not differ on insomnia, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, libido, increased appetite, and thoughts relating to suicide, self-criticism and punishment items. The ROC curve analysis revealed moderate accuracy for the BDI-II’s identification of depression in those with insomnia. The suggested BDI cutoff of ≥ 17 had 81% sensitivity and 79% specificity. Use of the mild cutoff for depression (≥14) had high sensitivity (91%) but poor specificity (66%). Conclusion Several items on the BDI-II might reflect sleep disturbance symptoms rather than depression per se. The recommended BDI-II cutoffs in this population have some support but a lower cutoff could result in an overclassification of depression in insomnia patients, a documented problem in the clinical literature. Understanding which items discriminate insomnia patients without depression may help address this nosological issue.

Expressing Tonal Closure in Music Performance: Auditory and Visual Cues

Donovon k. Caeser et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:24 PDT

We examined whether musical performers communicate tonal closure through expressive manipulation of facial expressions and non-pitch features of the acoustic output. Two musicians hummed two versions of Silent Night: one ended on the tonic of the scale and exhibited tonal closure; the other ended on the dominant and was therefore tonally unclosed. In Experiment 1, video-only recordings of the hummed sequences were presented to 15 participants, who judged whether the (imagined) melody was closed or unclosed. Accuracy was reliably above chance, indicating that the musicians expressed tonal closure in facial expressions and listeners decoded these cues. Experiment 2 was conducted to determine whether musicians also communicate tonal closure in acoustic attributes other than pitch. All tones in the hummed melodies were pitched-shifted to a constant mean value, but performances still differed in loudness, microtonal pitch variation, timing, and timbre. Participants judged whether audio-only recordings were closed or unclosed. Accuracy was not above chance overall, but was marginally above chance for judgement of one of the two singers. Results suggest that tonal closure can be mapped onto non-pitch aspects of performance expression, but is primarily restricted to the use of facial expressions.

Towards a Functional Hearing Test for Musicians: The Probe Tone Method

Frank A. Russo — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:23 PDT

What do Psychology and Civil Engineering have in Common to Promote Well-Being and Excellence?

Said Easa et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:22 PDT

Urgency is a non-monotonic function of pulse rate

Frank A. Russo et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:21 PDT

Magnitude estimation was used to assess the experience of ur- gency in pulse-train stimuli (pulsed white noise) ranging from 3.13 to 200 Hz. At low pulse rates, pulses were easily resolved. At high pulse rates, pulses fused together leading to a tonal sensation with a clear pitch level. Urgency ratings followed a nonmonotonic (polynomial) function with local maxima at 17.68 and 200 Hz. The same stimuli were also used in response time and pitch scaling experiments. Response times were negatively corre- lated with urgency ratings. Pitch scaling results indicated that urgency of pulse trains is mediated by the perceptual constructs of speed and pitch.

Perceptual Considerations in Designing and Fitting Hearing Aids for Music

Frank A. Russo — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:20 PDT

A selective overview of perceptual dimensions contributing to music experience that have implications for the fitting of hearing aids, as well as possible treatment and research of hearing loss.

A New Look at Retest Learning in Older Adults: Learning in the Absence of Item-Specific Effects

Frank A. Russo et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:19 PDT

We investigated retest learning (i.e., performance improvement through retest practice) in the absence of item- specific effects (i.e., learning through memorizing or becoming familiar with specific items) with older adults. Thirty-one older adults (ages 60–82 years, M = 71.10, SD = 6.27) participated in an eight-session self-guided retest program. To eliminate item-specific effects, parallel versions of representative psychometric measures for Induc- tive Reasoning, Perceptual Speed, and Visual Attention were developed and administered across retest sessions. The results showed substantial non-item-specific retest learning, even controlling for anxiety, suggesting that re- test learning in older adults can occur at a more conceptual level.

Facial Expressions and Emotional Singing: A Study of Perception and Production with Motion Capture and Electromyography

Frank A. Russo et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:19 PDT

Facial expressions are used in music performance to communicate structural and emotional intentions. Exposure to emotional facial expressions also may lead to subtle facial movements that mirror those expres- sions. Seven participants were recorded with motion capture as they watched and imitated phrases of emo- tional singing. Four different participants were recorded using facial electromyography (EMG) while performing the same task. Participants saw and heard recordings of musical phrases sung with happy, sad, and neutral emotional connotations. They then imi- tated the target stimulus, paying close attention to the emotion expressed. Facial expressions were monitored during four epochs: (a) during the target; (b) prior to their imitation; (c) during their imitation; and (d) after their imitation. Expressive activity was observed in all epochs, implicating a role of facial expressions in the perception, planning, production, and post-production of emotional singing.

Tonality of Low-Frequency Synthesized Piano Tones

Frank A. Russo et al. — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:06:18 PDT

The influences of inharmonicity and bandwidth on sensitivity to tonality in the low- frequency range (A0 to G#1 ) were tested in a listening experiment. Participants were presented a key-defining context (do-mi-do-so) and were asked to rate the goodness of fit of probe tones to the context. Probe tones were the 12 tones of the chromatic scale beginning on do. The set of 12 ratings, called the probe-tone profile, was compared to an established standardized pro- file for the Western tonal hierarchy. Prior research employing this method with real (sampled) piano tones has suggested that sensitivity to tonality is influenced by inharmonicity, partic- ularly in the lowest octaves of the piano where inharmonicity levels are substantially above the detection threshold. In the present experiment, sensitivity to tonality was tested using syn- thesized piano-like tones that were either harmonic or inharmonic. Participants were tested in either a broadband (no filtering) or low-pass (low-pass filtered at 1 KHz) condition. Sensitiv- ity to tonality was highest in the broadband harmonic condition followed by the broadband inharmonic condition. No sensitivity to tonality was found for the low-pass conditions; rather, for both harmonic and inharmonic tones, participants rated probe tones as increasingly good fit as pitch distance from do decreased.

Facing the music

William F. Thompson et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:54 PST

From the phonograph of the 19th century to the iPod today, music technologies have typically isolated the auditory dimension of music, filtering out nonacoustic information and transmitting what most people assume is the essence of music. Yet many esteemed performers over the past century, such as Judy Garland and B.B. King, are renowned for their dramatic use of facial expressions (Thompson, Graham, & Russo, 2005). Are such expressions merely show business, or are they integral to experiencing music? In the investigation reported here, we considered whether the facial expressions and head movements of singers communicate melodic information that can be ‘‘read’’ by viewers. Three trained vocalists were recorded singing ascending melodic intervals. Subjects saw the visual recordings (without sound) and rated the size of the intervals they imagined the performers were singing.

Sensitivity to tonality across the piano range

Frank A. Russo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:53 PST

Striking changes in sensitivity to tonality across the pitch range are reported. Participants were presented a key-defining context (do-mi-do-sol) followed by one of the 12 chromatic tones of the octave, and rated the goodness of fit of the probe tone to the context. The set of ratings, called the probe-tone profile, was compared to an established standardised profile for the Western tonal hierarchy. The presentation of context and probe tones at low and high pitch registers resulted in significantly reduced sensitivity to tonality. Sensitivity was especially poor for presentations in the lowest octaves where inharmonicity levels were substantially above the threshold for detection. We propose that sensitivity to tonality may be influenced by pitch salience (or a co-varying factor such as exposure to pitch distributional information) as well as suprathreshold inharmonicity.

The subjective size of melodic intervals over a two-octave range

Frank A. Russo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:53 PST

Musically trained and untrained participants provided magnitude estimates of the size of melodic intervals. Each interval was formed by a sequence of two pitches that differed by between 50 cents (one half of a semitone) and 2,400 cents (two octaves) and was presented in a high or a low pitch register and in an ascending or a descending direction. Estimates were larger for intervals in the high pitch register than for those in the low pitch register and for descending intervals than for ascending intervals. Ascending intervals were perceived as larger than descending intervals when presented in a high pitch register, but descending intervals were perceived as larger than ascending intervals when presented in a low pitch register. For intervals up to an octave in size, differentiation of intervals was greater for trained listeners than for untrained listeners. We discuss the implications for psychophysical pitch scales and models of music perception.

Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience

William F. Thompson et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:52 PST

Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspectives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects of performance. Third, we report empirical evidence that visual aspects of performance reliably influence perceptions of musical structure (pitch related features) and a¤ective interpretations of music. Finally, we trace new and old media trajectories of aural and visual dimensions of music, and highlight how our conceptions, perceptions and appreciation of music are intertwined with technological innovation and media deployment strategies.

An interval-size illusion: The influence of timbre on the perceived size of melodic intervals

Frank A. Russo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:51 PST

In four experiments, we investigated the influence of timbre on perceived interval size. In Experiment 1, musically untrained participants heard two successive tones and rated the pitch distance between them. Tones were separated by six or seven semitones and varied in timbre. Pitch changes were accompanied by a congruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a dull to a bright timbre), an incongruent timbre change (e.g., ascending interval involving a shift from a bright to a dull timbre), or no timbre change. Ratings of interval size were strongly influenced by timbre. The six-semitone interval with a congruent timbre change was perceived to be larger than the seven-semitone interval with an incongruent timbre change (interval illusion). Experiment 2 revealed similar effects for musically trained participants. In Experiment 3, participants compared the size of two intervals presented one after the other. Effects of timbre were again observed, including evidence of an interval illusion. Experiment 4 confirmed that timbre manipulations did not distort the perceived pitch of tones. Changes in timbre can expand or contract the perceived size of intervals without distorting individual pitches. We discuss processes underlying interval size perception and their relation to pitch perception mechanisms.

Music and hearing aids

Marshall Chasin et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:50 PST

Historically, the primary concern for hearing aid design and fitting is optimization for speech inputs. However, increasingly other types of inputs are being investigated and this is certainly the case for music. Whether the hearing aid wearer is a musician or merely someone who likes to listen to music, the electronic and electro-acoustic parameters described can be optimized for music as well as for speech. That is, a hearing aid optimally set for music can be optimally set for speech, even though the converse is not necessarily true. Similarities and differences between speech and music as inputs to a hearing aid are described. Many of these lead to the specification of a set of optimal electro-acoustic characteristics. Parameters such as the peak input-limiting level, compression issues—both compression ratio and kneepoints—and number of channels all can deleteriously affect music perception through hearing aids. In other cases, it is not clear how to set other parameters such as noise reduction and feedback control mechanisms. Regardless of the existence of a “music program,” unless the various electro-acoustic parameters are available in a hearing aid, music fidelity will almost always be less than optimal. There are many unanswered questions and hypotheses in this area. Future research by engineers, researchers, clinicians, and musicians will aid in the clarification of these questions and their ultimate solutions.

Perceptual significance of inharmonicity and spectral envelope in the piano bass range

Alexandre Galembo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:49 PST

Professionals consider the differences in the timbre of bass tones between large grand pianos and small uprights as significant. By tradition this difference has been attributed mainly to lower inharmonicity in grand pianos, due to longer bass strings. In this study, the importance of the spectral envelope, representing the dynamic balance between high-frequency and low-frequency energy in the spectrum, is contrasted against the importance of the level of inharmonicity. Results from two listening tests indicate that the inharmonicity is less important than the spectrum bandwidth in determining the timbre of piano bass tones.

The attribution of meaning and emotion to song lyrics

Frank A. Russo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:47 PST

We examined the effect of music on the interpretation of song lyrics. Listeners were presented with sung lyrics, spoken lyrics, or written poetry, and judged the text for emotional valence and meaningfulness. Experiment 1 revealed that, for some songs, music influenced whether lyrics were interpreted as conveying a positive or negative message. Experiment 2 showed that for familiar music, sung lyrics were judged as more meaningful than the same lyrics presented as spoken text, suggesting that personal associations or other significance implied by familiar music are attributed to the accompanying lyrics. In Experiment 3, repeated exposure to unfamiliar songs led to an increase in the perceived meaningfulness of the lyrics. We raise the possibility that music and lyrics become represented in an increasingly integrated manner with increased exposure and familiarity, allowing greater cross-talk between the two media.

Learning the Special Note: Evidence for a critical period for absolute pitch acquisition

Frank A. Russo et al. — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:19:46 PST

Children (3–6 years old) and adults were trained for 6 weeks to identify a single tone, C5. Test sessions, held at the end of each week, had participants identify C5 within a set of seven alternative tones. By the third week of training, identification accuracy of children 5–6 years old surpassed the accuracies of children 3–4 years old and adults. Combined with an analysis of perceptual strategies, the data provide strong support for a critical period for absolute pitch acquisition.