Multimodal enhancement of audiovisual time-to-arrival judgments
Single Paper Presentation

Michael S Gordon
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga

     Abstract ID Number: 45
     Full text: Not available
     Last modified: February 3, 2003

Abstract
Multimodal integration was examined using time-to-arrival (TTA) judgments of an approaching vehicle. Observers were asked to determine the instant the vehicle was to reach their position by watching and listening to field recordings of this event. Presentations were either unimodal or audiovisual. In addition, within each modality a masking noise was added to reduce the accuracy and reliability of performance. Audiovisual performance tended to be analogous to the more reliable of the two modalities in isolation. However, in severe masking conditions, performance with audiovisual stimuli was improved relative to performance with the component unimodal presentations. This research suggests some evidence of audiovisual enhancement, and the flexible usage of multimodal information. The results allow some speculation about constraints for theories of multimodal integration, including the ‘optimal’ and ‘transparent’ use of perceptual information.