Perceptual Interactions Between Vibrotactile and Auditory Stimuli: Effects of Frequency
E. Courtenay Wilson, Charlotte M. Reed, Louis D. Braida
Poster
Last modified: 2008-05-09
Abstract
Perceptual interactions between vibrotactile and auditory tones were studied as a function of the relative frequency between the two senses. Vibrotactile stimuli were delivered through a single-channel vibrator to the left middle fingertip, auditory stimuli were presented binaurally through headphones in broadband noise at a level of 50 dB SPL. Performance was measured in a fixed-level 2I, 2AFC procedure using 0 dB SL signals under the following three conditions: Vibrotactile (V) alone, Auditory (A) alone, and Vibrotactile plus Auditory (V+A). The effect of frequency was examined by (1) setting the auditory frequency to 250 Hz and testing vibrotactile frequencies from 50 to 400 Hz; (2) setting the vibrotactile frequency to 250 Hz and testing auditory tone frequencies from 125 to 2000 Hz. Results show: (1) when the frequency in both modalities is equal to 250 Hz, performance through V+A is significantly higher than through either modality alone; (2) V+A performance decreases as the frequency difference between A and V increases; and (3) the highest scores in the V+A conditions are consistent with integration of the two sensory stimuli into a single percept. We report results from a new experiment with equal auditory and vibrotactile frequencies from 40 to 500 Hz.