On the role of imputed velocity in the auditory kappa effect

by Henry, Molly J.

J. Devin McAuley, Advisor The auditory kappa effect is a is a systematic effect of manipulations to pitch on judgments about auditory sequence timing. Two experiments were conducted to examine the role of imputed pitch velocity in the auditory kappa effect. In both experiments, participants judged the timing of a ‘target’ tone embedded in a three tone sequence (a kappa cell), while ignoring manipulations of the target’s pitch. Experiment 1 examined the effects of the presence/absence of a context sequence that reinforced the pitch velocity imputed to the kappa cell on the magnitude of the auditory kappa effect. Presence of a context sequence tended to weaken the kappa effect. Experiment 2 varied the pitch velocity of sequences between trials. Generalizing findings from vision, the magnitude of the auditory kappa effect increased as pitch velocity increased. Findings are discussed with respect to the perceptual interdependence of space and time. iii