Investigation on the basis of auditory communication focusing on the perceptual difference between filled and empty time intervals

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16010
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Taisho University (2018); Tokyo Denki University (2016-2017); Aoyama Gakuin University (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Hasuo Emi 大正大学, 心理社会学部, 研究員 (60725969)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 時間知覚 / 聴覚 / 充実時間 / 空虚時間

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this project was to clarify the underlying mechanism for rhythm perception, which is based on the perception of short time intervals below few hundred milliseconds. Two types of time intervals were employed in the study: Filled intervals marked by the onset and the offset of a continuous sound, and empty intervals marked by the onsets of two brief sounds. Subjective durations of filled and empty intervals were measured for time intervals in range of 30 to 600 ms. Results showed that, while the subjective duration of filled intervals increased linearly as the physical duration increased throughout the whole duration range (i.e. 30-600 ms), the relationship between subjective and physical durations for empty intervals changed at around 100 ms; the slope was steeper for shorter durations and became gentler for longer ones. The results suggest that the mechanism for processing empty intervals changes for durations below and above the boundary at around 100 ms.

Free Research Field

認知科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究課題では、音楽や言語などを用いた人間の聴覚コミュニケーションを支える基礎となる時間知覚の仕組みを明らかにするための重要なデータを得ることが出来た。厳密に統制した音刺激と心理物理学的な手法を用いて集めたデータの信頼性は高く、数十ミリ秒刻みの時間知覚の仕組みを浮かび上がらせることが出来た。この成果は、人間の日常生活を支える知覚メカニズムの解明に貢献すると考えられる。