Do Manipulations in Auditory Information Affect Time and Space Representations?

Publication: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution - Published abstract for conference with selection processResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The aim of this two-experiment study is to understand whether temporal and spatial errors in a pointing
task differ when auditory information about a ball flight is manipulated. The current literature lacks evidence concerning the mechanism how auditory information affects temporal and spatial representations
that may be reflected in the pointing errors. Based on A Theory Of Magnitude tempo-spatial representations are equally influence each other. In contrast, the Asymmetry Theory claims for an unequal relationship such that spatial representations influence temporal representation more than vice-versa. The
present study aimed at reiterating these theoretical assumptions by assessing tempo-spatial representations via manipulated auditory stimuli. Given that empirical evidence suggested higher sensitivity for
temporal than spatial representations via auditory stimuli (Recanzone, 2009), we have designed two
experiments: Experiment 1 the sound of a curved flying ball was presented horizontally, while at Experiment 2 the flying ball sound was presented vertically. Five different pitches (100, 200, 400, 800 and
1200Hz) were presented through five loudspeakers positioned in a pentagon manner around a
touchscreen. Sound stimuli were created in MATLAB using the vector-based-amplitude-panning method
(Pulkki, 1997). The task consisted in to indicate where (space) and when (time) exactly the sound would
cross the ground line, by touching precisely with the index finger producing spatial and temporal errors
in the pointing behaviour. The participants were graduate students with any history of hearing and/or
brain injury; their hearing capacities were tested via Cotral hearing test (Labor Cotral, Germany). Experiment 1: Results indicate that manipulating pitch did not affect temporal errors but spatial errors when
stimuli are presented from left-right or right-left directions. The findings may have been influenced by
the stimuli direction. The literature on auditory stimuli processing suggests that auditory stimuli is differently sensitive for stimuli direction and thus temporal errors may be affected by pitch if stimuli are vertically presented as tested in Experiment 2. Experiment 2: Results indicate that auditory manipulations
affect temporal errors but not spatial errors, as hypothesized. Linear Mixed Modeling was used to assess
the random effect of auditory stimuli on the fixed effect of temporal and spatial errors. The participant's
accuracy was mathematically calculated by mean (constant error) and standard deviation (variable error). The results are supported by evidence that explored sensitivity preference depending on the stimuli'
direction. When pointing errors are indicative of their underlying mental representations we could show
that pitch manipulations of the sounds affect independently temporal and spatial precision in the movement. Further studies may consider to test other modality-specific effects on tempo-spatial representations via movement behaviour.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationZukunft der Sportpsychologie : zwischen Verstehen und Evidenz; Book of Abstracts ; virtuelle Online-Tagung ; 52. Jahrestagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sportpsychologie 21. bis 23. Mai 2020, Salzburg
EditorsGünther Amesberger, Sabine Würth, Thomas Finkenzeller
Number of pages1
Place of PublicationSalzburg
PublisherUniversität Salzburg
Publication date2020
Pages151
Publication statusPublished - 2020
EventJahrestagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sportpsychologie: Zukunft der Sportpsychologie - Salzburg, Austria
Duration: 21.05.202023.05.2020
Conference number: 52

Citation