Judgments of sound volume: Effects of signal duration, level, and interaural characteristics on the perceived extensity of broadband noise

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Abstract
While auditory stimuli are often described in terms of their apparent extensity, such descriptions have usually not been collected systematically. The few deliberate attempts to evaluate image size have rarely gone beyond the classic parameters of stimulus frequency and intensity. A direct magnitude estimation procedure was employed. Subjects (17 humans) numerically estimated the apparent size of images produced by broadband noise stimuli. Under earphone listening conditions, signals were presented either dichotically (uncorrelated noise), diotically (correlated noise) or monaurally (noise led to a single earphone). The signals in each of these modes varied in duration (100, 300, 1000 and 3000 ms) and intensity level (60, 75 and 90 dB a weighted). Size estimates were plotted as power functions and analyzed with a repeated measures design analysis of variance. The main effects of duration and intensity were both highly significant (P < 0.001). A highly significant effect for mode of presentation was found (P < 0.001). Across conditions, dichotic stimulation produced the largest images and monaural stimulation the smallest (about half the size of the diotic images). This last result is the 1st quantification of previous anecdotal observations. General implications of these results were discussed.

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