Cross-modal integration of simple auditory and visual events
Author
Summary, in English
Responses are typically faster and more accurate when both auditory and visual modalities are stimulated than when only one is. This bimodal advantage is generally attributed to a speeding of responding on bimodal trials, relative to unimodal trials. It remains possible that this effect might be due to a performance decrement on unimodal ones. To investigate this, two levels of auditory and visual signal intensities were combined in a double-factorial paradigm. Responses to the onset of the imperative signal were measured under go/no-go conditions. Mean reaction times to the four types of bimodal stimuli exhibited a superadditive interaction. This is evidence for the parallel self-terminating processing of the two signal components. Violations of the race model inequality also occurred, and measures of processing capacity showed that efficiency was greater on the bimodal than on the unimodal trials. These data are discussed in terms of a possible underlying neural substrate.
Publishing year
2004
Language
English
Pages
131-140
Publication/Series
Perception & Psychophysics
Volume
66
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Psychonomic Society Inc.
Topic
- Psychology
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0031-5117