Perceived loudness and visually-determined auditory distance.

D H Mershon; D H Desaulniers; S A Kiefer; T L Amerson; J T Mills

doi:10.1068/p100531

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Perceived loudness and visually-determined auditory distance.

D H Mershon·D H Desaulniers·S A Kiefer·T L Amerson·J T Mills

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Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to determine whether variations in the perceived distance to a test sound could influence its loudness in the absence of physical changes in sound-level. The phenomenon of visual capture provided the means for manipulating apparent distance. A 'dummy' loudspeaker was used to vary the apparent source location of a short noise stimulus while the true source of this sound remained fixed (and hidden) with respect to the observer. Sound-levels from 40 to 75 dB(A) were presented to independent groups of observers in either anechoic or semi-reverberant acoustical environments. In general, reported loudness increased with perceived distance. This finding has implications for conceptualizing the phenomenon of loudness constancy.

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Acoustics Distance Perception Humans Judgment Loudness Perception Sound Journal Article

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D H Mershon, D H Desaulniers, S A Kiefer, T L Amerson, J T Mills. 1981. Perceived loudness and visually-determined auditory distance.. https://doi.org/10.1068/p100531

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