Effect of audio and visual distance on simultaneity perception

M Di Luca, D R Jason

School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Contact: m.diluca@bham.ac.uk

Several studies suggest that the brain can use distance cues to maintain perceptual synchrony. Here we want to separate the effect of audio and visual distance and analyze the effect of blocked presentation. Participants performed temporal order judgments of stimuli presented with several asynchronies from speakers and LEDs at 1m and 16m in a lit corridor. Distances of beeps and flashes were combined to obtain four conditions with collocated and dislocated audiovisual events. In separate sessions the four conditions were presented either interleaved or blocked. Beep distance causes transmission delay that requires stimuli to be presented earlier to appear simultaneous with flashes. Interestingly, we find that simultaneity is affected primarily when conditions are presented blocked. Flash distance causes decreased retinal size and lower stimulus energy increasing perceptual delay and requiring stimuli to be presented earlier to appear simultaneous with beeps. Simultaneity is more affected when conditions are interleaved likely because of attention and peripheral viewing. Distance of beeps and flashes influence perceived simultaneity, suggesting incomplete use of distance cues. The effects for the two modalities differ in interleaved and blocked presentation suggesting a differential effect of adaptation for the two modalities.

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