The influence of timbre and loudness on the localization of sounds / by Charles S. Myers.

  • Myers, Charles S. (Charles Samuel), 1873-1946.
Date:
[1914?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The influence of timbre and loudness on the localization of sounds / by Charles S. Myers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of localisation of the variator sounds, I replaced the funnel-shaped mouth first by an electric bell, later by a telephone buzzer, in the expectation of obtaining more accurate and certain localisation when the sound was generated on the perimeter instead of being conducted to it from the room outside. The same diverse and erratic localisations were maintained. Some subjects never localised the sound behind 90° v. if it was placed at 180°; others never localised in front of 90° v. a sound given at 0°. Here, for example, are the records of two subjects, J. and Ss., for sounds of the buzzer (affixed to the perimeter) at 0°, 90° v. and 180°:— 0° . 0° 0° j. 0° 0° 0° 0° 180° Ss. 180° 180 90 v. 90 120 90 90 90 90 135 135 135 180 . 90 90 90 90 90 90 130 200 200 Before I had obtained evidence of these striking individual differences in localisation, I wondered whether inequalities in the reflexion of the sound from the four walls of the room could be responsible for the gross errors met with. Accordingly, on several occasions, I reversed the position of the subject, testing him now with his face, now with his back to a given wall. With these changes one subject was tested with the variator sounds, two subjects with the buzzer sound conducted from the room outside, and one subject with the bell ringing on the perimeter. But in no case was any change in localisation relatively to the subject observable. If he had localised all sounds to his rear in one position, he continued to localise all sounds to his rear in the reversed position, and so on. This result is striking evidence of the influence of natural tendencies and prejudices on the part of the subject in his localisation of sounds placed in the median sagittal plane. The influence of expectation was also clearly demonstrable by directing the subject’s attention forwards or backwards at the moment of the production of the sound, whereupon the apparent position of the sound was generally changed in the sense of such direction of the attention.* (b) For Sounds in the Horizontal Plane.—But if the ability to localise fore and aft sounds in the median vertical sagittal plane is so defective, we should not expect to be better able to localise fore and aft sounds placed along the horizontal plane; for both kinds of localisation are instances of what I * The following conversation between subject (S.) and experimenter (E.) will serve to illustrate this feature :—S. “ I expected a sound behind and I got it [sound given at 0°] there.” E. “ Now try to imagine it in front ” [sound at 0° repeated]. S. “ Yes, I certainly get it there, too.” E. “Now try to imagine this sound [at 180°] behind.” S. “Yes, certainly it is there, but when I change my idea to its being in front, I get it there too.”