Is auditory scene analysis affected by a central processing bottleneck?
Wed—HZ_7—Talks8—7603
Presented by: Florian Kattner
It is well known that visual attention is limited in capacity, indicated by increasing visual search time with larger set sizes. However, previous studies have shown that visual search can be executed in parallel to central response selection, indicating that it is not subject to a central processing bottleneck. There is also evidence of limited capacity in auditory attention with longer response times and higher error rates for target sounds in more complex auditory scenes. The present study uses a dual-task paradigm to investigate whether attentional search of an auditory scene depends on central capacity limitations required for response selection. Therefore, participants were presented with a varying number of brief environmental sounds (1-6 animal sounds) including one of two possible target sounds (e.g., moo or neigh) and asked to report the target animal (task 2). The auditory scene was presented at varying stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA; 50-800 ms) after a visual target stimulus (task 1). Reliable set size effects were observed in response times and error rates of the auditory search task. Moreover, auditory search time was longer at short SOAs, indicating a central processing bottleneck due to the response selection for task 1. However, the auditory set size effect was not reduced at short SOAs, indicating that auditory scene analysis may depend on the capacity limitations of central attention – possibly depending on the complexity of the response selection process. Taken together, the results suggest that auditory attention may be more dependent on central processing limitations than visual attention.
Keywords: Auditory Attention, Auditory Search, Dual-Task, Central Bottleneck, Auditory Scene Analysis