Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Edward Grant

Advisor Role

Thesis Supervisor

Abstract

A series of experiments was carried out to investigate: (1) the effect of a background sound applied at either the input and/or the output stages on judgements of visual intervals made using the methods of verbal estimation, operative estimation, and reproduction; (2) the effect of lack of knowledge of the method of response during teh input stage of temporal information on the judgement made; (3) the effect of auditory visual cross-modal stimuli on reproductions of intervals; (4) the effect of lack of knowledge of the mode of response during the input of cross-modal temporal stimuli.

Analysis of the data revealed: (1) the background sound, when applied in the standard stage of the method of verbal estimation, increased the estimate of the interval; when applied to the judgement stage of the method of operative estimation decreased the production of the interval; when applied to the standard stage of the method of reproduction increased the judgement of the interval; and when applied to the judgement stage of the method of reproduction decreased the reproduction of the interval; (2) that lack of knowledge of the method of response during the standard presentation may decrease the accuracy of the judgement; (3) that the auditory visual cross-modal difference in time estimation was consistent in both the input and output stages of the method of reproduction; (4) that lack of knowledge of teh mode of response during the standard stage of cross-modal temporal processing had no effect on the resulting judgements.

The results were discussed in terms of further defining the concept of an ‘internal clock’ hypothesized by Cohen (1965).

Convocation Year

1971

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