Abstract
Melodic and rhythmic context were systematically varied in a pattern recognition task involving pairs (standard-comparison) of nine-tone auditory sequences. The experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that rhythmic context can direct attention toward or away from tones which instantiate higher order melodic rules. Three levels of melodic structure (one, two, no higher order rules) were crossed with four levels of rhythm [isochronous, dactyl (A U U), anapest (U U A), irregular]. Rhythms were designed to shift accent locations on three centrally embedded tones. Listeners were more accurate in detecting violations of higher order melodic rules when the rhythmic context induced accents on tones which instantiated these rules. Effects are discussed in terms of attentional rhythmicity.
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Burbridge, S., & Jones, M. R.The function of rule-governed serial contexts in regognition of embedded tones. Manuscript submitted for publication, 1982.
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The authors are indebted to Robin Wetzel, Shirley Neal, and Robert Ceisler for assistance in data collection. The research was sponsored by Grant BNS-78-06997 awarded to the senior author by the National Science Foundation.
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Jones, M.R., Boltz, M. & Kidd, G. Controlled attending as a function of melodic and temporal context. Perception & Psychophysics 32, 211–218 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206225
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206225