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This research investigates how certain complex tones affect judgments of relative pitch and the implications for auditory perception theories.

Circularity in Judgments of Relative Pitch

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Experimental findings reveal how certain tones distort perceived pitch in auditory judgments, indicating a complex auditory processing mechanism.

This research investigates how certain complex tones affect judgments of relative pitch and the implications for auditory perception theories.
Computer-generated complex tones were used to test pitch judgments.
Judgments were made regarding the relative pitch of tones arranged in a circular configuration.
Participants assessed the perceived height of tones based on their spatial arrangement.
Judgments exhibited a breakdown of transitivity, where A > B and B > C does not imply A > C.
Tones positioned clockwise were perceived as higher and counterclockwise as lower, despite actual frequency differences.
Ambiguities arose with diametrically opposed tones, challenging traditional linear pitch representation.

Roger N. Shepard (1964) studied this question.

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Experimental findings reveal how certain tones distort perceived pitch in auditory judgments, indicating a complex auditory processing mechanism.