EFFECTS OF SIMULTANEOUS AUDITORY STIMULATION ON DETECTION OF TACTILE STIMULI

Investigated the masking effects of auditory stimulation on the detection of tactile stimuli applied to the fingertip within the context of signal detection theory, using 3 male undergraduates. Using a 2-category, forced choice method, it was found that d' for the detection of brief tactile stimuli of 4 intensities decreased as the intensity of a simultaneous auditory click increased. In a 2nd experiment, the same S was required to report the presence or absence of the tactile stimulus in a series of trials wherein the probability of stimulus occurrence was .50. As in the 1st experiment, d' for tactile stimuli was found to decrease as a function of the intensity of the auditory click; in addition, it was found that S's criterion increased as a function of the auditory masker intensity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.