J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn.
(E) 17, 3 (1996)
The effect of sound pressure level
Kazuo Ueda and Mitsuru Ohtsuki
Faculty of Letters, Kyoto Prefectural University,
Hangi-cho, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606 Japan
(Received 6 October 1995)
Keywords:
1. Introduction
Sasaki et al. (1992) reported that their subjects
overestimated filled duration of pure tones under cer-
tain conditions. Filled duration means length of a
tone. Their aim was to clarify the conditions that
induce the overestimation. Using a method of adjust-
ment, they assessed perceptual duration of standard
tones that immediately followed their preceding tones
(Fig. 1). The duration of the preceding tones and the
standard tones was systematically varied from 80 to 280
ms. All tones were 1 kHz in frequency. The sound
pressure level of the standard and the adjustable tones
was 70 dB, whereas that of the preceding tones was 6 dB
higher. This level difference was to make the distinc-
tion between the preceding and the standard tones.
Their results showed that the duration of the standards
was overestimated by up to about 30 ms, when the
standard and the preceding tones were over 160 ms.
They hypothesized that the illusion was caused by
masking. The onsets of the standards would be
masked somewhat by the preceding tones of which the
sound pressure was 6 dB higher than the standards. In
other words, the masking would smear the onsets. The
smeared, obscure onsets would cause inaccurate percep-
tion, that is, the duration extension illusion.
If their hypothesis holds, the illusion will disappear
when sound pressure of preceding tones is lower than
standard tones. The present investigation has two
specific aims; (1) to check the reproducibility of the
results shown by Sasaki et al., (2) to check whether the
illusion is caused by weaker and obscure onsets of the
standards.
2. Psychoacoustical experiment
2.1 Experiment conditions
A method of constant stimuli was employed. There
was a total of 5 conditions (Table 1). Condition 1 was
regarded as a control. Condition 2A and 3A were to
check reproducibility of the results shown by Sasaki et
al. In condition 2B and 3B, the sound pressure of the
preceding tones was lower by 6 dB than the standards
and the comparisons. Therefore the onsets of the
standards would be masked less and be heard clearer in
these two conditions. The comparison stimulus ranges
were determined by reference to the results of Sasaki et
al. (1992).
ACOUSTICAL LETTER
difference on filled duration extension
Filled duration, Extension illusion, Masking, Assimilation
PACS number: 43. 66. Mk
The interval between a standard and a comparison
was 2 s. All the stimuli were pure tones of 1 kHz in
frequency. The sound pressure level of the standards
and the comparisons was 70 dB SPL throughout the
conditions. Onsets and offsets were shaped by a 10 ms
exponential. All the stimuli were digitally generated
using 16-bit amplitude quantization and a 44.1-kHz
sampling rate with a workstation (Silicon Graphics,
Indy, R4600PC CPU). They were digitally transferred
to a DAT (Sony, DTC-59ES) and recorded. A head-
phone (STAX, SR A Professional with an adaptor,
STAX, SRM-1/MK2 pp) was used to present the
stimuli to the subjects. Since this electrostatic head-
phone has an excellent impulse response (Ueda and
Hirahara, 1990), distortion in the output should be
negligible. The sound pressure level of the stimuli was
calibrated in an unechoic chamber by using an IEC
coupler (Briiel & Kjaer, type 4153) and a precision
sound level meter (Bruel & Kjaer, type 2231).
2.2 Procedure
The stimuli were presented to the left ears of 8 sub-
jects, in a quiet room. The subjects were instructed to
compare the length of a standard and that of a compari-
son, to judge whether the comparison was longer or
shorter than the standard, and to write down their
responses during 3 s inter-trial intervals.
The experiment was run in order of condition 1, 2A,
3A, 2B, and 3B. The subjects made 51 judgments for
each stimulus condition up to condition 3A, whereas
they made 50 judgments thereafter.
2.3 Results
The points of subjective equality (PSEs) were esti-
mated for the perceived length of the standards with
linear interpolation. Mean PSE in condition 1 was
239.8 ms. The amount of perceptual extension, that is,
the degree of the illusion, was calculated for each
subject as the difference between PSEs obtained in
condition 1 and those in condition 2 and 3. Figure
2 shows the mean amount of the illusion. Two tailed
sign rank tests (significance level of 5%) were applied to
the results. They showed that the sizes of illusion
observed in condition 2 (the 80 ms standard) were not
significant for both A and B (T =14, 17, respectively).
On the other hand, in condition 3 (the 280 ms stan-
dard), the sizes of illusion were significant for both A
and B ( T=1, 1, respectively). No significant
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 J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn. (E) 17, 3 (1996)

informal experiment (Sasaki, 1994) showed that it is not

the case for this particular stimulus condition; almost
the same results were obtained with a method of adjust-
ment.
Our results offer a clear evidence to show that the
results shown by Sasaki et al. (1992) are highly repro-
ducible, including the exact amount of illusion. We
did not find significant illusion in the condition 2A (the
preceding tone: 80ms, 76 dB SPL). Conversely, we
observed significant extension (about 30ms) in the
Fig. 1 Schematic representation of the stimuli condition 3A (the preceding tone : 280 ms, 76dB SPL).
used in Sasaki et al. (1992). However, decreasing the sound pressure level of the
preceding tone had virtually no effect. The differences
Table 1 Experiment conditions. of the amount of illusion both between condition 2A
and 2B, and between 3A and 3B were not statistically
significant. Thus the prediction based on the masking
hypothesis that was proposed by Sasaki et al. (1992),
was not supported. For the stimulus investigated, the
dominant factor affecting the results was the duration of
the preceding tones.
Why, then, was the extension illusion observed for
the longer (280ms) preceding tones? Assimilation
effects may account for it ; a little bit longer preceding
tone compared to a standard may cause the extension.
The sound pressure of the standard and the comparisons Nakajima et al. (1992) proposed that the assimilation
was 70 dB SPL throughout the conditions. A method of effect might explain what they called "time-shrinking
constant stimuli was employed. The duration of the effect" of empty duration (empty duration means silent
comparisons was spaced every 30ms. duration marked by two brief tones). They found that
their subjects perceived empty standard duration short-
er if the duration followed preceding duration that was
little shorter than the standards.
However, there are some difficulties to apply the
assimilation hypothesis for empty duration to the pres-
ent results. For one thing, Nakajima et al. (1992) did
find a perceptual extension effect for empty duration in
some cases, but the effect was very small (less than 10
ms) compared to the shrinking effect (60 ms at maxi-
mum). For the other, Sasaki et al. (1992) found no
shrinking effect at all for filled duration. Moreover,
they showed that the filled duration extension could
occur even if the preceding duration was somewhat (up
to 120 ms) shorter than the standard duration.
Thus the present investigation suggests that we have
Fig. 2 Amount of perceptual extension derived to seek another explanation for the extension illusion
from 8 subjects' data: mean differences of the than masking or assimilation.
PSEs between condition 1 and condition 2 (80
ms preceding tones) and 3 (280ms preceding Acknowledgments
tones). Circles and squares refer to condition Thanks are due to Professor Takayuki Sasaki and
A and B, respectively. Professor Yoshitaka Nakajima for valuable discus-
sions.
difference was observed both between 2A and 2B, and
between 3A and 3B (T=14, 8, respectively). References
Kakizaki, S. (1974). Perceptual Judgment (Baihukan,
3. Discussion Tokyo) (in Japanese).
The obtained PSEs might be subject to a central Nakajima, Y., ten Hoopen, G., Hilkhuysen, G., and Sasaki,
tendency of the comparison stimulus range (Kakizaki, T. (1992). "Time-shrinking; a discontinuity in the per-
1974). In other words, the 30ms extension illusion in ception of auditory temporal patterns," Percept. Psycho-
condition 3 might be induced by the comparison stimu- phys. 51, 504-507.
lus range that was shifted for 30ms. However, an Sasaki, T. (1994). Personal communication.

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