ERIC Number: EJ945329
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
How Modality Specific Is the Iambic-Trochaic Law? Evidence from Vision
Pena, Marcela; Bion, Ricardo A. H.; Nespor, Marina
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v37 n5 p1199-1208 Sep 2011
The iambic-trochaic law has been proposed to account for the grouping of auditory stimuli: Sequences of sounds that differ only in duration are grouped as iambs (i.e., the most prominent element marks the end of a sequence of sounds), and sequences that differ only in pitch or intensity are grouped as trochees (i.e., the most prominent element marks the beginning of a sequence). In 3 experiments, comprising a familiarization and a test phase, we investigated whether a similar grouping principle is also present in the visual modality. During familiarization, sequences of visual stimuli were repeatedly presented to participants, who were asked to memorize their order of presentation. In the test phase, participants were better at remembering fragments of the familiarization sequences that were consistent with the iambic-trochaic law. Thus, they were better at remembering fragments that had the element with longer duration in final position (iambs) and fragments that had the element with either higher temporal frequency or higher intensity in initial position (trochees), as compared with fragments that were inconsistent with the iambic-trochaic law or that never occurred during familiarization. (Contains 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Visual Stimuli, Auditory Stimuli, Memory, Experiments, Familiarity, Acoustics, Language Acquisition, Test Items, Italian
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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