Error patterns in delayed pitch comparison as a function of relational context.
Diana Deutsch, Philip L. Roll · Journal of Experimental Psychology · 1974
The 5s made delayed pitch comparisons when the tones to be compared were accompanied by tones of lower pitch. The pitches of these accompanying tones were so chosen that in some conditions the intervals formed by the stan-dard and comparison combinations were identical, and in others they differed. This was true both when the standard and comparison tone pitches differed and also when these were identical. Although 5s were instructed to attend only to the standard and comparison tones, a substantial effect of relational context was manifest. When the standard and comparison tones differed, but were in an equivalent relational context, there resulted an increased tendency for their pitches to be judged as identical. When the standard and comparison tones were identical, but were in different relational contexts, there resulted an in-creased tendency for their pitches to be judged as different. Previous research has shown that pitch information is retained in a system possess-ing a high degree of organization and