Fitch, W. T., & Kramer, G. (1994). Sonifying the body electric: Superiority of an auditory over a visual display in a complex, multivariate system. In G. Kramer (Ed), Auditory Display: Sonification, Audification, and Auditory Interfaces. (pp. 307–325). Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
Added by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard 16/09/2005, 12:19
The authors point out that the visual system is inherently spatial and that localisation of objects is critical. Conversely, while the ability to localise is of importance for the auditory system, we are able to stream audio and separate audio objects (although we can quite happily also appreciate composite sound) without the benefit of localisation cues. This is because the auditory system prioritises temporal cues.
Based on the findings of the experiment, the authors suggest that the auditory system is faster because it can process data in parallel due to the fact that the human auditory system can hear in all directions. The visual system, they suggest, processes mainly in series because the eyes can move and focus, eyelids can be closed and because light cannot bend around objects.
Reber, S. A., Nishimura, T., Janisch, J., Robertson, M., & Fitch, W. T. (2020). A chinese alligator in heliox: Formant frequencies in a crocodilian. Journal of Experimental Biology, 218(15), 2442–2447.
