The influence of visual information on the perception of auditory speech in quiet and noise

Stacey, JE ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4035-712X, 2019. The influence of visual information on the perception of auditory speech in quiet and noise. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Audio-visual (AV) integration involves the combining of auditory and visual information which is often required for everyday face to face communication. Speech perception becomes difficult in situations when it is harder to hear the voice of the speaker. When the ability to identify speech in noise is reduced, people with normal hearing improve with the addition of visual information; when they can see the talker's face (Sumby & Pollack, 1954). Exactly how visual information is used in background noise is not well understood. The goal of the thesis was to understand the influence of visual information on auditory speech perception using a famous measure of AV integration (The McGurk effect). Four experiments are reported which aimed to a) explore the use of the McGurk effect as a measure of AV integration, b) understand the influence of visual information in quiet and noise, and how auditory and visual information interact when one or both of the modalities is degraded, and c) provide insight into theories of AV integration through using behavioural measures. The main findings were that 1) instances of the McGurk effect are influenced by the type of task used, and vary according to different stimuli and participants, 2) The McGurk effect can still be perceived even when the visual stimulus is highly degraded although the illusion decreases as visual blur increases, 3) fixating the mouth is not necessary for perceiving the McGurk effect, 4) Visual benefit increases as the clarity of the visual stimulus increases. Overall, the findings suggest that visual information is of most benefit when it is clear, looking at the mouth is not necessary for AV integration in quiet but increases the likelihood of successful integration when speech is presented in auditory noise.

Item Type:	Thesis
Creators:	Stacey, J.E.
Date:	September 2019
Rights:	This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	23 Apr 2020 10:18
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2020 10:18
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/39724

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