Role of Stimulus Frequency and Duration in the Phenomenon of Localization Shifts

Subjects were instructed to locate an auditory signal emanating from a concealed loudspeaker while an interference stimulus was being delivered monaurally. The apparent location of the signal presented in the presence of the interference was compared with that recorded in the absence of interference. In the first experiment, the signal frequency was set at either 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, or 8000 cps. The frequency range of the interference stimuli extended from two to three octaves below to an octave above the signal frequency. The results indicated that the apparent location of the signal source was displaced (pulled) toward the side receiving the interference most noticeably when the frequency of the latter was near that of the signal; a pulling effect was, however, exerted by interference stimuli whose frequencies were an octave or more below that of the signal. As the loudness level of the interference was increased, the magnitude of the pulling effect became greater. In a second experiment, both the si...