Is calibration of the perception of length modality-independent?

Abstract

Perception becomes increasingly scaled to environmental properties when feedback is provided about the perception of a given property. Understanding the process of calibration requires a description of the stimulation patterns to which perceivers become calibrated as a result of such feedback. Recent investigations using a transfer-of-calibration paradigm have shown that recalibration of the perception of length transfers from audition to touch. Such results have provided preliminary evidence that calibration of this property is modality-independent (i.e., that feedback about length calibrates perceivers to a modality-independent stimulation pattern). The experiment reported here provides a stronger test of this claim by demonstrating that perception transfers in both directions (i.e., from audition to touch, and vice versa). The results provide further evidence that calibration is modality-independent, and they are consistent with the more general proposal that the stimulation patterns that support perception are also modality-independent. © 2013 Psychonomic Society, Inc.