The Role of Stimulus Properties and Cognitive Processes in the Quality of the Multisensory Perception of Synchrony

Abstract

This chapter describes how the question of synchrony perception came about in experimental psychology. In an attempt to better understand synchrony perception, researchers have focused on the "behavior" of the temporal window of integration by manipulating stimulus parameters and presenting different modalities and events. The characteristics of the temporal window of synchrony were found to be true in many investigations of synchrony perception. It is pertinent to explore the now known factors that modulate the temporal window of integration in order to be able to model the "behavior" in the future and possibly manage to explore the mechanisms of synchrony perception more efficiently. The chapter provides an overview of some of the factors modulating synchrony perception for multisensory events by focusing on the auditory and visual modalities. Recent studies have manipulated orientation of the visual display in order to investigate how an otherwise unchanged stimulus can affect synchrony perception. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.