Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/196826

Title

Susceptibility to the flash-beep illusion is increased in children compared to adults

Author(s)

Innes-Brown, Hamish;  Barutchu, Ayla;  Shivdasani, Mohit N.;  Crewther, David P.;  Grayden, David B.;  Paolini, Antonio

Abstract

Audio-visual integration was studied in children aged 8-17 (N = 30) and adults (N = 22) using the 'flash-beep illusion' paradigm, where the presentation of two beeps causes a single flash to be perceived as two flashes (fission illusion), and a single beep causes two flashes to be perceived as one flash (fusion illusion). Children reported significantly more fission illusions than adults, indicating that auditory and visual information was integrated more often, and less selectively, than in adults. Within either group, illusion reports did not correlate with either age or motor coordination measures. The current results show that the form of multisensory integration indexed by the illusion is slow to mature in normally developing children.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences. Brain Sciences Institute

Source

Developmental Science, Vol. 14, no. 5 (Sep 2011), pp. 1089-1099

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

1701 Psychology;  1702 Cognitive Sciences

Keyword(s)

Audio-visual integration;  Flash-beep illusion;  Fission illusion;  Fusion illusion

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

ISSN

1363-755X

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01059.x

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Peer reviewed