Perceptual Thresholds in Informative Audio: The Effects of Sound Variation in Interactive Systems

The following thesis investigates how sound modifications affect recognition and meaning in interactive systems. Using a custom-built game, participants learned three real-world sounds and identified them under pitch shifting, flanger effects, and time stretching. A second task let participants indicate with a slider when they felt a sound’s meaning had changed. Results showed that pitch shifts greater than one octave significantly impaired recognition and slowed responses, while time stretching affected reaction time but not accuracy. Flanger effects had minimal impact. These findings suggest that perceptual thresholds vary by modification type and sound characteristics, and that task context influences decision-making. Recommendations include using real-world sounds for faster learning, limiting pitch variation when clarity is essential, and using modulation effects flexibly. This study contributes to understanding how variation affects informative sound cues and offers insights to guide designing sound in interactive media.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Digital Media

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Valle Quinto, Hector Miguel

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2025-16861

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/44888