Strength and physical fitness predict the perception of looming sounds

Abstract Listeners consistently perceive approaching sounds to be closer than they actually are and perceptually underestimate the time to arrival of looming sound sources. In a natural environment, this underestimation results in more time than expected to evade or engage the source and affords a “...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolution and human behavior 2012-07, Vol.33 (4), p.318-322
Main Authors: Neuhoff, John G, Long, Katherine L, Worthington, Rebecca C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Auditory perception
Bias
Biological anthropology
Fitness
Hearing
Human evolution
Looming
Looming sound
Physical activity
Physical constitution
Physical Fitness
Psychiatry
Sound
Strength
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Summary:Abstract Listeners consistently perceive approaching sounds to be closer than they actually are and perceptually underestimate the time to arrival of looming sound sources. In a natural environment, this underestimation results in more time than expected to evade or engage the source and affords a “margin of safety” that may provide a selective advantage. However, a key component in the proposed evolutionary origins of the perceptual bias is the appropriate timing of anticipatory motor behaviors. Here we show that listeners with poorer physical fitness respond sooner to looming sounds and with a larger margin of safety than listeners with better physical fitness. The anticipatory perceptual bias for looming sounds is negatively correlated with physical strength and positively correlated with recovery heart rate (a measure of aerobic fitness). The results suggest that the auditory perception of looming sounds may be modulated by the response capacity of the motor system.
ISSN:1090-5138
1879-0607
DOI:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.11.001