Attention cueing aids auditory intensity resolution

Intensity resolution of pure tones in a one-interval forced-choice paradigm was measured for experienced musicians under fixed- and uncertain- frequency conditions, and under uncertain-frequency conditions with informative cues as to target frequency. The uncertain frequency effect for intensity resolution, when present, was reduced or removed by frequency cueing, both with auditory stimulus cues and with visually presented information cues. Also, intensity resolution performance improved over the course of the experiment, both for fixed- and for uncertain-frequency conditions, as had been found previously. Analysis of the individual data indicated that across-experiment learning was unrelated to the ability to use the auditory stimulus cue, and that multiple-band learning was incompatible with the use of the visual information cue. The results are consistent with the idea that the single-band listening observed in fixed-frequency conditions was induced in most listeners by the auditory stimulus cue, but that some listeners chose to use the visual information cue to single-band listen while others ignored it and used multiple-band listening in that condition.