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137 On: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 05:49:36

 by a louder soundof similar spectralcharacteristics is heard to continue
"through" the loudersound.The phenomenonservesas the springboard
for developingwhat Bregmanlabelsthe "old-plus-new"heuristic,which
is responsibleboth for whetheror not illusory continuityis heard as well
as the way the missingsensorydata are "restored."
Subsequentchaptersextend the theory to schema-based processes
and apply it to the explanationof variousaspectsof perceptualorganiza-
tion as they relate to the perceptionof music and speech.Chapter 4
(Schema-basedSegregationand Integration) examinesthe contribution
of attentionalprocesses and knowledgeto the perceptualanalysisof sig-
nals, emphasizingthat not much relevant work has been done in this
important area. Bregmanoutlinesa numberof ways in which primitive
and schema-based processesmight be distinguishedoperationally.He
then examinesthe effectsthat previouslearningand pattern regularity
have on perceptualorganization.Chapter 5 (Auditory Organizationin
Music) considersthe role of primitive auditory organizationin the per-
ceptionof melody,orchestration,and counterpoint.The focusof the dis-
cussionis the contributionof bottom-up processes and wisely skirts a
plethora of issuesinvolving implicit knowledgeof a culture's musical
systems.This chapter is primarily speculativein trying to extrapolate
from the nonmusicallaboratorysituationsto the more complexmusical
structuresas describedby musictheory. One of the mostattractiveissues
that hasyet to be verifiedexperimentallyis the claim that the perception
of dissonancedue to simultaneouslyoccurringcomplextonesdependson
whetherthe tonesare assignedto the sameauditorystreamor not. Chap-
ter 6 (Auditory Organizationin SpeechPerception)delineatesthe way in
which variousprimitive organizationprocesses affectthe concurrentand
sequentialorganizationof speechsoundsand allow a listenerto pay at-
tention to a singlespeakerin a noisyenvironment.Bregmanpointsout
that one of the difficulties in this kind of work is that the contribution
primitiveprocesses canbe obscuredby that of speechschemas, and some
perceptualparadoxesoften result.One of theseis discussed at length in
Chap. 7 (The Principle of Exclusive Allocation in Scene Analysis),
namely"duplexperception."This phenomenon occurswhen an acoustic
component,suchas an isolatedtransitionof speechformat derivedfrom
a consonant,is presentedto one ear in the presenceof the rest of the
consonant-vowelsyllable,presentedto the other ear. The transitionap-
pearsto contributeto two perceptualobjectsat once:a "chirp" in one ear
and the original speechsoundin the other. This organizationwould ap-
pear to violate the Gestalt principle of "belongingness" accordingto
which a givenacousticcomponentcannotbelongto two separateorgani-
1178 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95 (2), February 1994 0001-4966/94/95(2)/1178/3/$6.00
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zationsat once.Bregmanconvincinglyarguesthat suchviolationsmay be
usefulin the auditory realm sinceauditory objectsare "transparent"and
accidental coincidenceof acousticcomponentscan logically occur. It
would thusbe usefulfor the auditorysystemto be ableto partition such
sensoryevidence.This chapterfinisheswith a theoreticaltourdeforcein
which Bregmandevelopshis two-componenttheory of auditory scene
analysis.Primitive auditory sceneanalysisassignslinks among auditory
components,such links suggestingpossiblegroupingsto a subsequent
processwhosetask is to build perceptualdescriptions.Any sonicevent
"assembled"by this processis requiredto have a singlevalueon eachof
the essentialdescriptivedimensions(pitch, timbre,loudness,rhythm,me-
lodic interval,etc.), thusembodyingthe principleof internalconsistency.
This book has a great numberof attractiveproperties.It is easyto
read,havinga didacticand engagingstylethat guidesthe readerthrough
manyexperimentaland theoreticallabyrinthsof considerable complexity.
Its theoreticaldevelopmentrevealsthe workingsof a fine scientistgoing
about analyzinga problem of enormoussophistication,all the while
pointingout currenttheoreticalinconsistencies and experimental lacun•e.
There are, however, a number of weaknesses.The book's sheer volume
may be a deterrentto many an otherwiseinterestedstudentor researcher.
For the personwho readsit from one end or the other, there is far too
much redundancy,thoughthis may be lessapparentto the readerthat
dipsin andout of differentsections or to the uninitiatedreader,for whom
this approachmay be didactic.For the professional in the field, the pro-
saicstyleand redundantpresentation will slowdownthe quicksearchfor
a given fact about auditory organization.But while this may be an an-
noyance,it is not an obstacle,and anyonein the fieldsof hearingscience,
experimentalpsychology,cognitivescience,and speechand music per-
of
ceptionwill find a treasuretrove of ideasfor teachingand further re-
search.
STEPHEN McADAMS
Laboratoirede Psychologie
Experimentale(CNRS)
Universit• Ren• Descartes
28, rue Serpente
F- 75006 Paris, France
and
IR CAM
1, placeStravinsky
F- 75004 Paris, France
¸ 1994 AcousticalSociety of America 1178