Human Echolocators Have Better Localization Off Axis

Thaler, Lore; Norman, L.J.; De Vos, H.P.J.C.; Kish, D.; Antoniou, M.; Baker, C.J.; Hornikx, M.C.J.

doi:10.1177/09567976211068070

Human Echolocators Have Better Localization Off Axis

Thaler, Lore; Norman, L.J.; De Vos, H.P.J.C.; Kish, D.; Antoniou, M.; Baker, C.J.; Hornikx, M.C.J.

Authors

Dr Lore Thaler lore.thaler@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Dr Liam Norman liam.norman@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor

H.P.J.C. De Vos

D. Kish

M. Antoniou

C.J. Baker

M.C.J. Hornikx

Abstract

Here, we report novel empirical results from a psychophysical experiment in which we tested the echolocation abilities of nine blind adult human experts in click-based echolocation. We found that they had better acuity in localizing a target and used lower intensity emissions (i.e., mouth clicks) when a target was placed 45° off to the side compared with when it was placed at 0° (straight ahead). We provide a possible explanation of the behavioral result in terms of binaural-intensity signals, which appear to change more rapidly around 45°. The finding that echolocators have better echo-localization off axis is surprising, because for human source localization (i.e., regular spatial hearing), it is well known that performance is best when targets are straight ahead (0°) and decreases as targets move farther to the side. This may suggest that human echolocation and source hearing rely on different acoustic cues and that human spatial hearing has more facets than previously thought.

Citation

Thaler, L., Norman, L., De Vos, H., Kish, D., Antoniou, M., Baker, C., & Hornikx, M. (2022). Human Echolocators Have Better Localization Off Axis. Psychological Science, 33(7), 1143-1153. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211068070

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Jun 14, 2022
Publication Date	2022-07
Deposit Date	Jul 25, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Jul 25, 2022
Journal	Psychological Science
Print ISSN	0956-7976
Electronic ISSN	1467-9280
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	33
Issue	7
Pages	1143-1153
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211068070

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