Intersensory and Intrasensory Transfer of Melodic Contour Perception by Children

This study investigated the ability of first-grade students to manipulate intersensory and intrasensory transfer between and within the visual and aural sensory modes. Subjects were asked to judge whether stimuli perceived initially in either of the modes were the same or different as stimuli matched in the opposite mode (VA or AV). In addition, subjects matched stimuli within the aural sensory mode (AA). Stimuli consisted of short melodic phrases and contour-line graphs. The results indicated that aural to aural intrasensory transfer (AA) was significantly more easy than either intersensory task (VA or AV). No significant differences were found between the VA and AV intersensory tasks, nor in the position of the tasks in the test sequence.