Best, Robson, Morgongiello (1981)
A "say"-"stay" continuum can be generated varying the silent gap between the noise and vocalic portion.
Synthetic stimuli may also differ in the extent of the F1 transition.
The perceptual cross-over between "say" and "stay" varies as a function of the strength of the F1 transition.
Discrimination shows effect of cue trading, but only when stimuli are perceived as speech.
Pair of stimuli may differ in
2 Cooperating cues
longer gap + strong F1 vs.
shorter gap + weak F1
2 Conflicting cues
longer gap + weak F1 vs.
shorter gap + strong F1
Ease of discrimination:
2 cooperating cues > 1 cue > 2
conflicting cues
For sine wave versions of these stimuli, only the listeners who hear the stimuli as speech show this discrimination pattern.
Effect cannot be purely "auditory" therefore.