Several experiments are reported relating to the temporal resolving power of the auditory system. The experimental task was to discriminate between the two signals generated when a waveform was played either forward or backward in time (a condition in which the two signals have identical energy spectra). A two‐segment waveform of total duration T was generated. The first T/2 segment was a sinusoid of one frequency and the second T/2 segment was a sinusoid of a different frequency. Each trial contained two observation intervals. In one interval the frequency change was from high to low, in the other interval low to high. As the total duration decreases discrimination becomes more difficult. It is nearly perfect for durations as short as 2 msec when the frequency of one segment is 1000 Hz and the other frequency 2000 Hz (ΔF=1000 Hz). For smaller values of ΔF, even at very short durations (4 msec), discrimination is about like that obtained in a simple frequency discrimination experiment.
Subject Classification: 65.70, 65.54.