Meta-analysis of Experiments 1a and b

In Experiments 1a and b, mean response times were faster for mediants over leading tones only for the more continuously sounding targets, and the weakness of the significance patterns raises the question whether the tonal relatedness effect might require a more powerful statistical test to be consistently revealed. To address this issue, we performed a meta-analysis over the two experiments and combined the “continuous-in-context” target timbres (Timbre A and Timbre B in Experiment 1a and 1b respectively) and the “deviant-in-context” target timbres (Timbre B and Timbre A in Experiment 1a and 1b respectively). A 2x2x2 ANOVA with Tonal Relatedness and Target Timbre as within-participants factors, and Experiment (1a/1b) as between-participants factor was performed on correct response times. A significant interaction was observed between Tonal Relatedness and Target Timbre (F(1,54) = 7.74; MSE = 2705; p < .01): Response times were significantly faster for related targets than for less-related targets for the “continuous-in-context” timbres (F(1,54) = 6.96; p < .05), but not for the deviant ones (p = .30).