Suboptimal Auditory Dominance in Audiovisual Integration of Temporal Cues

The present study examined whether audiovisual integration of temporal stimulus features in humans can be predicted by the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) model which is based on the weighting of unisensory cues by their relative reliabilities. In an audiovisual temporal order judgment paradigm, the reliability of the auditory signal was manipulated by Gaussian volume envelopes, introducing varying degrees of temporal uncertainty. While statistically optimal weighting according to the MLE rule was found in half of the participants, the other half consistently overweighted the auditory signal. The results are discussed in terms of a general auditory bias in time perception, interindividual differences, as well as in terms of the conditions and limits of statistically optimal multisensory integration.