Photo/Illutration An ATM for Seven Bank Ltd. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A small “sanma” (Pacific saury) is 350 yen ($2.30), while a “nashi” pear is 400 yen.

The prices of practically all food items are going up, including the season’s new rice crop and the ingredients for “nabe” hot pot dishes.

Worried about how much you have in your wallet, you go to an ATM and the machine plays a tune that sounds like “Okane nai desho” (You have no money).

How would that make you feel?

Seven Bank Ltd. last month changed the sound effect of its cash withdrawal machines at convenience stores and other locations. According to the bank, the decision was in response to tweets posted by people who thought they heard those unnerving words.

“We want our customers to cheerfully use the machines,” a bank spokesperson said.

Many people took to social media to express surprise at the bank’s perceived consideration for consumers, who are struggling with high prices.

But is it really possible to “hear” words from instrumental music? Doubtful, I listened to the ATM tune in question. To my surprise, I thought it did indeed sound like “Okane nai desho.”

It was time to consult Shinichiro Iwamiya, a psychoacoustics expert and specially appointed professor at Nihon University, about this baffling illusion.

“The brain’s functions are complex, and only a fine line separates imaginary perception and accurate perception,” Iwamiya said. “In this case, I presume there was a difference in the voice recognition process of the first person who ‘heard’ the words and others who heard them later.”

When people only hear a melody but words pop up in their minds, it means their brains instinctively captured the characteristics of the sound. This is known as bottom-up auditory attention. It happens only rarely, but this particular melody must have turned out to be the perfect case.

As for people who saw the Twitter posts and thought they, too, heard the same words, theirs was what is called top-down auditory attention based on predictions.

They were also psychologically influenced by their “fear of not having money,” Iwamiya said.

Last month, the consumer price index for food registered its steepest rise in 41 years. This is the autumn of the weak yen and price hikes that makes us lose our composure as well as our appetite. 

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 26

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

 

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