Hearing, Perceptual

Illusions, and the

Effects of Experience
on Perceptual
Interpretations
Kaylyn Stewart

Hearing: From Vibration to

Sound
O Sound is communicated through

sound waves. These are caused by

vibrations in the air, water, and other
things.
O Physical properties of sound waves:
O Length (affects loudness)
O Height (affects pitch)
O Complexity (affects timbre)

Process of Hearing
O Sound funnels into the ear canal and moves
O
O
O
O
O
O

the eardrum
Eardrum vibrates
Vibrations move through ossicles to the
cochlea
Vibrations cause fluid in cochlea to move
Fluid movement causes hair cells to bend
Cells make neural signals that are picked up
by the auditory nerve.
Auditory nerve sends signals to the brain
where they are translated into sounds.

Place Theory VS Frequency

Theory
O Place Theory: our perception of sounds

depends on where each component

frequency produces vibrations along
the basilar membrane. Different parts
of the cochlea are activated by different
frequencies.
O Frequency Theory: the frequency of the
auditory nerves impulses corresponds
to the frequency of a tone, which allows
us to detect its pitch.

Perceptual Illusions
O Perceptual illusions: the perception

of something objectively existing in

such a way as to cause
misinterpretation of its actual nature

Muller-Lyer Illusion
O When viewers are asked to place a

mark on the figure at the mid point,

they invariably place it more towards
the tail end/believe that the
bottom arrow
is longer than the top arrow

The Moon Illusion

O An optical illusion which causes the

moon to appear larger near the

horizon than it does higher up in the
sky. This also happens with the sun
and the star constellations

Hypothesis of the Mller-Lyer

Illusion
O Carpentered-world hypothesis- People in

industrialized societies are far more susceptible

to this illusion than are people in nonindustrialized societies
O People were tested in industrialized cities and
they were much more easily tricked than people
in remote African villages.
O Because people in industrialized cities
experience more straight edges and right angles,
they are more trained to think that way than
people who live in villages that rarely ever see
right angles and straight lines

Perceptual Set
O Perceptual set- the tendency to

perceive objects or situations from a

particular frame of reference.
O This influences perceptual
interpretations by connecting
familiar shapes and figures with
what we already know to be true,
and then using that to translate what
we see.

Controlling Pain
O Magnets- placing a strong magnet near the are

that is hurting
O Biofeedback-the process of learning voluntary
control over largely automatic body functions,
such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow,
and muscle tension.
O Acupuncture- inserting tiny, sterile needles at
specific points in the the body. They are then
twirled, heated, or stimulated with a mild
electrical current. Research found that the
results are mostly due to psychological
expectations.

Complementary and
Alternative Medicines
O Complementary Medicines- scientific

medicine. Examples are

acupuncture, osteopathy, magnets,
and biofeedback.
O Alternative Medicines-medical
therapies that are not regarded as
orthodox by the medical profession,
such as herbalism, homeopathy, and
acupuncture. (?)