CHAPTER 6
Section 3: Hearing
WHAT WE HEAR
Stimulus
for sound is a wave
of pressure created when an
object vibrates
 The vibration causes
molecules in a transmitting
substance (usually air) to
move together & apart
AUDITORY EXPERIENCE
Loudness:
intensity of a pressure
wave.
 Measured in decibels
Pitch: frequency of a pressure wave.
 How rapidly the air vibrates
Timbre:
The distinguishing quality
of sound
 complexity of the pressure wave
 When many frequencies are
present but not in harmony, we
hear noise
 When many frequencies of the
sound spectrum occur, they
produce white noise
AN EAR ON THE WORLD
Soft
funnel shaped outer ear is
designed to collect sound waves
 Sound wave passes through an
inch long canal to strike the ear
drum
 Vibration is passed along to the
hammer, anvil, & stirrup
Actual
organ of hearing is the
organ of corti
CONSTRUCTING THE AUDITORY WORLD
Use
our perceptual powers to organize
patterns of sound & to construct a
meaningful auditory world
Need to know where sounds are coming
from
 Depend on having two ears
 Hard to locate sounds coming from
above or directly behind your head
NAME THAT SOUND
Sound 1
 Sound 2
 Sound 3
 Sound 4
 Sound 5
 Sound 6
 Sound 7
 Sound 8
 Sound 9
 Sound 10

Applause
 Crumbling
 Cutting Paper with Scissors
 Hair Mousse
 Pad Lock Opening
 Sea Lion
 Cards Shuffling
 Velcro
 Bathtub filling up
 Applying soap to hands
