Sensation/Perception 3 - Gestalt Principles/Sound

Question 1

How do Gestalt principles help us in the real world?

Answer 1

help us understand how the brain perceives pieces of info as a whole

Question 2

What is simplicity?

Answer 2

we select the simplest interpretation of an object’s shape

Question 3

What is closure?

Answer 3

tendency for the brain to fill in gaps when we assume the shape of an object

Question 4

What is continuity?

Answer 4

objects with the same orientation are grouped together (drawing of an X)

Question 5

What is similarity?

Answer 5

objects with similar shapes, sizes, colours, textures are grouped together

Question 6

What is proximity?

Answer 6

objects closer together are perceived to be in the same group

Question 7

What is common fate?

Answer 7

elements that move together are seen as belonging to the same group

Question 8

What is figure-ground?

Answer 8

• the visibility of an object relative to its background
• words on paper, illusions

Question 9

What are the main parts of the ear and their functions?

Answer 9

pinna - catches sound on the outside of the ear
tympanic membrane - located before ossicles, translates sounds into vibrations
ossicles - little bones inside the ear that vibrate
oval window - causes waves inside the cochlea
cochlea - filled with fluid, lined with hairs

Question 10

How is sound tranduced into action potential?

Answer 10

pinna –> ear canal –> tympanic membrane –> ossicles –> oval window –> cochlea
- hairs inside cochlea turn vibrations into a physical signal
- causes an action potential
- auditory nerve send info to the thalamus

Question 11

What is the temporal theory and what is its limit?

Answer 11

• frequency of sound waves = number of times a hair cell is stimulated
• 200Hz stimulates hair cell 200x/sec

Question 12

What is the place theory?

Answer 12

• different frequencies are processed on different parts of the basilar membrane (in cochlea)
• temporal lobe also has groups of neurons organized by frequency they decode

Question 13

How do the two theories of pitch work together?

Answer 13

• up to 4000Hz, we use both theories to determine pitch
• over 4000Hz, can only use place theory

Question 14

What is the difference between binaural and monaural cues in hearing?

Answer 14

• binaural cues rely on differences in timing and intensity of sounds in both ears to locate sound
• minaural cues rely on how sound bounces on pinna to locate sound

Question 15

What is conductive hearing loss?

Answer 15

mechanical failure in the structures in the ear
- easily remedied (hearing aid)

Question 16

What is senorineural hearing loss?

Answer 16

disruption of neural signals from cochlea to brain
- can be remedied, not as easy (cochlea implant)