Psychoacoustics (306-0-1)

Instructors

Beverly Ann Wright

Meeting Info

Frances Searle Building 3220: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Principles underlying perception of pitch, loudness, auditory space, auditory patterns, and speech. Psychophysical procedures for studying psychoacoustics and the impact of hearing impairment are considered.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to: (1) identify the levels of the auditory system from the eardrum to the primary auditory cortex; (2) describe how physical aspects of sound are coded by the auditory system and relate to perceptual aspects of sound; and (3) explain how behavioral experiments are designed to test the relationship between physical and perceptual aspects of sound.

Class Materials (Required)

Print outs of lecture slides, available on Canvas.

Class Materials (Suggested)

(1) The Sense of Hearing (3rd Edition) Christopher Plack, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; 2018 (ISBN: 978-1848725157) [available online through NU library]; (2) Hearing: An Introduction to Psychological and Physiological Acoustics (6th Edition) Stanley A. Gelfand, CRC Press, 2017 [5th Edition, 2009, available online through NU library]; (3) Cochlear Hearing Loss: Physiological, Psychological, and Technical Issues (2nd Edition) Brian C.J. Moore, Wiley, 2007 [available online through NU library].

Class Notes

Psychoacoustics is the study of the relationship between the physical characteristics of acoustic stimuli and the hearing sensations that those stimuli elicit. Thus, this course is about the perception of sound. Topics covered include sound, the auditory system, psychophysical methods, frequency selectivity, timing, intensity and loudness, frequency and pitch, sound-source localization, and perceptual learning. Examples will be drawn from both normal and impaired hearing.

Class Attributes

Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area