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Loudness

A perceptual correlate of sound intensity, related to the physical sound stimulus measured in decibels.

Pitch

The perceptual attribute of sound that allows it to be categorized as relatively high or low; related to the frequency of the sound wave.

Timbre

The quality or color of a sound that distinguishes different types of sound production, including the richness and complexity of a sound.

Middle Ear

The air-filled cavity that connects the outer ear to the inner ear, containing the ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes) which transmit sound vibrations.

Cochlea

The spiral, bony structure in the inner ear that contains the sensory organ for hearing and is responsible for the transduction of sound waves into neural signals.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noises which damage the hair cells in the cochlea; prevention includes using ear protection.

Békésy’s Place Theory

A theory that suggests that different frequencies of sound stimulate different locations on the basilar membrane in the cochlea.

Cochlear Implant

A medical device that partially restores hearing by converting sound into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve.

Binaural Auditory Localization Cues

Cues used to determine the direction of sound based on interaural time differences (ITD) and interaural level differences (ILD).

Melody Schema

The cognitive framework that helps organize musical melodies based on previous experiences and patterns.

Voice Onset Time (VOT)

The time delay between the release of a stop consonant and the onset of vocal cord vibrations; used to study categorical perception in speech sounds.

McGurk Effect

A perceptual phenomenon where a listener integrates conflicting visual and auditory information, leading to a different perception of a sound.

Acoustic Signal

The physical representation of sound as it travels through the air, often analyzed using spectrograms.

Spectrogram

A visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies of sound as they vary with time.

Articulator

An anatomical structure used in the production of speech sounds, such as the lips or tongue.

Categorical Perception

The phenomenon by which the categories possessed by an observer affect the observer’s perception.

Auditory Scene Analysis

The process by which the auditory system separates and organizes sounds from different sources in a complex auditory environment.

Phonemic Restoration Effect

The phenomenon where listeners fill in missing phonemes in speech when they are masked by other sounds.

Transitional Probabilities

The probabilities that indicate the likelihood of one sound following another, which helps infants segment speech.

Dual-Stream Model of Speech Perception

A model proposing that speech perception involves two streams: one for processing the 'what' (identifying sounds) and another for 'where' (localizing sounds).