PSYC 2390 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Outer Ear, Hearing Loss, Stirrup

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2390
• Professor: Paula Barata

Document Summary

Chapter 11: sound, the auditory system, and pitch perception. Without hearing people would be unaware of many of the events in the environment. Our ability to hear events that we can"t see serves an important signaling function for both animals and humans. (rustle of the leaves signals a possible predator for animals, an ambulance signals an emergency for humans) Helen keller stated she felt being deaf was worse than being blind because blindness isolated her from things, but deafness isolated her from people (can"t use language etc). We can use the word sound in two different ways. Sometime sound refers to a physical stimulus, and sometimes is refers to a perceptual response. Physical definition: sound is pressure changes in the air or other medium. Perceptual definition: sound is the experience we have when we hear. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, would there be a sound? .