Ecological Psychoacoustics - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0125158513 ISBN 13: 9780125158510

Publisher: Academic Press, 2004

Synopsis

Ecological Psychoacoustics outlines recent advances in dynamic, cognitive, and ecological investigations of auditory perception and ties this work to findings in more traditional areas of psychoacoustics. The book illuminates some of the converging evidence that is beginning to emerge from these traditionally divergent fields, providing a scientifically rigorous, "real world" perspective on auditory perception, cognition, and action. In a natural listening environment almost all sounds are dynamic, complex, and heard concurrently with other sounds. Yet, historically, traditional psychoacoustics has examined the perception of static, impoverished stimuli presented in isolation. Ecological Psychoacoustics examines recent work that challenges some of the traditional ideas about auditory perception that were established with these impoverished stimuli and provides a focused look at the perceptual processes that are more likely to occur in natural settings.

* Examines basic psychoacoustics from a more cognitive and ecological perspective
* Provides broad coverage including both basic and applied research in auditory perception
* Coherence and cross referencing among chapters

About this title

Review:

Ecological Psychoacoustics outlines recent advances in dynamic, cognitive and ecological investigations of auditory perception and ties them to findings in more traditional areas of psychoacoustics. The book, edited by John G. Neuhoff, sheds light on some of the evidence that is beginning to emerge from these traditionally divergent fields, providing a scientifically rigorous, real-world perspective on auditory perception, cognition an action. Almost all of the sounds in a natural listening environment are dynamic, complex and heard concurrently with other sounds. However, traditional psychoacoustics historically have examined the perception of static, impoverished stimuli presented in isolation. This book challenges some of the traditional ideas about auditory perception that were established with these stimuli and provides a focused look at the perceptual processes that are more likely to occur in natural settings.
-ADVANCES: FOR SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS AND AUDIOLOGISTS

Those tempted to ask if another book on psychoacoustics is really necessary will find in this lovely volume a positive reply to that question. Studies of the relationship between sounds (their frequency, intensity, location, and the like) and corresponding perceptual experiences are generally conducted in specially designed laboratories under carefully controlled stimulus conditions. Neuhoff (The College of Wooster) and the others who contribute essays to this carefully edited volume take psychoacoustics into the real world. By examining the research literature on such issues as noise, speech, auditory displays, motion, and multisensory interactions, this book makes an important contribution to understanding human-machine interactions, human cognition, and architectural design. A chapter on attention and timing and another on the development of human ability to identify and locate sounds add to the multidisciplinary perspective. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Collections supporting perceptual psychology, acoustics, audiology, and human engineering at the upper-division undergraduate level and above.
-CHOICE

This book... is a welcome addition to the literature on sound and hearing from an ecological perspective. It is indisputable that such an approach is a necessary addition to the study of auditory perception. Without a strong understanding of how sound behaves in everyday terms, and how listeners behave in relation to it, a more complete appreciation of this foundational system and its links to other perceptual systems is unreachable. This book will serve for no little time into the future as a valuable source of reference and ideas for an enlarging field of inquiry.
ACOUSTICS AUSTRALIA: THE JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY

Ecological psychoacoustics pairs two fields of the study of auditory perception (ecological perception and psychoacoustics) that have rarely been paired. In fact, many in each field might argue that the pairing is a contradiction. However, the chapters in Ecological Psychoacoustics suggest many reasons why combining the rigor of psychoacoustics with the relevance of ecological perception could improve significantly the understanding of auditory perception in the world of real sound sources. Real-world sounds are complex, but they also are physically constrained. Psychoacoustics has produced a wealth of knowledge about sensory processing of simple sounds, especially by the auditory periphery. It is becoming clear that understanding the complex auditory scene of real-world sounds will require substantial new information about how the central auditory nervous system processes the complex sounds from real-world sources. Ecological Psychoacoustics provides many examples of how understanding and using information about the constraints of real-world sound sources may aid in discovering how the nervous system parses an auditory scene. Thus, Ecological Psychoacoustics will help define a new field of perception.
William A. Yost, Associate Vice President for Research and Dean of The Graduate School, Loyola University Chicago, U.S.A.

If a robot were equipped with all the human capacities that we have come to understand through traditional auditory psychophysics, and set loose in a natural environment to learn something about it through the sounds that were made both by the robot and its environment, it would be able to function mainly as a rather imprecise tape recorder, except that it could detect the pitch, loudness, and location of isolated tones and noise bursts (if it happened to come upon any). As soon as it encountered more than one sound at a time, or had to interpret patterns of sound extending over time, or was required to coordinate its sound-based knowledge with that provided by its other senses, it would be lost. Neuhoff's groundbreaking book represents the work of innovative researchers who are trying to achieve a scientific understanding of the perceptual and cognitive processes that use sound to achieve an understanding of the environment. We have a long way to go before we have enough knowledge to equip a robot with a human's auditory skills, but the work reported in this volume represents an important beginning.
Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

The articles in this book represent an important step in creating a coherent theory about perceiving naturally occurring auditory events and their relationship to things in the world. Even though each chapter has a traditional title, the content of each one is non-traditional, and each conveys the advantages and excitement of matching the acoustic characteristics of real world sounds to the physiological properties of the auditory system and to complex perceptual phenomena. All of the articles emphasize that listening occurs in a context that includes information from other senses, requires focused attending, and involves hypothesis testing about probable causes. This book will move auditory theory squarely into the auditory world.
Steve Handel, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, U.S.A.

This book helps to set basic hearing research into a more cognitive theoretical context while maintaining the rigorous standards for experimental evidence so well developed by traditional psychoacoustics. Ecological Psychoacoustics will have a beneficial effect on the field, encouraging research workers to take a more cognitive and ecological perspective when choosing experimental questions.
Chris Darwin, Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

Those tempted to ask if another book on pyschoacoustics is really necessary will find in this lovely volume a positive reply to that question...Neuhoff...and the others who contribute essays to this carefully edited volume take psychoacoustics into the real world...Highly recommended. Collections supporting perceptual psychology, acoustics, audiology, and human engineering at the upper-division undergraduate level and above.
-G.B. Rollman, University of Western Ontario

About the Author:

John Neuhoff plays the saxophone and is an assistant professor of psychology at The College of Wooster in Ohio. He is the founding chair of the Auditory Perception, Cognition and Action Meeting (APCAM), a member of the board of directors for the International Community of Auditory Display (ICAD), and a National Psychology Division Councilor for the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR). His work on auditory perception has appeared in Nature, Science, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His saxophone career has yet to blossom.

About this edition

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0125158513
• ISBN 13: 9780125158510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Neuhoff John G.