Psychoacoustics

Psychoacoustics is the study of subjective human perception of sounds. Effectively, it is the study of psychology of acoustical perception.

Background

In many applications of acoustics and audio signal processing it is necessary to know what humans actually hear.

Related Topics:
Acoustics - Audio signal processing

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Sound, which consists of air pressure waves, can be accurately measured with sophisticated equipment. However, understanding how these waves are received and mapped into thoughts in the brain is not trivial. Sound is a continuous analog signal which (assuming infinitely small air molecules) can theoretically contain an infinite amount of information (there being an infinite number of frequencies, each containing both magnitude and phase information.)

Related Topics:
Sound - Signal

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Recognizing features important to perception enables scientists and engineers to concentrate on audible features and ignore less important features of the involved system. It is important to note that the question of what humans hear is not only a physiological question of features of the ear but very much also a psychological issue.

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