Audition Laboratory Activities for Teaching Sensation and Perception

Abstract

This article describes exercises for a sensation and perception laboratory using a computer application called SoundWave. The exercises were conducted in two 1-hr sessions. Goals of the lab included giving students hands-on experience with how sound wave shape changes as frequency and amplitude vary, the continuousness of the speech stream, and determining whether a complex wave pattern represents noise or music. These exercises could also be adapted for use in introductory psychology classes.