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Psychological Phenomena

Octave Illusion

Perception and Psychophysics Effects

The octave illusion is an auditory illusion discovered by psychologist Diana Deutsch in 1973. It occurs when two tones an octave apart are repeatedly alternated, high then low, and played through stereo headphones so that each ear receives the opposite tone at each moment. Rather than hearing two alternating pitches, most listeners instead hear a single tone that seems to switch between ears while its pitch simultaneously switches between high and low.

Facts
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Perceptual Phenomenon 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Octave Illusion
Wikipedialead section, phenomenon-kind classification
Quote, lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The octave illusion is an auditory illusion discovered by Diana Deutsch in 1973.
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