Listener expectations, not acoustic cues alone, drive perceived spatial location.

Evidence

We rely greatly on “plausibility” when localizing in complex situations. Aircraft are automatically assumed to be above us, even in traditional 5.1 and 7.1 horizontal plane multichannel systems. Nothing is localized below the floor. Voices are where the lips are on the screen—the ventriloquism effect. If listeners are predisposed to think that sounds are coming from above, that is what they are likely to be perceived, hence the emphasis on hovering helicopters and bird sounds in demonstrations of immersive sound systems. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 749

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Relates to ‘Grafting & Growth’ framing: here plausibility and expectation, not infrastructure, substitute for physical cues — a parallel mechanism of reliance on preexisting mental structures.
• XREF: Echoes ventriloquism effect and top-down perception concepts familiar from auditory scene analysis literature (Bregman). — connects to: Perception arrives pre-shaped by expectations and context, never raw — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 729