Psychoacoustic testing measures subjective listener opinions under controlled independent variables

Evidence

When carrying out a psychoacoustic test, it is important to note that the responses will be from the opinions of listeners; that is, they will be subjec­ tive, whereas an objective test involves a direct physical measurement such as dB SPL, Hz, or spectral components. There is no right answer to a sub­ jective test since it is the opinion of a particular listener and each listener will have an opinion that is unique; the process of psychoacoustic testing is to collect these listener opinions in a non-judgmental manner. … Psychoacoustic testing involves careful experimental design to ensure that the results obtained can be truly attributed to whatever aspect of the signal is being used as the controlled variable. This process is called con­ trolled experimentation. … Psychologists call a behavioral response, such as a listening experience, the dependent variable, and those aspects that might affect it are called the independent variables. Properly controlled psychoacoustic testing involves controlling all the independent variables so that any effects observed can be attributed to changes in the specific inde­ pendent variable under test. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2360

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the core method of psychoacoustics: subjective controlled experimentation distinguishing dependent and independent variables.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how does controlled experimentation actually get designed for a perceptual question like pitch?
• XREF: connects to: Subjective listening tests map manipulated acoustic variables to measured responses. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 949; Controlled experimentation is how psychoacoustics gets knowledge from subjective reports; Psychoacoustics quantifies physical sound signals into perceived auditory attributes — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 976 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Subjective listening tests map manipulated acoustic variables to measured responses. #corroborates (0.95) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 949
• Controlled experimentation is how psychoacoustics gets knowledge from subjective reports #expands (0.90)
• Controlled experiments trace sound-feature variables against listeners’ behavioral responses #corroborates (0.90)
• Subjective audio opinions can behave like facts when gathered under controlled conditions #expands (0.85)
• Blind listening tests make subjective sound judgments objective and repeatable #expands (0.85) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 87
• Listening room specifications exist to make psychoacoustic test results comparable across sites #expands (0.80) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1817
• Pitch measurement inherently requires subjective listener judgments #corroborates (0.80) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 824
• Psychoacoustics quantifies physical sound signals into perceived auditory attributes #qualifies (0.75) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 976
• Accurate anechoic data plus blind listening tests make psychoacoustic correlations emerge quickly #exemplifies (0.75) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 252
• Listener personality biases reported auditory thresholds across subjects #complicates (0.75) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 886