Unidentified or invisible sounds are perceived as coming from behind the head

Evidence

The default perception might have its origins in a human defense mechanism in which sounds that are not reliably identified or are from an invisible source may be perceived to be inside the head or behind—anywhere outside the field of view. The head spontaneously moves, and the correct direction is revealed but only if the sound continues. An isolated twig “snap” no doubt presented anxious moments for our hunter-gatherer ancestors. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 289

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the evolutionary/defense-mechanism framing of sound localization used in Hupatz/Schafer’s work on signal versus noise in the soundscape.