McGurk Effect
CAT 2021 Slot 1 · VARC · Easy · Verbal Ability
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
McGurk and MacDonald (1976) reported a powerful multisensory illusion occurring with audio-visual speech. They recorded a voice articulating a consonant 'ba-ba-ba' and dubbed it with a face articulating another consonant 'ga-ga-ga'. Even though the acoustic speech signal was well recognized alone, it was heard as another consonant after dubbing with incongruent visual speech i.e., 'da-da-da'. The illusion, termed as the McGurk effect, has been replicated many times, and it has sparked an abundance of research. The reason for the great impact is that this is a striking demonstration of multisensory integration, where that auditory and visual information is merged into a unified, integrated percept.
- A.
When the auditory speech signal does not match the visual speech movements, the acoustic speech signal is confusing and integration of the two is imperfect.
- B.
When the quality of auditory information is poor, the visual information wins over the auditory information.
- C.
The McGurk effect which is a demonstration of multisensory integration has been replicated many times.
- D.
Visual speech mismatched with auditory speech can result in the perception of an entirely different message: this illusion is known as the McGurk effect.
D
Explanation
The paragraph explains that when auditory and visual signals are mismatched, the listener perceives a completely different sound/message (e.g. 'ba' + 'ga' = 'da'), demonstrating the McGurk effect. Option D accurately captures this core concept.
Practise this under exam conditions
Sign in to solve it with a live timer, the on-screen CAT calculator, and streak and accuracy tracking across every question you attempt.
Solve in the workspace