sound like chalk on blackboard

by Rubye Kunde PhD 10 min read

In the case of a chalk board, it is likely just a subconscious reaction to something that may possibly damage ear drums with long exposure or possibly is a sound that triggers a mechanism of response of strong dislike that was genetically formed many hundreds of years ago as some kind of warning against things like predators.

Full Answer

Why do we hate the sound of a chalkboard so much?

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Why do we hear nails on a chalkboard so strong?

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What animal sounds like fingernails on chalkboard?

Apr 14, 2012 · In the case of a chalk board, it is likely just a subconscious reaction to something that may possibly damage ear drums with long exposure or possibly is a sound that triggers a mechanism of response of strong dislike that was genetically formed many hundreds of years ago as some kind of warning against things like predators.

Can you stand the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard?

Mar 15, 2017 · Some of the most unpleasant sounds, based on the participants’ ratings, included a knife on a bottle, a fork on a glass and chalk on a blackboard. The nice and friendly sounds included flowing water, thunder and a laughing baby. Consolidation. Sounds that fall within the frequency range of 2000 to 4000 Hz are considered to be unpleasant.

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What is the fingernail-chalkboard sound?

The findings suggest that the fingernail-chalkboard sound triggers an uptick in communication between a region of the brain involved in hearing and another region of the brain involved in emotions. In the study, 13 participants listened to 74 sounds, including nails on a chalkboard and the whine of power tools, ...

What is the shrill sound?

Then the researchers fiddled with the recording, removing the high, middle and low frequencies from different recordings.

What are the most unpleasant sounds?

Some of the most unpleasant sounds, according to the participants' ratings, included a knife on a bottle, a fork on a glass and chalk on a blackboard. The nicest sounds included flowing water, thunder and a laughing baby, they found.

What does Oehler say about sound?

Listeners in the study, Oehler said, rated a sound as more pleasant if they thought it was pulled from a musical composition. (Though this didn't fool their bodies, as participants in both study groups expressed the same changes in skin conductivity.)

What is the sound of chimpanzees?

In addition, the warning cry of a chimpanzee is similar to the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, they found. Perhaps people have an unconscious reflex to this sound because of its uncanny resemblance to a warning call, the researchers told Medical Press. Originally published on Live Science.

Does removing high frequencies make the sounds more pleasant?

After playing the modified sounds to volunteers, the researchers found that removing the high frequencies didn't make the sounds more pleasant. Rather, eliminating the low and middle frequencies of the sound made the sounds more appealing, they learned, according to Medical Press. In addition, the warning cry of a chimpanzee is similar to ...

questionposter

Scientists don't really know for sure why humans think sounds sound the specific way they do, we can only do maybe some basic brain scans to determine that people's brains associate different sounds with different things.

Carvone

Trained anticipation of an event like Pavlov`s dog salivating at a bell associated with forthcoming food, only this time we shreek at the thought of a an upcoming, painfully-boring lecture.

Joatmon

Trained anticipation of an event like Pavlov`s dog salivating at a bell associated with forthcoming food, only this time we shreek at the thought of a an upcoming, painfully-boring lecture.

Joatmon

I was in the army forces so I have much experience of bullshit - we might have felt bolshie when having to experience it, but they are not the same.

Xittenn

I believe the reason for this relates to threshold of hearing. The closer a sound comes to the upper limit of frequency range of human hearing the more irritating it becomes. In the case of chalk, a broad spectrum of tones are generated near this threshold which mar the nervous system.

Joatmon

I believe the reason for this relates to threshold of hearing. The closer a sound comes to the upper limit of frequency range of human hearing the more irritating it becomes. In the case of chalk, a broad spectrum of tones are generated near this threshold which mar the nervous system.

Xittenn

Astute observation old chap . Dubstep and the Trance/Rave genres do employ this very technique in their formal presentation. Often in a live performance the artist will push into these frequencies at a climatic point in their set such that its audience is subjected to a very similar response.

In the classroom

Ms Fransisca wanted to teach her pupils some words to describe sounds. So she scratched her long fingernails on the chalkboard to elicit some answers.

Shape of ear canals and own perceptions

Brain scans reveal that if we hear a sound that causes us to strongly suspect that another sound is on the way, the brain acts as if we’re already hearing the second sound. Similarly, if we see a certain collection of letters or words, our brains jump to conclusions about what comes next. Thus, the brain is able to preconceive the information.

Unpleasant frequency range

From the research conducted, two sounds that were rated as the most unpleasant, among participants were,fingernails scratching on a chalkboard and a piece of chalk running against slate. The researchers then created variations of these two sounds by modifying certain frequency ranges.

Brain pickings

So what happens in the brain when one hears screechy sounds? Studies reveal that the fingernail-chalkboard sound triggers a rise communication between two regions of the brain, namely, the regions of the brain involved in hearing and emotions.

Consolidation

Sounds that fall within the frequency range of 2000 to 4000 Hz are considered to be unpleasant. When these sounds are heard, there is a communication between the auditory cortex and amygdala.

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