Question

Directions for Summary: A paragraph is followed by four options which have summarized the passage in their own way. Pick the option that best summarizes 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 quality of auditory information is poor, the visual information wins over the auditory information.
• B. 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.
• 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.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

To choose the best summary of the passage, let's analyze the provided options and compare them to the key points of the paragraph. The passage discusses the McGurk effect, highlighting its discovery, the scenario in which auditory and visual paths conflict, and how this leads to the perception of a different sound. It emphasizes the concept of multisensory integration where disparate auditory and visual information are merged to form a new percept.

Now, let's evaluate the options:

• The first option mentions poor auditory information, which is not the core focus of the passage. The passage describes a well-recognized auditory signal that changes due to conflicting visual input instead.
• The second option suggests imperfect integration causing confusion, yet the passage emphasizes an integrated, albeit different, perception rather than confusion.
• The third option mentions the replication of the McGurk effect, which is a part but not the main point. The essence of the passage is not merely about its replication but its demonstration of multisensory integration.
• The fourth option directly reflects the key points in the paragraph. It accurately describes how mismatched visual and auditory signals lead to the perception of a different auditory signal, encapsulating the primary focus—the illusion known as the McGurk effect.

Hence, the best summary is: Visual speech mismatched with auditory speech can result in the perception of an entirely different message: this illusion is known as the McGurk effect.