Participants listen to a series of sentences played against a background of noise. Some of the sentences are identical to sentences heard earlier (without the noise), but other sentences heard in the noise are new. In this setting, participants will perceive

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This phenomenon is known as the "perceptual restoration effect." When participants hear familiar sentences in the noisy background, their brains fill in the missing parts of the sentence so that it sounds more complete, and therefore the noise seems less present. In contrast, newer sentences are less predictable, so participants are less likely to fill in the missing parts, making them appear louder and less clear.

Participants Listen to a Series of Sentences Played Against a Background