Question 1

What is the McGurk effect?

Accepted Answer

The McGurk effect is a perceptual illusion in which watching a mouth make one speech sound while hearing a different sound causes you to perceive a third, phantom sound. It shows that vision automatically alters what we hear.

Question 2

Why does watching someone's lips change what you hear?

Accepted Answer

Your brain has learned over a lifetime to link visible mouth movements with the sounds they produce. When the seen mouth and the heard sound disagree, the brain fuses both cues into a single best guess, altering the sound you consciously perceive.

Question 3

Can you stop the McGurk effect once you know about it?

Accepted Answer

No. The fusion happens automatically in a brain region called the superior temporal sulcus within about 200 milliseconds, below conscious control. Understanding the illusion does not prevent it. Closing your eyes, however, removes the visual cue and restores the true sound.

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