Psychology 2115A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Power Law, Level Of Measurement, Absolute Threshold

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2115A/B
• Professor: Stephen Lupker

Document Summary

Loudness seems to depend on the total amount of neural activity in auditory areas of the brain, with louder experiences represented by more activity. Indirect scaling- a scale-establishing approach based on discrimination ability, which formed the basis for the first psychological scales. Jnds for two intensities of a given stimulus will be sensed the same. Ie. the jnd for 10 lights will feel the same as the jnd for 100 lights. Weber"s law is true: 3. we can count or add jnds to create a scale that corresponds to the perceived strength of our sensation of a stimulus. Direct scaling- a scale-establishing approach in which individuals are asked to assign a number directly to the magnitude of a sensation. Category scaling- 1 to 10 category scale used by observers to place the sensation created by each physical stimulus into 1 of 10 categories, from weakest to strongest. S is the measure of the sensation intensity.