Frequency of occurrence as a psychophysical continuum: Weber’s fraction, Ekman’s fraction, range effects, and the phi-gamma hypothesis

descriptionPublicationkeyboard_double_arrow_right Article 01 Sep 1976 United States English Publisher:Springer Science and Business Media LLCJournal:Perception & Psychophysics, volume 20, pages 327-330 (issn: 0031-5117, eissn: 1532-5962,

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Authors: Rubin, DC;

doi: 10.3758/bf03199413

handle: 10161/18972

Frequency of occurrence as a psychophysical continuum: Weber’s fraction, Ekman’s fraction, range effects, and the phi-gamma hypothesis

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Abstract

Using the continuum of frequency of occurrence of words in English, it was found that: (1) errors in judgment are distributed lognormally rather than normally, and therefore the standard method of calculating Weber’s fraction underestimates its definition, (2) Weber’s fraction has an extremely large value of 3.3, (3)Ekman’s fraction equals 1.81, not .03 as with sensory continua, and (4)the logarithm of the dynamic range times Stevens’ law exponent equals 3.83, not 1.53 as with sensory continua. The last two results favor Teghtsoonian’s underlying sensory scale interpretation over Poulton’s range effects interpretation of the range-exponent relation.

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United States

Related Organizations

Lawrence University
United States
Duke University
United States

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