Psychophysics

To begin the Constant Stimuli experiment, the lab recruited three subjects including two undergraduate students from the UCI Psychology department subject pool and the author, to finish the tests. All subjects were randomly distributed for gender but most of them were aged from 19 to 21. The subjects, included the author, can be considered naïve because none of them had done similar experiments before. All subjects were informed by the researcher about the purpose of the experiment and they held positive attitudes to help completing the study. There were no major deficiencies among the subjects except some mild flaws (ex. Myopia) that would not affect the result so can be ignored. Procedures The experiment was consisted of four linear comparison blocks. The black lines came as four different length groups (1 inch, 2 inches, 3 inches and 4 inches) and the purpose was to find out whether the size of the stimulus would affect the subjects’ judgement of difference limen. Each block contained forty pairs of black linear segments with different length flashing on the screen swiftly. Each task showed two line segments in sequence and asked the subjects to pick the line they saw as the longer one relatively to another. There were forty questions to compete and the subjects would switch to another length group once they have finished the previous. After each question, the screen would inform the subjects whether they chose the correct option and a quantitative measurement of…

The two types of thresholds used in this experiment are absolute and difference. What is an absolute and difference threshold? Well an absolute threshold is known as “the lowest amount of stimulus a person can detect”(Essentials of Psychology, 2015, p.G-1). . This is the point at which our senses are able to detect something, for example the softest sound you can hear. The difference threshold is known as the “minimal difference in the magnitude of energy needed for people to detect a…

Physiology spoke about the sophisticated process that take place in the brain and body. It’s studied how information is transferred from one point of the brain to another. Over a period of time Physiology evolved to psychophysics. Psychophysics is subject to study the relation between the physical stimuli that is presented and the way it’s taken up and perceived and understood by the brain. One of most influential person in this field was Hermann Von Helmholtz. He worked on visual perception…

Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard (1775-1838) made a significant contribution to this kind of reform when he taught a mentally deficient abandoned boy how to learn basic social skills. Subsequently, Edouard Seguin (1812-1880) developed a program to educate those with mental deficiencies. Such reform ushered in a new era in psychology; the formal founding of psychology had begun. Formal founding of psychology Formal psychology is characterized by several developments; psychophysics, functionalism,…

There is a great variation in food preference among population, which not two individuals having the same food preference. Certain people prefer to eat healthy and consume vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, while others may not handle the bitter taste associated with them. In reality, perception of bitter compounds have a particularly important role, not only in health benefits, but help humans distinguish between naturally occurring toxics found in plants that taste bitter. As an…

becoming a recognized science in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the introduction of quantitative measures for mental processes (Michell, 2006). Most prominent for his influence in this introduction, is Gustav Fechner. In his two-volume text, Elements of Psychophysics [Elelmente der Psychophysik], Fechner demonstrated that psychological phenomena could be studied experimentally and quantitatively (Robinson, 2010). Robinson (2010) states that Fechner went beyond indications in…

perception is the result of recalling, learning from previous experiences, expecting sensory reaction, and selecting among the myriad of external data available (Williams & Baer, 1994, p.xv). Although human perception relies on a complex set of processes coursed through the nervous system, as previously mentioned, and it can be readily observed that the actual activity does not require noticeable effort since it is done in an instinctual or subconscious manner. With the intention of…

became an independent discipline. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. Most identity with the date 1879 when German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt opened the first laboratory exclusive to the practice of psychology. However, this date is still disregarded as the beginning of psychology. Despite the major impact of the laboratory on the science. Persons' concerns are based on the influences to science prior to…

Scientists have been interested in the difference of people’s sensation, perception, and perspective since the beginning of the 18th century. Philosopher Gustav Fechner developed an approach to study sensation and perception, called psychophysics. Psychophysics was measured by the strength of the stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to the stimulus. Although people might be exposed to the same stimuli, they sense and perceive differently which changes their perspective. If two people are…

value, but rather a ratio based between the initial and comparison weights. Fechner’s great contribution was to realize that the just noticeable difference indicated a psychological phenomenon, as the difference felt the same no matter the weight, despite the fact that the absolute value of the difference was difference. The difference between the intensity of the stimulus and the perceived sensation were not a one-to-one relationship, but rather a logarithmic one, Fechner realized. The…