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Dual loudness scales in individual subjects
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|February 1, 1986
Summary
Subjects consistently used loudness scales to perceive sound intensity. While matching loudness and estimating single tones, scales remained similar, but loudness difference estimations showed shallower slopes.
Area of Science:
- Psychoacoustics
- Auditory Perception
- Psychophysics
Background:
- Understanding auditory perception relies on quantifying loudness perception.
- Marks's (1979b) theory proposes individuals utilize consistent psychophysical scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individuals scale loudness and loudness differences.
- To examine consistency in loudness scaling across different psychophysical tasks.
Main Methods:
- Seven subjects performed loudness matching and magnitude estimations.
- Tasks included matching single tone loudness to loudness differences, estimating loudness differences, and estimating single tone loudness.
Main Results:
- Individual subjects employed multiple loudness scaling strategies.
- A majority of subjects (at least 3) used consistent scales for loudness matching and single tone estimation.
- A shallower scale slope was observed during magnitude estimations of loudness differences.
Conclusions:
- Loudness perception involves adaptable scaling strategies.
- Scale consistency is demonstrated in some auditory tasks, but not universally across all loudness-related judgments.