Where the action is: Weber fractions as a function of sound pressure at low frequencies

Weber fractions for sound intensity were measured for 70-, 100-, 200-, 1000-, and 10,000-Hz tone pulses at sound-pressure levels (SPLs) ranging from just above individual listeners' absolute thresholds to near their highest tolerable SPLs, using a two-alternative forced-choice adaptive staircase technique governed by a 1-up, 3-down rule. Results for four listeners with normal hearing and varying experience, despite individual differences in absolute values, showed Weber fractions that declined as sound pressure increased above threshold and asymptoted at intermediate SPLs. A power function with a negative exponent describes the data of the individual listeners better than a logarithmic function does. The absolute value of the exponent of the power function, which measures the curvature of the function, was largest at 70 Hz and declined with increasing frequency, similar to how exponents of power functions relating loudness judgments or simple reaction time to stimulus intensity differ with sound frequency.