Intensity perception XI. Experimental results on the relation of intensity resolution to loudness matching

Abstract

According to a recent extension of a theory of intensity perception, 2 stimuli are matched in loudness if and only if their intensities divide the respective dynamic ranges proportionally in terms of just noticeable differences. Intensity discrimination and loudness matching were studied in experiments designed to test this prediction. Data were obtained over most of the dynamic range for 3 different types of sounds: a 1000 Hz tone in quiet, a 1000 Hz tone partially masked by a 2-octave band of noise and spectrally flat wide-band noise. Of the 5 human subjects tested, 3 produced results that had sufficient internal consistency to be useful for testing the predictions. For these subjects, the data and the theory were reasonably consistent. Comparison with other studies reveals that loudness matching results vary with matching paradigm by an amount that is significant with respect to the task of evaluating the theory. A rigorous test of the theory requires an improved understanding of the effects of matching paradigm.