EXPSYCH- Psychophysics and Operational Definitions

Psychophysics

Involves the determination of the psychological reaction to events that lie along a
physical dimension
The relation between internal impressions (psycho) and the external world (physics)
The term was coined by Guztav Fechner, who formalized the psychophysical methods,
which measure different attributes of the world in terms of their psychological values.
Such methods showed that psychological judgments varied in particular ways according
to the intensity of the stimulus and the particular sensory modality of the stimulus.
How a person takes in information from the external world by using their 5 senses.
The psychological relation between stimulus and judgment depends on the particular
sensory that is stimulated.

Variables in a Psychophysics Experiment

Dependent Vs

Absolute judgments can be simple statements about the presence or absence of a

signal (Yes, I saw it or No, I did not see it) or direct estimates of the property of stimuli
If 2 stimuli must be compared on a particular level, a relative judgment is required.

Independent Vs

Magnitude and Quality of the Stimuli

Control Variables

The participants willingness to make a particular reaction

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

Describes the procedures used to produce a concept and allow us to communicate

successfully about the concepts we are studying.
The most common way of providing technical meaning
A formula for building a construct in such a way that other scientists can duplicate it, by
specifying the operations used to produce and measure it.
 A persons definition of happiness may be (ie. An eye of a newt, a leg of a frog and 3
oyster shells and shaking them 2)
It doesnt have to be entirely sensible, as long as it can be clear and replicated by other
people.

THRESHOLD
In common language, a threshold is the part of a doorway you step through or over to
enter a room.
Classical psychophysicists believed that stimuli had to cross such a (hypothetical) barrier
to enter the brain or the mind.
In order to operationally define threshold Fechner developed the method of limits.
Gap between 2 conditions (ie. Smelling------------------Not Smelling)
If the observer were a perfect stimulus detector, the point at which responses switched
from yes to no (or vice versa) would always be the same. This ideal point would be
the threshold.
So the threshold is operationally defined as the mean (average) of the points in each
trial block at which the observer switches from yes to no (or no to yes).
A threshold defined this way, based on an observers ability to detect a signal, is called
an absolute threshold, since the yes-no judgments are not based on a comparison of
two stimuli but are absolute judgments about a single stimulus.
Since the absolute threshold is a statistical concept, much like the average taxpayer,
it has other statistical properties in addition to the mean.
These are now illustrated by computing a difference threshold, which is based on
relative judgments, in which a constant unchanging comparison stimulus is judged
relative to a series of changing stimuli.
How different must two stimuli be before they can reliably be distinguished?
The difference between higher and lower threshold values is called the interval of
uncertainty.
The difference threshold is operationally defined as half the interval of uncertainty.
The mean of the upper and lower thresholds is called the point of subjective equality.
For a particular sensory modality, the size of the difference threshold relative to the
standard stimulus is constant. = Webers Law
This law is usually written as I/I K, where I refer to the magnitude of the standard
stimulus, I is the difference threshold, and K is the symbol for constancy.
No Thresholds: The Single Detection Theory

Our perception, in general, is controlled by evidence and decision processes.

A signal or stimulus creates hypothetical evidence that depends on the intensity of the
signal and the acuity of the observer.
Assumes that noise, a disturbance that can be confused with signals, is always present
when a human attempts to detect signals.
People notice the signal/ stimulus more than they notice the noise.
Intensity of signal= perceived vision
What amount of the stimulus would cause a reaction?
What amount of the stimulus would be necessary to make a change in the perception of
a person?

Summary

Operational definitions that specify how concept are produced and measured are
required in science both to make experiments more public and to increase the precision
of technical terms beyond their use in ordinary conversation.
Classical psychophysics are primarily aimed at evaluating thresholds. The more modern
theory of signal detection replaces the threshold concept.

+ Additional Notes
Perception

Making sense of something; understanding

Beyond the raw information that interpretation and recognition provides

Sensation

Raw information we get through the 5 senses

More on the concept of psychophysics