The near miss to Weber’s law results from off-frequency auditory filters coding intensity

Evidence

Schroder, Viemeister, and Nelson (1994) measured intensity discrimination in which they blocked the high-frequency spread of excitation using noise bands. They also tested Weber’s law using listeners with steeply sloping hearing losses, losses which increase rapidly as frequency increases. Both experimental manipulations restored Weber’s law: that is, the Weber fraction did not improve with increasing stimulus level in either experiment. Florentine, Buus, and Mason (1987) measured intensity discrimination for the extended high frequencies, where spread of excitation could not occur due to basilar membrane mechanics. Their results at the very high frequencies also demonstrated support for Weber’s law. Taken together, there is strong support for the notion that the near miss results from the ear’s ability to use multiple frequency regions across the excitation pattern to code for intensity. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 836

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• XREF: Connects to earlier Weber-fraction and JND material in this same book (Chapters on intensity discrimination), and to figure 4-12/4-13 excitation pattern discussion.

Related

• The near miss to Weber’s law results from the ear using spread-of-excitation across frequency (similarity 0.97)
• Intensity discrimination improves with level for tones, violating Weber’s law (similarity 0.88)
• Central auditory processing across frequencies produces the near miss (similarity 0.86)
• Near miss to Weber’s law occurs for tones but not noise (similarity 0.85)
• Noise intensity discrimination improves by pooling multiple frequency regions (similarity 0.84)
• Weber’s law holds for noise intensity discrimination above about 20 dB SL (similarity 0.84)
• Miller’s 1947 study tested Weber’s law with noise stimuli (similarity 0.84)
• Weber fraction for tones is level but not frequency dependent (similarity 0.83)
• The near-miss of Weber’s law means threshold slopes can reach 3 to 6 (similarity 0.82)
• Broadband noise yields better intensity discrimination than pure tones by engaging multiple frequency regions (similarity 0.82)
• Weber’s law holds for noise discrimination above 20 dB sensation level. (similarity 0.82)
• Higher-frequency auditory filters carry more intensity-difference information than the signal-centered filter (similarity 0.82)
• Off-frequency listening can distort auditory filter measurement unless masked (similarity 0.81)
• Intensity discrimination JND is expressed as the intensity-based Weber fraction. (similarity 0.80)
• The Weber fraction for frequency declines below 1500 Hz then rises above 2000 Hz (similarity 0.80)