DETECTION THRESHOLDS AND PURE TONE THRESHOLDS IN AUDITORY ACUITY

Abstract

Research was conducted to determine whether subjects could set up and maintain some criterion of minimum tonal quality and if so, whether such a threshold could be even more precise than the threshold of detection. A more precise threshold, in the sense of a steeper psychophysical function, would be of some use in determining the loudness level of pure tones, in defining signal- to-noise differentials in psychological terms, and the like. The data indicate that a zone of detectability of the order of 2-3 decibels exists between the intensity at which a tone is just detected 50% of the time and the intensity at which it may be assigned a pitch quality 50% of the time.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 22, 1948
Accession Number
AD0663531

Entities

People

  • Cecil K. Myers
  • J. D. Harris

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Auditory Acuity
  • Biomedical Research
  • Detection
  • Discrimination
  • Electronic Switches
  • Frequency
  • Intensity
  • Loudness
  • Low Noise
  • Noise
  • Oscillators
  • Pitch Discrimination
  • Psychophysiology
  • Sensation
  • Sine Waves
  • Submarine Bases
  • White Noise

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Regression Analysis.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.