Abstract
Weber functions (ΔI/I in dB) for gated 250-Hz tones were studied for monaural and several binaural stimulus configurations (homophasic, and antiphasic with varying phase angle for addition of signal to masker). The various cues for discrimination of signal plus masker from masker alone are functions of intensity increments at one or both ears, an intensity increment at one ear coupled with a decrement at the other, or the introduction of a phase difference between the ears. The decline of the Weber fraction with increasing masker level (the “near miss” to Weber’s law) was confirmed for monaural discrimination over the entire 40-dB range, and a similar rate of decline was found for various binaural stimuli over the lower half of that range. The data also confirm the individual differences found in other studies for sensitivity favoring either interaural amplitude or interaural phase shifts.
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This research was supported by grants from the PSC-BHE Research Award Program of the City University of New York and the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, P.H.S. (Grant R01 NS10843).
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Osman, E., Tzuo, H. & Tzuo, P.L. Weber’s law, the “near miss,” and binaural detection. Perception & Psychophysics 28, 354–364 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204395
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204395