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Sensation and Measurement pp 113–128Cite as

Measurement, Invariance, and Psychophysics

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Abstract

In psychophysics, invariant relations can be grouped into three broad classes: (i) invariances in the measurement process, (ii) invariances of functional capacity, and (iii) invariances in the neural events that code information. An analysis is given of selected examples in each category. In psychophysical measurement, for every scale type there is a characteristic distribution of observations. For example, observers’ estimates in direct scaling procedures usually follow lognormal distributions that are typical of ratio-scale variables. In the description of sensory function, ratio scales of sensory magnitude can be related to other behavioral measures that are independent of the matching operation. Over a wide range of conditions, perceived brightness, for instance, can be described by simple power functions with rational exponents similar to those describing visual latency, and temporal and spatial summation. In the analysis of neural mechanisms, a parametric comparison of behavioral and neurelectric measures can often suggest candidate codes. For the visual system such a comparison points to a frequency code of retinal origin for perceived brightness.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard University, USA

    Richard J. W. Mansfield

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  1. Richard J. W. Mansfield
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, Natick, Massachusetts, USA, 01760

    Howard R. Moskowitz (Research Psychologist) (Research Psychologist)

  2. Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 02115

    Bertram Scharf (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

  3. John B. Pierce Foundation Laboratory, USA

    Joseph C. Stevens (Fellow, Research Associate and Lecturer in Psychology) (Fellow, Research Associate and Lecturer in Psychology)

  4. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, 06519

    Joseph C. Stevens (Fellow, Research Associate and Lecturer in Psychology) (Fellow, Research Associate and Lecturer in Psychology)

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© 1974 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland

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Mansfield, R.J.W. (1974). Measurement, Invariance, and Psychophysics. In: Moskowitz, H.R., Scharf, B., Stevens, J.C. (eds) Sensation and Measurement. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2245-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2245-3_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-2247-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-2245-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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