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On the Use of Bisection Procedures in Animal Psychophysical Scaling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Thomas G. Raslear
Thomas G. Raslear*
Affiliation:
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
*
Requests for reprints should be addressed to the author, Department of Medical Neurosciences, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D. C., 20012.
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Abstract

The ability of bisection procedures to specify the form of the psychophysical scale depends upon the precision of the technique. It is demonstrated that the precision of bisection techniques is a function of the stimulus interval bisected. Consequently, the choice of stimuli in a bisection experiment may predispose the ability of the experiment to distinguish between alternative psychophysical scales. The testing of interval scale properties of derived scales and the assessment of context effects in bisection experiments was also discussed.

Keywords

measurement error

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , March 1982, pp. 95 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 The Psychometric Society

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Footnotes

This material has been reviewed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and there is no objection to its presentation and/or publication. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the author and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the view of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

References

Reference Note

Raslear, T.G. Context effects in the bisection of a temporal interval by rats. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, April, 1975.Google Scholar

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