Fechner's Law (Noun)
Meaning
(psychophysics) the concept that the magnitude of a subjective sensation increases proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity; based on early work by E. H. Weber.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- Fechner's law is often used to describe the relationship between the physical intensity of a stimulus and the perceived intensity of the resulting sensation.
- The concept of Fechner's law has been influential in the field of psychophysics, where researchers study the relationship between physical stimuli and subjective experience.
- Fechner's law states that the magnitude of a subjective sensation increases proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity, rather than being directly proportional to the intensity.
- In practice, Fechner's law means that as the intensity of a stimulus increases, the perceived intensity of the resulting sensation will also increase, but at a decreasing rate.
- Researchers have used Fechner's law to model a wide range of perceptual phenomena, from the perception of brightness and loudness to the perception of pain and other bodily sensations.