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Stevens' Power Law

Last modified by
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Jun 17, 2024, 12:35:13 PM
Created by
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May 20, 2016, 3:12:54 AM
Ψ=kIa
(k)Proportionality Constant
(I)Magnitude of Physical Stimulus
(a)Exponent of I
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Stevens' Power Law calculator computes a proposed relationship between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and its perceived intensity or strength. Stevens' methods are usually applied in global psychophysics, meaning the stimuli would be discriminated correctly with nearly perfect certainty for any population.

INSTRUCTIONS: Enter the following:

  • (k)  Proportionality Constant (based on units used)
  • (I) Physical Magnitude of Stimulation
  • (a) Exponent given to I (depends on the type of stimulation)

Magnitude of Sensation (Ψ): The calculator computes the subjective magnitude of sensation.

Stevens' Power Law Exponents (a)   
Continuum Exponent Stimulus condition  
Loudness 0.67 Sound pressure of 3000 Hz tone  
Vibration 0.95 Amplitude of 60 Hz on finger  
Vibration 0.6 Amplitude of 250 Hz on finger  
Brightness 0.33 5° target in dark  
Brightness 0.5 Point source  
Brightness 0.5 Brief flash  
Brightness 1 Point source briefly flashed  
Lightness 1.2 Reflectance of gray papers  
Visual length 1 Projected line  
Visual area 0.7 Projected square  
Redness (saturation) 1.7 Red-gray mixture  
Taste 1.3 Sucrose  
Taste 1.4 Salt  
Taste 0.8 Saccharin  
Smell 0.6 Heptane  
Cold 1 Metal contact on arm  
Warmth 1.6 Metal contact on arm  
Warmth 1.3 Irradiation of skin, small area  
Warmth 0.7 Irradiation of skin, large area  
Discomfort, cold 1.7 Whole body irradiation  
Discomfort, warm 0.7 Whole body irradiation  
Thermal pain 1 Radiant heat on skin  
Tactual roughness 1.5 Rubbing emery cloths  
Tactual hardness 0.8 Squeezing rubber  
Finger span 1.3 Thickness of blocks  
Pressure on palm 1.1 Static force on skin  
Muscle force 1.7 Static contractions  
Heaviness 1.45 Lifted weights  
Viscosity 0.42 Stirring silicone fluids  
Electric shock 3.5 Current through fingers  
Vocal Effort 1.1 Vocal sound pressure  
Angular acceleration 1.4 5 s rotation  
Duration 1.1 White noise stimuli  

The Math

The formula for Stevens' Power Law is as follows:

            Ψ = k•Ia   

where:

  • ψ is the Steven's Law magnitude of sensation.
  • k is a proportionality constant that is based on the units used
  • I is the physical magnitude of the stimulation
  • a is the exponent given to I that depends on the type of stimulation

Ψ is the subjective magnitude of the sensation evoked by the stimulus.  For your convenience, the corresponding table of exponents that Stevens reported is provided in the table.

Source

The Wikipedia page on Stevens' Power Law is located HERE.


The Psychology and Statistics Calculator contains useful tools for Psychology Students.  The psychology statistics functions include the following:

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  • chi-square Test: Enter a 3x2 matrix to see the expected values matrix with row and column totals, degrees of freedom and the chi-square value.
  • Rescorla-Wagner Formula (alpha and beta version): Enter salience for conditional stimuli, rate of unconditional stimuli, maximum conditioning for unconditioned stimuli and the total associative strength of all stimuli present to see the change in strength between conditional and unconditional stimuli.
  • Rescorla-Wagner Formula (k version):  Enter Maximum conditioning possible for the unconditioned stimuli, total associative strength of all stimuli present, combined salience of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, and number of trials to see the change in strength associated with the trials.
  • Ricco's Law: Enter the area of visually unresolved target and constant of background luminance when eyes are adapted to see Ricco's Law factor.
  • Ricco's Law (K variable): Enter the scotopic vision constant, background luminance and photopic vision constant.
  • Stevens' Power Law: Enter proportionality constant, magnitude of stimulation, type of stimulation exponent to see magnitude of sensation. 
  • Weber Fraction: Enter just-noticeable difference for intensity and stimulus intensity to see the weber fraction.
  • Weber-Fechner's Law: Enter just-noticeable difference for intensity, instantaneous stimulus, stimulus intensity and the threshold to see the factor.
  • Random Integer: This provides a random number (integer) between a lower and upper bound.
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  • Frequency Distribution: Frequency distribution of a set of observations in uniformly sized bins between a minimum and maximum.
  • Least-squares Trend Line (aka Linear Regression): Linear regression line on a set of paired numbers and see (r) the correlation coefficient,(n) number of observations, (μX) mean of the X values, (μY) mean of Y values, (ΣX) sum of the X values, (ΣY) sum of the Y values, (Σ(X⋅Y) ) sum of the X*Y product values, (ΣX2) sum of X2 values, (ΣY2) sum of Y2 values, (a) y intercept of regression line, and (b) slope of regression line. 
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  • Paired Sample t-test: Test of two sets of values with an alpha level and whether it's one or two tailed and see the number of observations, mean and standard deviation for both sets, the degrees of freedom, critical t-value, t-score and the Standard Error value.
  • Effect Size (r-squared): Enter a t-test result and the degrees of freedom to see r2.
  • Effect Size (Cohen's d): Enter the mean from two groups and the estimated standard deviation to see the effective size.
  • Analysis of Variance (one way): ANOVA for numeric observations of three groups. Computes the F Score, Numerator: degrees of freedom Between, Denominator: degrees of freedom Within, mean of each group, grand mean, total sum of squares, sum of square within and between, and variance within and between.


This equation, Stevens' Power Law, is used in 2 pages
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