psychophysics

psy·cho·phys·ics  (sk-fzks)

n. (used with a sing. verb)

The branch of psychology that deals with the relationships between physical stimuli and sensory response.

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psycho·physi·cal adj.

psycho·physi·cal·ly adv.

psycho·physi·cist (-fz-sst) n.

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psychophysics

the branch of psychology that studies the relationships between physical stimuli and resulting sensations and mental states. — psychophysicist, n. — psychophysie, psychophysical, adj.

See also: Psychology

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

psychophysics - the branch of psychology concerned with quantitative relations between physical stimuli and their psychological effects jnd, just-noticeable difference - (psychophysics) the difference between two stimuli that (under properly controlled experimental conditions) is detected as often as it is undetected Fechner's law, Weber-Fechner law - (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 power law, Stevens' law, Stevens' power law - (psychophysics) the concept that the magnitude of a subjective sensation increases proportional to a power of the stimulus intensity Weber's law - (psychophysics) the concept that a just-noticeable difference in a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus; "Weber's law explains why you don't notice your headlights are on in the daytime" experimental psychology, psychonomics - the branch of psychology that uses experimental methods to study psychological issues