Question

Describe what Weber’s, Fechner’s, and Steven’s Laws have in common and how they are different.

Answer 1

Weber's law was first proposed about psychophysics was first proposed by Gustav Weber and further formulated by his student Gustav Fechner. It is known as Weber's law or Weber-Fechner law. This law states the perception sensitivity to a stimulus that is inversely proportional to actual difference. For eg: a may lift 10 kg weight a 2 kg weight. His perception of lifting 10 kg and 2 kg weight changes, this perception shows a uniform ratio as the weight increased or decreased. Same would happen if there is a discount of 1$ on 2$ product and same 1$ on 78$. We would notice that difference of 78$ because as it is we are spending more money.

Steven's law is often considered as better than Weber-Fechner law. It is seen as sensation increase or increase in magnitude as it describes the wider range of sensory comparisons. It states the magnitude of sensation evoked.

Hence the idea of perception that we see when see two different objects is common. whwereas the Weber fechner law tells about perception and Steven's law tells more about sensation, its magnitude. Weber's law applied in local psychophysics whereas Steven's law is applied in global psychophysics