The step method: A new adaptive psychophysical procedure
Perception & PsychophysicsPublished 1 November 1989Open access
William A. Simpson
Citations45
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
A new adaptive psychophysical method, the step method, is introduced and simulations show the method to be less biased and more efficient than constant stimuli or Pentland’s adaptive method for fewer than 40 trials.
Abstract
A new adaptive psychophysical method, the step method, is introduced. Simulations show the method to be less biased and more efficient than constant stimuli or Pentland's adaptive method for fewer than 40 trials. An experiment using discrimination of dot number, however, failed to find any differences among the three methods in either bias or efficiency.
Keywords
PsychologyNeuroscience
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of AmericaTransformed Up-Down Methods in Psychoacoustics
5,533 Citations1971Harry Levitt
A broad class of up‐down methods used in psychoacoustics with due emphasis on the related problems of parameter estimation and the efficient placing of observations is described, including examples where conventional techniques are inapplicable.
Perception & PsychophysicsQuest: A Bayesian adaptive psychometric method
2,505 Citations1983Andrew B. Watson, Denis G. Pelli
An adaptive psychometric procedure that places each trial at the current most probable Bayesian estimate of threshold is described, taking advantage of the common finding that the human psychometric function is invariant in form when expressed as a function of log intensity.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of AmericaPEST: Efficient Estimates on Probability Functions
1,209 Citations1967M. M. Taylor, C. Douglas Creelman
Behavior Research MethodsMicrocomputer-based estimation of psychophysical thresholds: The Best PEST
324 Citations1982Harris R. Lieberman, Alex Pentland
A new, maximally efficient technique for measuring psychophysical thresholds (Pentland, 1980) has been implemented on the microcomputer and is the most efficient sequential parameter estimation technique possible.
Perception & PsychophysicsMaximum-likelihood psychometric procedures in two-alternative forced-choice: Evaluation and recommendations
72 Citations1987Robert Madigan, David J. Williams
Several new adaptive psychometric procedures have been proposed that use maximum-likelihood methods to estimate points on a subject’s psychophysical function, and some psychometric situations that pose special problems for the new approaches are examined.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of AmericaComparison of three adaptive psychophysical procedures
63 Citations1982Brian R. Shelton, Maria C. Picardi +1 more
Perception & PsychophysicsThe method of constant stimuli is efficient
55 Citations1988William A. Simpson
Monte Carlo simulations show that data collected using the method of constant stimuli yield threshold estimates with the same variability as and less bias than estimates based on data collection using an adaptive trial placement rule.
Perception & PsychophysicsObservations on a maximum likelihood method of sequential threshold estimation and a simplified approximation
26 Citations1984Phillip L. Emerson
The maximum likelihood method was conceived and used for theoretical purposes early in the development of sequential threshold methods (Smith, 1961; Wetherill, 1963), it has not been very popular as a practical scheme for measuring thresh olds.