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GATE 2023 XH5 (Psychology) – Question 47

Perception, Learning, Memory and Forgetting · Sensation: Sensory thresholds and adaptation, vision, hearing, touch and pain, smell and taste, kinesthesis and vestibular sense · 2 marks · Multiple choice

Match the theory/law in the first column with the corresponding explanation in the second column of the table given below.

Theory/lawExplanation
P) Weber’s lawi) The detection of change in a stimulus is relative to the magnitude of the stimulus
Q) Steven’s Power lawii) Sensory magnitude grows in proportion to the physical intensity of the stimulus raised to a power
R) Signal detection theoryiii) The magnitude of a sensation is a logarithmic function of the stimulus
S) Fechner’s lawiv) The ability to detect a weak stimulus varies from moment to moment as per response bias
  1. P-(ii), Q-(iv), R-(i), S-(iii)
  2. P-(iv), Q-(iii), R-(ii), S-(i)
  3. P-(i), Q-(ii), R-(iv), S-(iii)
  4. P-(iii), Q-(ii), R-(iv), S-(i)

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Correct answer: (C) P-(i), Q-(ii), R-(iv), S-(iii)

Explanation

Weber's law: a just noticeable change is a constant fraction of the stimulus (i). Stevens: sensation grows as a power of intensity (ii). Signal detection theory: detection depends on response bias (iv). Fechner: sensation is the logarithm of the stimulus (iii).