Are the responses generated during a psychophysical task independent of previously presented stimuli or do they depend on earlier stimulus presentations?

Citation

Quinn S & Watt R (2012) Are the responses generated during a psychophysical task independent of previously presented stimuli or do they depend on earlier stimulus presentations?. Perception, 41 (2), pp. 236-238. https://doi.org/10.1068/p7127

Abstract
Quinn and Watt (2006 Perception 35 267 - 280) showed that the optimal tempi for pieces of music (ie the appropriate speed for a melody) vary from melody to melody. The current study tested if such tempi responses depend on previous stimulus presentations. To do this, we ran a many-participants single-presentation version of the Quinn and Watt experiment. 616 visitors to the Glasgow Science Centre participated. We found that the results substantially matched those obtained earlier, and demonstrate that participants' responses are essentially independent of previously presented stimuli.

Keywords
psychophysics; previous stimulus presentation; optimal tempo

Journal
Perception: Volume 41, Issue 2

People

Professor Roger Watt

Emeritus Professor, Psychology