The failure of Weber's law in time perception and production

Behav Processes. 2006 Feb 28;71(2-3):201-10. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2005.11.006. Epub 2005 Dec 28.

Abstract

Weber's law--constancy of the coefficient of variation--is an apparently ubiquitous feature of time perception, and forms the foundation of several theories of timing. We sought evidence for Weber's law in temporal production and categorization experiments. The production task required pigeons to switch between keys within a specified temporal window. The categorization task required them to classify a stimulus duration as either short or long. Weber fractions did not descend to a horizontal asymptote, but were U-shaped: they decreased as a function of target duration, and increased again at intermediate and long durations. This pattern conforms neither to Weber's law, nor to its generalized form (Getty, D.J., 1975. Discrimination of short temporal intervals: a comparison of two models. Percept. Psychophys. 18, 1-8). A model of counter failure accommodated the U-shaped pattern.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Columbidae
  • Discrimination Learning / physiology*
  • Models, Statistical*
  • Pattern Recognition, Physiological
  • Psychological Theory
  • Random Allocation
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Time Perception / physiology*