Stevens’ Law is a fundamental law of psychophysics that states the relationship between the physical properties of a stimulus and its perceptual intensity. It was first proposed by Stanley Smith Stevens in the mid-20th century and has been used in various areas of psychology, including perception, emotion, and memory. The law states that the perceptual intensity of a stimulus is proportional to its physical intensity raised to a power of an exponent, which is typically around 2, 3, or 4 (Stevens, 1957). This exponent is referred to as the “Stevens Power Law” and is used to describe the relationship between physical intensity and perceptual intensity.
The law has been used to explain a variety of phenomena in psychology, including Weber’s Law (the relationship between the difference in two stimuli and the absolute intensity of the stimuli), the size-weight illusion, and the magnitude estimation of stimulus intensity (Stevens, 1957). It has also been used to explain the way people perceive and respond to stimuli of different intensities. For example, it has been used to explain why people are more likely to respond to strong stimuli than weak stimuli. In addition, the law has been used to explain how people perceive pain, why some people are more sensitive to certain kinds of stimuli than others, and why certain kinds of stimuli seem to be more intense than others (Stevens, 1957).
The law has been widely accepted in the field of psychology, and its implications have been studied in a variety of different areas. In addition, it has been used to develop various models of perception and emotion, such as the Affective Event Model (AEM) (Scherer, 1986). The AEM utilizes the power law to explain the way in which people perceive and respond to different emotional stimuli.
Overall, Stevens’ Law is an important law of psychophysics that describes the relationship between physical intensity and perceptual intensity. It has been used to explain a variety of phenomena in psychology, and it has been widely accepted in the field.
References
Scherer, K. R. (1986). The affective event model: An integrative approach to the study of emotion. In C. E. Izard & K. R. Scherer (Eds.), Handbook of emotion and motivation (pp. 131-153). New York: Plenum Press.
Stevens, S. S. (1957). On the psychophysical law. Psychological Review, 64(3), 153-181.