Question

Linda is studying while listening to her ipod. she notices that when she raises the volume five decibels when the volume is initially low, the change is very noticeable. however, when the volume is initially high, increasing the volume by five decibels doesn't result in as noticeable of a change in sound. this phenomenon is best explained by

Answer 1

Answer: Weber's/Weber-Fechner's law of just noticeable difference

This phychologoical law is used to quantify the perception of change for a given stimulus. The perceived change is proportional/constant ratio to the initial stimulus. Thus, it is the minimum amount of a stimulus intensity change that will produce noticeable variation in sensory experience.

As in the example, it has been shown that this law is not function very well for extremes of stimulation.