Single Estimates of Pitch Magnitude

Six hundred three Os each made a single numerical estimate of pitch magnitude with respect to a standard of either 523 or 131 cps. The standards were assigned a value of 100. Six comparison frequencies were presented: 131, 262, 523, 1047, 2093, and 4186 cps. The questions posed are: Will the frequency of the standard affect magnitude estimations of pitch when each O makes a single magnitude estimation? What are the effects of the context provided by multiple judgments on the Os' magnitude estimations of pitch? The results show that the choice of the standard may affect magnitude estimations of pitch when biases due to multiple judgments are eliminated. The medians obtained with a standard of 523 cps fall close to the revised mel scale [S. S. Stevens and J. Volkman, Am. J. Psychol. 53, 329–353 (1940)], while the medians obtained with a standard of 131 cps fall below it. In answer to the second question, a comparison of the pitch functions obtained using single estimates with the pitch functions obtained using multiple judgments reveals that the context provided by multiple judgments has two main effects. Multiple judgments act to increase the overall steepness of the pitch functions obtained, and effects associated with the frequency of the standard may be made more marked when multiple judgments are used. The results suggests that it is probably risky to decide on the form of the pitch function on the basis of the data obtained with either multiple judgments or with single judgments, using only one standard.Six hundred three Os each made a single numerical estimate of pitch magnitude with respect to a standard of either 523 or 131 cps. The standards were assigned a value of 100. Six comparison frequencies were presented: 131, 262, 523, 1047, 2093, and 4186 cps. The questions posed are: Will the frequency of the standard affect magnitude estimations of pitch when each O makes a single magnitude estimation? What are the effects of the context provided by multiple judgments on the Os' magnitude estimations of pitch? The results show that the choice of the standard may affect magnitude estimations of pitch when biases due to multiple judgments are eliminated. The medians obtained with a standard of 523 cps fall close to the revised mel scale [S. S. Stevens and J. Volkman, Am. J. Psychol. 53, 329–353 (1940)], while the medians obtained with a standard of 131 cps fall below it. In answer to the second question, a comparison of the pitch functions obtained using single estimates with the pitch functions obtained us...