The Philosophical Review/Volume 1/Summary: Martius - Ueber den Einfluss der Intensitat der Reize auf die Reactionszeit der Klänge
Experiments undertaken, in the first instance, to test Stumpf’s assertion that high tones have an especial sensation value as regards intensity. The test was made by finding reaction-times for different intensities of the same tone. In light of the experiments, the author also reviews the opinion of Wundt, Exner, and others, that, in general, reaction-times decrease with the increase in intensity of stimuli. M. found that, with a proper amount of practice and training of the attention, the reaction-times for strong impressions of sound arising from a series of stimuli differing considerably in intensity were equal, but that for very weak impressions the reaction-times were longer, notwithstanding practice and training of the attention. The cause of the increase of the reaction-times with weak impressions lies in the difficulty of perceiving them, and in the slower co-ordination of impression and motion, and not to purely physiological processes of transmission.