Question

Boris is blindfolded and holding a pile of laundry. Natasha adds some dirty laundry to Boris's pile, then some more dirty laundry, then some more, and so on, just until Boris says, "Now the pile of laundry feels heavier." Boris's judgment is best described by:

a) Weber's law
b) Fechner's law
c) Gestalt principles
d) Signal detection theory

Answer 1

Boris's judgment of the laundry pile becoming heavier relates to Weber's law, which states that the just-noticeable difference in a stimulus is a constant proportion of the stimulus's original intensity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Boris's ability to determine when the pile of laundry feels heavier is an example of what the psychological concept of Weber's law explains. According to Weber's law, the just-noticeable difference (JND)—that is, the smallest change in the intensity of a stimulus that we can detect—is a constant proportion of the stimulus's original intensity. This means that if the original load is heavy, only a relatively larger addition will be noticeable, whereas if the original load is light, a smaller addition can be detected.

In the scenario presented, Boris does not perceive the added weight until it reaches a certain threshold which is proportional to the original weight he was holding. This shows that the findings adhere to Weber's law, given that the perceived increase in weight is based on the proportional change relative to the initial weight of the laundry pile. Therefore, Boris's judgment is best described by option (a) Weber's law.