I usually ask someone with big feet to take off their shoes. I put a
quarter in one but not the other (borrowed from another student). Then
ask another student with eyes shut to hold a shoe in each hand and
report whether they can tell which one is heavier--they can't. I then
put the quarter in one of two envelopes and have the student try it
again--she usually has no trouble feeling the difference in weight. We
then talk about percentage difference in weight, Weber's Law, and
applications to shrinking the size of candy bars (with no price change),
offering items on sale (which may or may not surpass the consumer's JND,
etc.). You could also bring a Susan B. Anthony coin to class and talk
about how we blew that one--can't reliably differentiate this dollar
coin from a quarter.
--Dave
Robert Lennartz wrote:
Does anybody know of an in-class exercise to demonstrate Weber's Law
(on the just noticeable difference) that actually works? I have tried the
one that involves pennies. The student has a cup of pennies in each hand,
with each cup containing an equal number of pennies, and pennies are added
to one cup one at at a time until the student notices the weight
difference (with, of course, the proper precautions so that no other cues
besides the weight difference are present). It never works, despite
various ways I have tried to "tweak" the procedure. Are there any other
exercises that TIPsters have found to work? Thanks.
Robert Lennartz, Ph.D.
Indiana University Southeast
School of Social Sciences
4201 Grant Line Road
New Albany, IN 47150
812-941-2174 (phone) 812-941-2591 (FAX)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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___________________________________________________________________
David E. Campbell, Ph.D. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Department of Psychology Phone: 707-826-3721
Humboldt State University FAX: 707-826-4993
Arcata, CA 95521-8299 www.humboldt.edu/~campbell/psyc.htm
<http://www.humboldt.edu/%7Ecampbell/psyc.htm>
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