Abstract
Thirty‐two subjects made paired comparison judgements of the relative brightness of stimuli presented 0·1 log ft.‐l. below recognition threshold. All stimuli were objectively equal in brightness. Half the subjects made judgements under conditions of simultaneous presentation and half under conditions of successive presentation. The stimuli had previously been scaled for ‘emotionality’ by a sample of subjects drawn from the same population as the subjects who made perceptual judgements. A scale of apparent brightness was derived from the data obtained under the successive condition but the data from the simultaneous condition were not scaleable. The scale for the successive condition was significantly correlated with the ‘emotionality’ scale. These results support an arousal interpretation of perceptual defence and indicate that where appropriate techniques are employed it is possible to measure the perceptual component of perceptual defence. The method described would seem potentially powerful for further investigations in this and related areas.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
