psychophysics

American  

[sahy-koh-fiz-iks] / ˌsaɪ koʊˈfɪz ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of psychology that deals with the relationships between physical stimuli and resulting sensations and mental states.

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psychophysics British  

/ ˌsaɪkəʊˈfɪzɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the branch of psychology concerned with the relationship between physical stimuli and the effects they produce in the mind

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Other Word Forms

• psychophysic adjective
• psychophysical adjective
• psychophysically adverb
• psychophysicist noun

Etymology

Origin of psychophysics

From the German word Psychophysik, dating back to 1875–80. See psycho-, physics

Example Sentences

The researchers used online tools to test and verify these predictions by running psychophysics experiments with human participants.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

He knew from his study of psychophysics that she was working against a fundamental biological obstacle.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 19, 2018

From my student research into motor psychophysics, I knew that this random, uncoordinated motion could be easily ignored; to the players, it’s white noise.

From Slate • Feb. 17, 2015

Daniel Kahneman’s 2002 Nobel Prize was awarded for using the psychophysics of utility—nonlinear psychological responses to money—to challenge rational-agent economics.

From Scientific American • Jun. 28, 2013

No other example can be used here, because on the rocky problem of the occurrence of images are shattered even the regulative arts of most modern psychophysics.

From Criminal Psychology; a manual for judges, practitioners, and students by Gross, Hans Gustav Adolf