A Re-Examination of the Value of the Olfactory Power Law Exponent

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Abstract
The exponent value of the psychophysical power law for olfactory intensity is re-examined by olfactometric methods over two levels of standard stimulus and two types of magnitude estimation procedure. Neither the method of measurement nor the level of the standard significantly influenced the exponent. A value of 0.80 was obtained, not significantly different from a value of 0.72 determined by category scaling methods by the same authors (1968). Both values are considerably greater than previous exponents reported by other workers; the present authors attribute the differences between studies to the degree of stimulus control available in the different methods of stimulus presentation.