Tactile vibration: Change of exponent with frequency

When cross-modality matches were made between a 60-Hz vibration and such other continua as electric current through the finger, number, force of handgrip, and both binaural and monaural loudness, the exponent of the power function for vibration was found to be about 1.0 at 60 Hz. The dependence of the exponent on frequency has been studied in a series of intramodality matching experiments. The exponent appears to reach its largest value in the vicinity of 30 Hz and its lowest value in the vicinity of 250 Hz. The highest value is roughly twice the lowest value. Over the low-frequency range, there is a suggestive similarity between the power functions for vibration and those for auditory loudness. As a vibration sensor, the ear may behave much like the finger.