Garner, W. R., & Miller, G. A. (1944). Differential sensitivity to intensity as a function of the duration of the comparison tone. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 34(6), 450-463.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0059786
In testing the relationship between the duration of the comparison tone and the intensity required to produce a judgment of one j.n.d. in loudness, three functions were obtained with each of two observers, each function having a different frequency and sensation level of loudness as constant parameters. A ratio as high as three was found between the highest and lowest ΔI ratio in any one function. The reciprocal of ΔI, used as a measure of the sensitivity of the organism to intensitive changes, suggested two hypotheses to explain the form of the sensitivity function, both of which are analyzed and rejected. Crozier's theory is likewise rejected, since the lower parts of the sensitivity curves do not approach zero asymptotically. Two possible explanations of the too rapid bending of the lower portions of the curves are: (1) mechanical and neural thresholds which would differentiate between short and long tones; and (2) tonal transients affected differentially by tone duration. Békésy's results are not confirmed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)