Temporal loudness weights for sounds with increasing and decreasing intensity profiles.

Using molecular psychophysics, temporal loudness weights were measured for 2-s, 1-kHz tones with flat, increasing and decreasing time-intensity profiles. While primacy and recency effects were observed for flat profile stimuli, the so-called "level dominance" effect was observed for both increasing and decreasing profile stimuli, fully determining their temporal weights. The weighs obtained for these profiles were basically zero for all but the most intense parts of these sounds. This supports the view that the "level dominance" effect is prominent with intensity-varying sounds and that it persists over time since temporal weights are not affected by the direction of intensity change.