Methodological examination of the PEST (Parametric Estimation by Sequential Testing) procedure

Abstract

Any psychophysical procedure requires arbitrary decisions on the part of E at the beginning of the experiment. Even within adaptive stimulus programming, e.g., PEST, procedures, which are modified according to the moment-by-moment responses of S, E must initialize the procedure. The PEST procedure was employed in three different auditory tasks and examined for its immunity to initializing conditions. PEST, despite its adaptive features, is not entirely immune to initializing conditions. It is suggested that an iterative approach may assist the initializing of conditions for psychophysical procedures. © 1968 Psychonomic Society, Inc.