Context Effects and Reference Standards With Magnitude Estimation and the Labeled Magnitude Scale

Contextual shifts were observed for sweetness of a fruit beverage and for estimated tactile roughness of sandpapers. Midrange stimuli were judged to be less intense in the context of stronger items and more intense in the context of weaker items, a contrast effect. The use of a reference standard decreased the size of the contrast shift for the labeled magnitude scale but not for magnitude estimation.