The four-interval, two-alternative forced-choice (4I2AFC): A powerful sensory discrimination method to detect small, directional changes particularly suitable for visual or manual evaluations.

Highlights • The 4I2AFC is a paired 2-AFC with AB and BA pairs. • The 4I2AFC can be used to detect small changes of stimuli. • The 4I2AFC can be used to identify direction of stimuli changes. • The 4I2AFC is more powerful than the tetrads in both difference and similarity testing. • The 4I2AFC is particularly suitable for visual or manual evaluations with less sensory fatigue. Abstract The four-interval, two-alternative forced-choice (4I2AFC) is a paired version of the 2-AFC with AB and BA pairs as two alternatives, where A is a signal or a stronger stimulus and B is a noise or a weaker stimulus. The task of the subject in 4I2AFC is to select the pair (AB) with decreasing stimuli change. The 4I2AFC is a powerful sensory discrimination forced-choice method to detect small, directional changes of stimuli particularly suitable for visual or manual evaluations with less sensory fatigue. This paper explores the 4I2AFC method and includes an applied illustrative case study for measuring facial skin smoothness visually using the method. An analytical psychometric function is derived. The performances of the 4I2AFC in both difference testing and similarity/equivalence testing are compared with those of the conventional sensory discrimination forced-choice methods. The 4I2AFC is theoretically more powerful than any of the published conventional methods including the tetrads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]