Meaning & use
absolute threshold
Last updated
Meaning
nounusually singular
The smallest intensity of a stimulus that someone can detect on at least half the occasions it is presented.
Grammar: Commonly singular: the absolute threshold for sound; often followed by for.
Patterns
- the absolute threshold for something
- measure the absolute threshold
- above/below the absolute threshold
In the experiment, the absolute threshold for the tone was barely audible.
A dim light below the absolute threshold for vision may still be present.
Word forms
| plural | absolute thresholds |
|---|
Common combinations
- absolute threshold for sound
- The absolute threshold for sound differs from person to person.
- determine the absolute threshold
- Researchers determine the absolute threshold by repeating very weak stimuli.
- below the absolute threshold
- A stimulus below the absolute threshold is not reliably noticed.
- differ from the difference threshold
- The absolute threshold detects presence; the difference threshold detects change.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensory threshold
- A broader term for a level at which sensation begins; absolute threshold is the specific minimum detectable level.
- detection limit
- Used especially in measurement and chemistry for the smallest amount reliably detected, not only in perception.
Word family
Commonly confused: absolute threshold or difference threshold?
absolute threshold vs difference threshold
The difference threshold is the smallest detectable change between two stimuli; the absolute threshold is the smallest detectable stimulus itself.
Practice
A psychologist measures the faintest light a participant can notice half of the time. What is being measured?
Choose one answer.
This is the minimum stimulus detected, so it is the absolute threshold. The difference threshold would measure the smallest change in brightness the person could notice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “absolute threshold”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.