Absolute+Threshold

toc = Definition: = The minimum amount of sensory stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time; marks the difference between not being able to percieve a stimulus and being just barely able to perceive it. Gen Psych Chapter 3, pp. 71-72

= Examples: = The absolute threshold for vision is a candle flame that is 30 miles away on a clear night; for hearing, it is a watch ticking 20 feet away; for taste, it is 1 teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons of water; for smell, it is a single drop of perfume in a three-room house; for touch, it is a bee's wing falling a distance of 1 cm onto the cheek.

= Analogies: = The absolute threshold is to noticing something, as crossing a doorway is to being in a room.

= Mnemonics: = Absolute Threshold = Almost There (you can barely notice it)

=In the News:= [|10 Limits to Human Perception … and How They Shape Your World] Every human has limits. You can only run so fast, jump so high, and go for so long without water. But what about restrictions upon our five senses, those tools that we use to perceive and understand our surroundings? Here are ten limitations on human perception that have a direct impact on how we understand the world.

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