Absolute threshold
MCAT glossary · Psychological, Social & Biological Foundations of Behavior
Definition
The minimum stimulus intensity detectable fifty percent of the time.
Absolute threshold in plain English
Your senses aren't infinitely sharp — a signal has to be strong enough before you actually notice it. The absolute threshold is that smallest amount of a stimulus (a faint sound, a dim light, a tiny whiff of a smell) that you can detect. Because our sensing is a bit noisy and inconsistent, scientists define it as the level you'd catch half the time (50%). Think of a friend whispering from across a room: turn the volume down bit by bit, and the point where you hear them exactly half the tries is your absolute threshold for that whisper.
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