absolute threshold

(noun)

The lowest level at which a stimulus can be detected 50% of the time.

Related Terms

Examples of absolute threshold in the following topics:

  • Sensory Absolute Thresholds

    • The absolute threshold is the lowest intensity at which a stimulus can be detected.
    • Smell is not the only sense with absolute thresholds.
    • Every sense has an absolute threshold.
    • Expectations can also affect the absolute threshold.
    • Light at the end of the tunnel: the absolute threshold for vision

  • Sensory Difference Thresholds

    • The just-noticeable difference (JND), also known as the difference limen or differential threshold, is the smallest detectable difference between a starting and secondary level of sensory stimulus.
    • The absolute threshold is the minimum volume of the radio we would need in order to notice that it was turned on at all.
    • The difference threshold is the amount of stimulus change needed to recognize that a change has occurred.
    • If someone changes the volume of a speaker, the difference threshold is the amount it has to be changed in order for listeners to notice a difference.

  • Measurement Problems

    • The primary drawback to this approach is that it measures relative poverty (as opposed to absolute poverty).
    • That bottom 10% (assuming inflation has been accounted for) will be gaining wealth and purchasing power in absolute terms despite the fact that the Gini index will be much worse.
    • As a result, there is high absolute value for each country but minimal comparative value between countries.
    • Another prospective drawback of this method is that the poverty threshold only measures when an individual is above or below it, and not the extent to which each individual deviates.
    • One interesting risk in measuring poverty is the concept of voluntary poverty, or the active pursuit of living at the absolute bare minimum.

  • Assessing the Great Society

    • The poverty rate is defined as the percentage of Americans living below the ‘absolute poverty line. ' The absolute poverty line is defined by the Office of Health and Human Services as the threshold at which families can afford the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing.

  • Measuring Poverty

    • The UN's measure of global poverty based on whether or not a person earns $1.25/day (adjusted for international purchasing power) is a measure of absolute poverty -- it is based on whether or not a person has the bare minimum to meet their material needs.
    • The European Union's poverty threshold is based on relative poverty -- it measures how far below median income a person is, rather than whether or not they can meet their daily needs.
    • Poverty is usually measured as either absolute or relative poverty.
    • Absolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries.

  • The Action Potential and Propagation

    • When the membrane potential of the axon hillock of a neuron reaches threshold, a rapid change in membrane potential occurs in the form of an action potential.
    • The period from the opening of the sodium channels until the sodium channels begin to reset is called the absolute refractory period.

  • Absolute Value

    • Absolute value can be thought of as the distance of a real number from zero.
    • For example, the absolute value of 5 is 5, and the absolute value of −5 is also 5, because both numbers are the same distance from 0.
    • The term "absolute value" has been used in this sense since at least 1806 in French and 1857 in English.
    • Other names for absolute value include "numerical value," "modulus," and "magnitude."
    • The absolute values of 5 and -5 shown on a number line.

  • Poverty

    • They live in poverty, as the term is used colloquially, and likely fall under formal income thresholds that designate individuals as officially poor.
    • "Relative poverty" refers to economic disadvantage compared to wealthier members of society, whereas "absolute poverty" refers to a family (or an individual) with an income so low that they cannot afford basic necessities of survival, such as food and shelter.

  • Poverty

    • People who are homeless, hungry, or ill without access to treatment are examples of people who do not have access to the material resources they need to survive — they live in poverty as the term is used colloquially, and likely fall under formal income thresholds that designate individuals as officially poor.
    • Absolute poverty is the level of poverty where individuals and families cannot meet food, shelter, warmth, and safety needs, while relative poverty refers to economic disadvantage compared to wealthier members of society.

  • Randomization for two-way tables and chi-square

    • This randomization approach is valid for any sized sample, and it will be more accurate for cases where one or more expected bin counts do not meet the minimum threshold of 5.
    • When the minimum threshold is met, the simulated null distribution will very closely resemble the chi-square distribution.