In Psychophysical research the absolute threshold has been arbitrarily define as:

Correct answer: B. the stimulus intensity that can be detected 50% of the time

  • A. the stimulus intensity that can be detected 100% of the time
  • B. the stimulus intensity that can be detected 50% of the time
  • C. the minimum amount of difference in intensity needed to tell two stimuli apart
  • D. a constant proportion of the size of the initial stimulus

Explanation

Because detection varies with attention and other conditions, the absolute threshold is conventionally set at the stimulus intensity detected on 50% of trials. A minimum difference between two stimuli describes the just noticeable difference instead.

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