Thresholds
Definition: The level of Stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse Psycho-Physics: the study of how physical energy (light/sound waves) relates to our psychological experience.
Absolute Thresholds
The minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus (light, sound, pressure, taste, odor)
Example
smelling a single drop of perfume in a 3 room apartment
Measured By
recording the stimulation needed for us to pinpoint its appearance 50% of the time
Signal Detection
Definition: Predicts WHEN we will detect weak signals. (based on our experiences, psychological state, and alertness)
Measured By:
the ratio of HITS to FALSE ALARMS
Subliminal Stimulation
Commercials display subliminal messages to "influence" their customers through their products. This makes two assumptions about our senses:
Can we sense stimuli below our absolute thresholds?
YES
Can we be affected by such weak stimuli that we don't even notice?
YES
Does the fact of subliminal SENSATION verify entreprenurial claims of subliminal PERSUASION?
NO
Difference Thresholds
The minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli half the time. Increases with the magnitude of the stimulus.
Weber's Law
Our thresholds for detecting differences are a roughly constant proportion of the size of the original stimulus.
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