Unterschiedsschwellen

Unterschiedsschwellen, also known as difference thresholds or just-noticeable differences (JNDs), are a concept in psychophysics that refers to the minimum amount by which a stimulus must be changed for that change to be detected by a human observer. It is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli. For example, if you are holding a weight and someone adds a tiny amount of additional weight, the Unterschiedsschwelle is the point at which you can first perceive that an extra weight has been added.

This threshold is not a fixed value but varies depending on the intensity of the original stimulus. This relationship is described by Weber's Law, which states that the difference threshold is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity. In simpler terms, the stronger the initial stimulus, the larger the change needs to be to be noticed. For instance, it's easier to notice a small change in volume when the music is quiet than when it is very loud.

Unterschiedsschwellen are crucial for understanding how we perceive the world and how our sensory systems operate. They have implications in various fields, including marketing (e.g., how much to change a product's packaging or price), design, and sensory research. Measuring these thresholds helps researchers quantify the sensitivity of different sensory modalities, such as vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.