Imagine you are a school nurse who is about to administer an absolute threshold test for hearing to a class of third graders. Note the following children: J
ane was awake at 4 a.m., as she is every day, to help her family get their farm in order. She walks into your office, already yawning and with sleepy eyes.
Leela loves WWE wrestling and was out until 11 p.m. with her dad watching The Miz get decked by Roman Reigns; she stands before you with sinus and ear infections.
Jamal was (as he always is) in bed at 8 p.m. last night and awake at 7 a.m. this morning, full of life, bright-eyed, and well rested.
As you administer your tests, you decide to consult with a panel of other "nurses" to discuss the reliability of each student’s test. In other words, discuss with your group the following information:
Given that a reliable test is one that yields the same result every time it is administered, determine who is likely to have the same absolute threshold on the test today and again in two months? This means that if the quietest sound they hear today is 3 decibels, then the quietest sound they will detect in three months will also be 3 decibels. Which two students will likely have a reliable result? Why?
2. Compare the two students who will have reliable tests. Do you believe their absolute threshold for sound will be the same, as measured in decibels? Why?
3. Whose test is likely going to be unreliable? Why?
4. In light of the discussion you have with your "nurse" colleagues, summarize your findings regarding: The stability of the absolute threshold between people The stability of the absolute threshold within one person’s results
5. What factors, then, affect the absolute threshold, and why can the term absolute seem misleading?
6. One last question: Suppose Leela was healthy and well rested today and her absolute threshold was 2 decibels. About 6 months later, you administer another test to Leela. This time, she does have an ear infection, and she now detects the original absolute threshold result you obtained for her only 20% of the time that you administer that sound intensity. Explain to Leela what it means to now have subliminal perception for 2 decibels.
