Question

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Answer 1

Signal detection theory.

Step-by-step explanation:

It's a theory meant to quantify the signal and the noise measuring the ability to differentiate between information-bearing patterns (stimulus in organisms, signal in machines) from random patterns (noise) that distracts from the information.

In the field of electronics, the separation of such patterns from a disguising background is referred to as signal recovery.