A table for the calculation of d' and BETA.

The methodology of signal detection theory is a preferred technique for assessing an S's ability to discriminate the occurrence of discrete binary events. A compact table is presented which will permit precise calculation of signal detection parameters, d' (discrimination index) and BETA (response bias), for hit and false alarm rate combinations in the range from .01-.99. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical evaluation of hearing screening by distortion product otoacoustic emissions

The aim of this study was to provide a statistical evaluation of the screening properties of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOEs) in individuals with clinically normal hearing and in patients with pure sensorineural deafness of various degrees. The main informational parameters used were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and the analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. For each frequency tested, ears were classified as a function of their audiometric threshold. Two groups were defined relative to an arbitrary reference, the "audiometric criterion." The PPV decreased and NPV increased with increases in the audiometric criterion. Each point of the ROC curve represents the relationship between the false alarm rate and the hit rate for each audiometric criterion ranging between 10 and 75 dB hearing level: the lower the audiometric criterion, the lower the hit rate value, and the lower the false alarm value. The audiometric criterion giving the highest hit rate and the lowest false alarm rate was 55 to 60 dB hearing level for primaries at 60 and 70 dB sound pressure level, or 25 to 30 dB hearing level for primaries at 30, 40, and 50 dB sound pressure level. These two different behaviors of ROC curves are consistent with the hypothesis that DPOEs do not represent activity at a single location along the basilar membrane.     

The mirror effect and mixture signal detection theory.

The mirror effect for word frequency refers to the finding that low-frequency words have higher hit rates and lower false alarm rates than high-frequency words. This result is typically interpreted in terms of conventional signal detection theory (SDT), in which case it indicates that the order of the underlying old item distributions mirrors the order of the new item distributions. However, when viewed in terms of a mixture version of SDT, the order of hits and false alarms does not necessarily imply the same order in the underlying distributions because of possible effects of mixing. A reversal in underlying distributions did not appear for fits of mixture SDT models to data from 4 experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remember-Know: A Matter of Confidence.

This article critically examines the view that the signal detection theory (SDT) interpretation of the remember-know (RK) paradigm has been ruled out by the evidence. The author evaluates 5 empirical arguments against a database of 72 studies reporting RK data under 400 different conditions. These arguments concern (a) the functional independence of remember and know rates, (b) the invariance of estimates of sensitivity, (c) the relationship between remember rates and overall hit and false alarm rates, (d) the relationship between RK responses and confidence judgments, and (e) dissociations between remember and overall hit rates. Each of these arguments is shown to be flawed, and despite being open to refutation, the SDT interpretation is consistent with existing data from both the RK and remember-know-guess paradigms and offers a basis for further theoretical development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating strength and frequency effects in recognition memory using type-2 signal detection theory.

Criterion- versus distribution-shift accounts of frequency and strength effects in recognition memory were investigated with Type-2 signal detection receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, which provides a measure of metacognitive monitoring. Experiment 1 demonstrated a frequency-based mirror effect, with a higher hit rate and lower false alarm rate, for low frequency words compared with high frequency words. In Experiment 2, the authors manipulated item strength with repetition, which showed an increased hit rate but no effect on the false alarm rate. Whereas Type-1 indices were ambiguous as to whether these effects were based on a criterion- or distribution-shift model, the two models predict opposite effects on Type-2 distractor monitoring under some assumptions. Hence, Type-2 ROC analysis discriminated between potential models of recognition that could not be discriminated using Type-1 indices alone. In Experiment 3, the authors manipulated Type-1 response bias by varying the number of old versus new response categories to confirm the assumptions made in Experiments 1 and 2. The authors conclude that Type-2 analyses are a useful tool for investigating recognition memory when used in conjunction with more traditional Type-1 analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Externalizing psychopathology and behavioral disinhibition: Working memory mediates signal discriminability and reinforcement moderates response bias in approach–avoidance learning.

Research has suggested that reduced working memory capacity plays a key role in disinhibited patterns of behavior associated with externalizing psychopathology. In this study, participants (N = 365) completed 2 versions of a go/no-go mixed-incentive learning task that differed in the relative frequency of monetary rewards and punishments for correct and incorrect active-approach responses, respectively. Using separate structural equation models for conventional (hit and false alarm rates) and signal detection theory (signal discriminability and response bias) performance indices, distinct roles for working memory capacity and changes in payoff structure were found. Specifically, results showed that (a) working memory capacity mediated the effects of externalizing psychopathology on false alarms and discriminability of go versus no-go signals; (b) these effects were not moderated by the relative frequency of monetary rewards and punishments; (c) the relative frequency of monetary rewards and punishments moderated the effects of externalizing psychopathology on hits and response bias for go versus no-go responses; and (d) these effects were not mediated by working memory capacity. The findings implicate distinct roles for reduced working memory capacity and poorly modulated active approach and passive avoidance in the link between externalizing psychopathology and behavioral disinhibition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A global activation approach to the effect of changes in environmental context on recognition.

A number of prior studies have not found declines in recognition performance when testing occurs in an environmental context that is different from the learning context. These findings raise serious problems for global activation theories of recognition which predict that hit and false alarm rates will decline when the test context does not match the learning context. Environmental context was manipulated as a unique combination of foreground color, background color, and location on a computer screen in 3 experiments using intact-rearranged recognition testing and 2 experiments using single-item testing. Changes in context resulted in reduced hit and false alarm rates as predicted by global activation theories in all 5 experiments. Mental reinstatement of the learning context was also examined. The results indicated that Ss did not use a mental reinstatement strategy in these experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the nature of associative information in recognition memory.

In a typical associative-recognition task, participants must distinguish between intact word pairs (both words previously studied together) and rearranged word pairs (both words previously studied but as part of different pairs). The familiarity of the individual items on this task is uninformative because all of the items were seen before, so the only way to solve the task is to rely on associative information. Prior research suggests that associative information is recall-like in nature and may therefore be an all-or-none variable. The present research reports several experiments in which some pairs were strengthened during list presentation. The resulting hit rates and false alarm rates, and an analysis of the corresponding receiver operating characteristic plots, suggest that participants rely heavily on item information when making an associative-recognition decision (to no avail) and that associative information may be best thought of as a some-or-none variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactions Between Study Task, Study Time, and the Low-Frequency Hit Rate Advantage in Recognition Memory.

In studies of episodic recognition memory, low-frequency words (LF) have higher hit rates (HR) and lower false alarm rates (FAR) than do high-frequency words (HF), which is known as the mirror pattern. A few findings have suggested that requiring a task at study may reduce or eliminate the LF-HR advantage without altering the LF-FAR effect. Other studies have suggested that the size of the LF-HR advantage interacts with study time. To explore such findings more thoroughly and relate them to theory, the authors conducted 5 experiments, varying study time and study task. The full mirror pattern was found only in 2 cases: the standard condition requiring study for a later memory test and a condition requiring a judgment about unusual letters. The authors explain their findings in terms of the encoding of distinctive features and discuss the implications for current theories of recognition memory and the word frequency effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dynamic stimulus-driven model of signal detection.

Signal detection theory forms the core of many current models of cognition, including memory, choice, and categorization. However, the classic signal detection model presumes the a priori existence of fixed stimulus representations—usually Gaussian distributions—even when the observer has no experience with the task. Furthermore, the classic signal detection model requires the observer to place a response criterion along the axis of stimulus strength, and without theoretical elaboration, this criterion is fixed and independent of the observer's experience. We present a dynamic, adaptive model that addresses these 2 long-standing issues. Our model describes how the stimulus representation can develop from a rough subjective prior and thereby explains changes in signal detection performance over time. The model structure also provides a basis for the signal detection decision that does not require the placement of a criterion along the axis of stimulus strength. We present simulations of the model to examine its behavior and several experiments that provide data to test the model. We also fit the model to recognition memory data and discuss the role that feedback plays in establishing stimulus representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vigilance performance as a function of interpolated rest.

2 experiments were performed on the effects of interpolated rest upon monitoring performance at both high and low signal rates. Experiment I employed 2 groups of 20 Ss each; Experiment II employed 2 groups of 10 Ss each. One group of Ss worked on a light monitoring task for 3 30-min. periods separated by 10-min. rest periods. The 2nd group worked continuously for 90 min. on the same task. Experiment I employed 24 signals/hr.; Experiment II employed 6 signals/hr. The results indicated a highly significant facilitation of detection performance as a result of interpolated rest at both signal rates and demonstrate the effectiveness of relatively brief rest intervals in maintaining high performance even with low signal rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

False alarms and false memories.

M. B. Miller and G. L. Wolford (1999) make two contributions. First, they add conditions to the basic Roediger-McDermott (1995) procedure and find that critical items are recalled and recognized more often if they are presented in the list than if they are not presented. These results agree with our own which are briefly reviewed. Second, they apply signal detection theory to the paradigm and conclude that false responding is caused by a shift of response criterion. They present no evidence that requires this interpretation, however, and we discuss several reasons why their account is implausible. For example, even when fully informed subjects are asked to use a very strict criterion in responding, the false recognition phenomenon persists at high levels. Further, some variables produce opposite effects on veridical and false recall and recognition; this pattern is difficult to accommodate solely by a shift in response criterion. Therefore, little evidence exists that a simple shift of response criterion can explain false recall and false recognition phenomena in the Roediger-McDermott paradigm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Display characteristics in inspection tasks.

Tested 8 female undergraduates on detection of pin-hole defects in a visual scanning task. Display type (static vs. dynamic) and display arrangement (random vs. ordered) were combined factorially in a within-S design. Static (inspector-paced) displays yielded more defect detections and fewer false alarm errors; whereas, display arrangement did not effect detections or false alarm errors. It is concluded that inspector-paced displays seem to be more beneficial than externally paced displays when rapid scanning rates are required. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subconscious detection of threat as reflected by an enhanced response bias

Neurobiological and cognitive models of unconscious information processing suggest that subconscious threat detection can lead to cognitive misinterpretations and false alarms, while conscious processing is assumed to be perceptually and conceptually accurate and unambiguous. Furthermore, clinical theories suggest that pathological anxiety results from a crude preattentive warning system predominating over more sophisticated and controlled modes of processing. We investigated the hypothesis that subconscious detection of threat in a cognitive task is reflected by enhanced "false signal" detection rather than by selectively enhanced discrimination of threat items in 30 patients with panic disorder and 30 healthy controls. We presented a tachistoscopic word-nonword discrimination task and a subsequent recognition task and analyzed the data by means of process-dissociation procedures. In line with our expectations, subjects of both groups showed more false signal detection to threat than to neutral stimuli as indicated by an enhanced response bias, whereas indices of discriminative sensitivity did not show this effect. In addition, patients with panic disorder showed a generally enhanced response bias in comparison to healthy controls. They also seemed to have processed the stimuli less elaborately and less differentially. Results are consistent with the assumption that subconscious threat detection can lead to misrepresentations of stimulus significance and that pathological anxiety is characterized by a hyperactive preattentive alarm system that is insufficiently controlled by higher cognitive processes.     

Thirty years of investigating the own-race bias in memory for faces: A meta-analytic review.

The current article reviews the own-race bias (ORB) phenomenon in memory for human faces, the finding that own-race faces are better remembered when compared with memory for faces of another, less familiar race. Data were analyzed from 39 research articles, involving 91 independent samples and nearly 5,000 participants. Measures of hit and false alarm rates, and aggregate measures of discrimination accuracy and response criterion were examined, including an analysis of 8 study moderators. Several theoretical relationships were also assessed (i.e., the influence of racial attitudes and interracial contact). Overall, results indicated a "mirror effect" pattern in which own-race faces yielded a higher proportion of hits and a lower proportion of false alarms compared with other-race faces. Consistent with this effect, a significant ORB was also found in aggregate measures of discrimination accuracy and response criterion. The influence of perceptual learning and differentiation processes in the ORB are discussed, in addition to the practical implications of this phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissociations between reaction times and temporal order judgments: A diffusion model approach.

A diffusion model for simple reaction time (RT) and temporal order judgment (TOJ) tasks was developed to account for a commonly observed dissociation between these 2 tasks: Most stimulus manipulations (e.g., intensity) have larger effects in RT tasks than in TOJ tasks. The model assumes that a detection criterion determines the level of sensory evidence needed to conclude that a stimulus has been presented. Analysis of the performance that would be achieved with different possible criterion settings revealed that performance was optimal with a lower criterion setting for the TOJ task than for the RT task. In addition, the model predicts that effects of stimulus manipulations should increase with the size of the detection criterion. Thus, the model suggests that commonly observed dissociations between RT and TOJ tasks may simply be due to performance optimization in the face of conflicting task demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Context-dependent recognition memory: The ICE theory.

A solution to the problem of context-dependent recognition memory is presented in terms of the item, associated context, and ensemble (ICE) theory. It is argued that different types of context effects depend on how context information is encoded at both learning and retrieval. Matching associated context in memory and a retrieval cue produces increases in both hit and false alarm rates and may not be accompanied by a change in discrimination. Integrating item and context information in an ensemble and matching ensemble information in memory and a retrieval cue produces context-dependent discrimination. Empirical support for these predictions is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of results and signal rate in monitoring: A transfer of training approach.

This study investigated the transfer effects of training with 3 signal rates and 3 levels of knowledge of results (KR) in a visual monitoring task. Each S monitored for 48 min. under 1 of 9 signal rate-KR conditions on Day 1. On Day 2 all Ss monitored under the medial signal rate with no KR. Results show: (a) on Day 1 mean probability of detection increased with signal rate and amount of KR, (b) these differences persisted on Day 2 when KR was withdrawn, and (c) commissive errors were higher with partial KR than with either full KR or none. It is concluded that training a monitor with KR and high signal rates may improve performance when he must monitor with low signal rates and no feedback. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between signal detectability theory and the traditional procedures for measuring sensory thresholds: Estimating d' from results given by the method of constant simuli.

The theory of signal detectability assumes that the central effect of a stimulus varies because of physical and neural noise; consequently, the detection of a signal requires a central statistical decision procedure. Similar assumptions have been made by psychophysicists to explain the results of traditional threshold measurement procedures. The interrelations between signal detectability and threshold measures are discussed in relation to psychophysical statistical decision theory, and it is shown that (a) the false positive rate should be related to the Crozier ratio C = ΔΙ/?ΔΙ, and (b) it should be possible to use responses given in the method of constant stimuli to predict the value of d' that will be assigned to a given stimulus by a signal detectability procedure. Evidence supporting both predictions is reported, and the relation between threshold measures and "personality tests" is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dual X-ray absorptiometry quality control: comparison of visual examination and process-control charts

Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is widely used to monitor treatment efficacy in reducing the rate of bone mineral loss. In order to assure the validity of these measurements, instrument quality control of the DXA scanners becomes very important. This paper compares five quality control procedures (visual inspection, Shewhart chart with sensitizing rules, Shewhart chart with sensitizing rules and a filter for clinically insignificant mean changes, moving average chart and standard deviation, and cumulative sum chart [CUSUM]) in their ability to identify scanner malfunction by means of (1) an analysis of five longitudinal phantom data sets that had been collected during a clinical trial and (2) an analysis of simulated data sets. The visual inspection method is relatively subjective and depends on the operator's experience and attention. The regular Shewhart chart with sensitizing rules has a high false alarm rate. The Shewhart chart with sensitizing rules and an additional filter for clinically insignificant mean changes has the lowest false alarm rate but a relatively low sensitivity. The CUSUM method has good sensitivity and a low false alarm rate. In addition, this method provides an estimate of the date a change in the DXA scanner performance might have occurred. The method combining a moving average chart and a moving standard deviation chart came closest to the performance of the CUSUM method. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of all methods, we propose the use of the CUSUM method as a quality control procedure for monitoring DXA scanner performance. For clinical trials use of the more intuitive Shewhart charts may be acceptable at the individual sites provided their scanner performance is followed up by CUSUM analysis at a central quality assurance center.