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Signal Detection Theory

Signal detection theory analyzes how observers detect signals in noise and how sensitivity and response bias affect detection performance. It originated from radar research and is now used in experimental psychology to assess how well observers perceive stimuli independently from how they choose to respond. Sensitivity measures discriminability between signals and noise while criterion measures the threshold for considering a stimulus a signal versus noise.

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Richa Halder
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7 views

Signal Detection Theory

Signal detection theory analyzes how observers detect signals in noise and how sensitivity and response bias affect detection performance. It originated from radar research and is now used in experimental psychology to assess how well observers perceive stimuli independently from how they choose to respond. Sensitivity measures discriminability between signals and noise while criterion measures the threshold for considering a stimulus a signal versus noise.

Uploaded by

Richa Halder
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Signal Detection Theory

MA 4207
Signal Detection Theory
Roots in World War 2

Radar researchers, Identify Signal from Noise

Used in Experimental Psychology in psychophysical tasks


Windchime Bicycle

Blanket Strings
Perception and Sensation
• Sensation and Perception
• Stimuli information received by the
receptors: Sensation
• Making accurate inference from
sensory input: Perception

Prior Knowledge->Bias

Perception
Sensation->Sensitivity

• Mismatch=> Illusion
Signal and Noise

Noisy signal representation, Ds:


Ds = S + N
where S is signal, N is noise

Decode the S from Ds?


Source of Noise
• External Noise
• Related to noise in the
stimuli
• Interferes with the Signal
• Internal Noise
• Noisy neural response to
Stimuli
• Affects signal representation
• Internal Response
• Decision based on noisy
stimuli
Noise
• Generally assumed to
be white
• If S is assumed to be
Normal, then Ds also
Normal.
• Typically,
Sensitivity and Criterion
How well the observer perceives stimuli – or sensitivity

How does the observer choose to respond – or criterion

Methods to assess the two independently


SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY
Biased Unbiased
Criterion Criterion
Sensibility and Criterion
Sensibility and Criterion
• Sensitivity (Discriminability), d’
• Measure of how close signal and noise
are
• Supposed to be a property only of the
sensory process
• Criterion (Response Bias), C
• Measure of what is considered noise
and what signal
• Susceptible to motivation, strategy,
etc.
• Sensitivity and criterion are
independent
Example

Internal responses will have some variability because of mixed


neuronal selectivity

Criterion for deciding if there is a tumor present in a scan will


determine classification performance
Criterion shift affects performance
• Conservative criterion → low
false alarm rate, low hit rate
• Aggressive criterion → high hit
rate, high false alarm rate
Computing Sensibility
d’= Separation/ Spread

d’

d’=z(H)-z(FA)
Computing Criterion
Likelihood Ratio

c=-[z(H) + z(FA)]/2
Sensitivity and Criterion
d' is a measure of sensitivity.
The larger the d' value, the better your performance.
A d' value of zero means that you cannot distinguish trials with the target from
trials without the target.
C is a measure of response bias.
A value greater than 0 indicates a conservative bias
A value less than 0 indicates a liberal bias.
Values close to 0 indicate neutral bias
ROC
• Receiver operating
characteristic (ROC):
the hit rate as a
function of the false
alarm rate.
• Chance performance
will fall along the
diagonal.
• Good performance
(high sensitivity)
“bows out” towards
the upper left
corner.

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