The Forgotten History of Signal Detection Theory

Autor/in	Wixted, John T.
Titel	The Forgotten History of Signal Detection Theory
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 46 (2020) 2, S.201-233 (33 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0000732
Schlagwörter	Perception; Bias; Theories; Experimental Psychology; History; Development + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Wahrnehmung; Theory; Theorie; Experimentelle Psychologie; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Entwicklung
Abstract	Signal detection theory is one of psychology's most well-known and influential theoretical frameworks. However, the conceptual hurdles that had to be overcome before the theory could finally emerge in its modern form in the early 1950s seem to have been largely forgotten. Here, I trace the origins of signal detection theory, beginning with Fechner's (1860/1966) "Elements of Psychophysics." Over and above the Gaussian-based mathematical framework conceived by Fechner in 1860, nearly a century would pass before psychophysicists finally realized in 1953 that the distribution of sensations generated by neural noise falls above, not below, the threshold of conscious awareness. An extensive body of single-unit recording and neuroimaging research conducted since then supports the idea that sensory noise yields genuinely felt conscious sensations even in the complete absence of stimulation. That hard-to-come-by insight in 1953 led immediately to the notion of a movable decision criterion and to the methodology of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Over the ensuing years, signal detection theory and ROC analysis have had an enormous impact on basic and applied science alike. Yet, in some quarters of our field, that fact appears to be virtually unknown. By tracing both its fascinating origins and its phenomenal impact, I hope to illustrate why no area of experimental psychology should ever be oblivious to signal detection theory. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01