A Primer of Signal Detection Theory is being reprinted to fill the gap in literature on Signal Detection Theory--a theory that is still important in psychology, hearing, vision, audiology, and related subjects. This book is intended to present the methods of Signal Detection Theory to a person with a basic mathematical background. It assumes knowledge only of elementary algebra and elementary statistics. Symbols and terminology are kept at a basic level so that the eventual and hoped for transfer to a more advanced text will be accomplished as easily as possible. Intended for undergraduate students at an introductory level, the book is divided into two sections. The first part introduces the basic ideas of detection theory and its fundamental measures. Its aim is to enable the reader to be able to understand and compute these measures. It concludes with a detailed analysis of a typical experiment and a discussion of some of the problems which can arise for the potential user of detection theory. The second section considers three more advanced topics: threshold theory, the extension of detection theory, and an examination of Thurstonian scaling procedures.
This book is being reprinted to fill in the gap in literature on Signal Detection Theory, a theory that is still important in psychology, hearing, vision, audiology, and related subjects. There are a few books at the introductory level for undergraduates
The book is divided into two main sections, the first comprising Chapters 1 to 5, and the second, Chapters 6 to 8. The first section introduces the basic ideas of detection theory and its fundamental measures. The aim is to enable the reader to be able to understand and compute these measures. The section ends with a detailed working through of a typical experiment and a discussion of some of the problems which can arise for the potential user of detection theory. The second section considers three more advanced topics. The first of these, which is treated thoroughly elsewhere in the literature, is threshold theory. The second topic concerns the extension of detection theory, which customarily requires experiments using more open-ended procedures, such as recall; and the third topic is an examination of Thurstonian scaling procedures which extend signal detection theory in a number of useful ways.
The book summarizes the application of signal detection theory to the analysis an measurement of humn observer's sensor sysem. The theory provides a way to analyze what had been called the threshold or sensory limen, the basic unit of all discrimination studies, whether human or animal. The book outlines the theory of statisical decision making and its application to a variety of common psychophysical processes. It shows how signal detection theory can be used to separate sensory and decision aspects of responses in dicrimination. The concepts of the ideal observer and energy detector are presented and compared with human auditory detection data. Signal detection theory is appliced to a variety of other substanditive problemsin sensory psychology. Signal Detection Theory and Psychology is an invaluable book for psychologists dealing with sensory perception, especailly auditory, for psychologists studying discrimination in other cognitivie processes, and for human factor engineers dealing with man/machine interfaces.
Signal detection theory--as developed in electrical engineering and based on statistical decision theory--was first applied to human sensory discrimination 40 years ago. The theoretical intent was to provide a valid model of the discrimination process; the methodological intent was to provide reliable measures of discrimination acuity in specific sensory tasks. An analytic method of detection theory, called the relative operating characteristic (ROC), can isolate the effect of the placement of the decision criterion, which may be variable and idiosyncratic, so that a pure measure of intrinsic discrimination acuity is obtained. For the past 20 years, ROC analysis has also been used to measure the discrimination acuity or inherent accuracy of a broad range of practical diagnostic systems. It was widely adopted by methodologists in the field of information retrieval, is increasingly used in weather forecasting, and is the generally preferred method in clinical medicine, primarily in radiology. This book attends to both themes, ROC analysis in the psychology laboratory and in practical diagnostic settings, and to their essential unity. The focus of this book is on detection and recognition as fundamental tasks that underlie most complex behaviors. As defined here, they serve to distinguish between two alternative, confusable stimulus categories, which may be perceptual or cognitive categories in the psychology laboratory, or different states of the world in practical diagnostic tasks. This book on signal detection theory in psychology was written by one of the developers of the theory, who co-authored with D.M. Green the classic work published in this area in 1966 (reprinted in 1974 and 1988). This volume reviews the history of the theory in engineering, statistics, and psychology, leading to the separate measurement of the two independent factors in all discrimination tasks, discrimination acuity and decision criterion. It extends the previous book to show how in several areas of psychology--in vigilance and memory--what had been thought to be discrimination effects were, in reality, effects of a changing criterion. The book shows that data plotted in terms of the relative operating characteristic have essentially the same form across the wide range of discrimination tasks in psychology. It develops the implications of this ROC form for measures of discrimination acuity, pointing up the valid ones and identifying several common, but invalid, ones. The area under the binormal ROC is seen to be supported by the data; the popular measures d' and percent correct are not. An appendix describes the best, current programs for fitting ROCs and estimating their parameters, indices, and standard errors. The application of ROC analysis to diagnostic tasks is also described. Diagnostic accuracy in a wide range of tasks can be expressed in terms of the ROC area index. Choosing the appropriate decision criterion for a given diagnostic setting--rather than considering some single criterion to be natural and fixed--has a major impact on the efficacy of a diagnostic process or system. Illustrated here by separate chapters are diagnostic systems in radiology, information retrieval, aptitude testing, survey research, and environments in which imminent dangerous conditions must be detected. Data from weather forecasting, blood testing, and polygraph lie detection are also reported. One of these chapters describes a general approach to enhancing the accuracy of diagnostic systems.
The U.S. intelligence community (IC) is a complex human enterprise whose success depends on how well the people in it perform their work. Although often aided by sophisticated technologies, these people ultimately rely on their own intellect to identify, synthesize, and communicate the information on which the nation's security depends. The IC's success depends on having trained, motivated, and thoughtful people working within organizations able to understand, value, and coordinate their capabilities. Intelligence Analysis provides up-to-date scientific guidance for the intelligence community (IC) so that it might improve individual and group judgments, communication between analysts, and analytic processes. The papers in this volume provide the detailed evidentiary base for the National Research Council's report, Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow: Advances from the Behavioral and Social Sciences. The opening chapter focuses on the structure, missions, operations, and characteristics of the IC while the following 12 papers provide in-depth reviews of key topics in three areas: analytic methods, analysts, and organizations. Informed by the IC's unique missions and constraints, each paper documents the latest advancements of the relevant science and is a stand-alone resource for the IC's leadership and workforce. The collection allows readers to focus on one area of interest (analytic methods, analysts, or organizations) or even one particular aspect of a category. As a collection, the volume provides a broad perspective of the issues involved in making difficult decisions, which is at the heart of intelligence analysis.
Detection Theory is an introduction to one of the most important tools for analysis of data where choices must be made and performance is not perfect. Originally developed for evaluation of electronic detection, detection theory was adopted by psychologists as a way to understand sensory decision making, then embraced by students of human memory. It has since been utilized in areas as diverse as animal behavior and X-ray diagnosis. This book covers the basic principles of detection theory, with separate initial chapters on measuring detection and evaluating decision criteria. Some other features include: *complete tools for application, including flowcharts, tables, pointers, and software; *student-friendly language; *complete coverage of content area, including both one-dimensional and multidimensional models; *separate, systematic coverage of sensitivity and response bias measurement; *integrated treatment of threshold and nonparametric approaches; *an organized, tutorial level introduction to multidimensional detection theory; *popular discrimination paradigms presented as applications of multidimensional detection theory; and *a new chapter on ideal observers and an updated chapter on adaptive threshold measurement. This up-to-date summary of signal detection theory is both a self-contained reference work for users and a readable text for graduate students and other researchers learning the material either in courses or on their own.
Signal Processing for Neuroscientists introduces analysis techniques primarily aimed at neuroscientists and biomedical engineering students with a reasonable but modest background in mathematics, physics, and computer programming. The focus of this text is on what can be considered the 'golden trio' in the signal processing field: averaging, Fourier analysis, and filtering. Techniques such as convolution, correlation, coherence, and wavelet analysis are considered in the context of time and frequency domain analysis. The whole spectrum of signal analysis is covered, ranging from data acquisition to data processing; and from the mathematical background of the analysis to the practical application of processing algorithms. Overall, the approach to the mathematics is informal with a focus on basic understanding of the methods and their interrelationships rather than detailed proofs or derivations. One of the principle goals is to provide the reader with the background required to understand the principles of commercially available analyses software, and to allow him/her to construct his/her own analysis tools in an environment such as MATLAB®. - Multiple color illustrations are integrated in the text - Includes an introduction to biomedical signals, noise characteristics, and recording techniques - Basics and background for more advanced topics can be found in extensive notes and appendices - A Companion Website hosts the MATLAB scripts and several data files: http://www.elsevierdirect.com/companion.jsp?ISBN=9780123708670
Wireless communications has witnessed a tremendous growth during the past decade and further spectacular enabling technology advances are expected in an effort to render ubiquitous wireless connectivity a reality. Currently, a technical in-depth book on this subject is unavailable, which has a similar detailed exposure of OFDM, MIMO-OFDM and MC-CDMA. A further attraction of the joint treatment of these topics is that it allows the reader to view their design trade-offs in a comparative context. Divided into three main parts: Part I provides a detailed exposure of OFDM designed for employment in various applications Part II is another design alternative applicable in the context of OFDM systems where the channel quality fluctuations observed are averaged out with the aid of frequency-domain spreading codes, which leads to the concept of MC-CDMA Part III discusses how to employ multiple antennas at the base station for the sake of supporting multiple users in the uplink By providing an all-encompassing self-contained treatment this volume will appeal to a wide readership, as it is both an easy-reading textbook and a high-level research monograph.
The matrix laboratory interactive computing environment—MATLAB—has brought creativity to research in diverse disciplines, particularly in designing and programming experiments. More commonly used in mathematics and the sciences, it also lends itself to a variety of applications across the field of psychology. For the novice looking to use it in experimental psychology research, though, becoming familiar with MATLAB can be a daunting task. MATLAB for Psychologists expertly guides readers through the component steps, skills, and operations of the software, with plentiful graphics and examples to match the reader’s comfort level. Using an extended illustration, this concise volume explains the program’s usefulness at any point in an experiment, without the limits imposed by other types of software. And the authors demonstrate the responsiveness of MATLAB to the individual’s research needs, whether the task is programming experiments, creating sensory stimuli, running simulations, or calculating statistics for data analysis. Key features of the coverage: Thinking in a matrix way. Handling and plotting data. Guidelines for improved programming, sound, and imaging. Statistical analysis and signal detection theory indexes. The Graphical User Interface. The Psychophysics Toolbox. MATLAB for Psychologists serves a wide audience of advanced undergraduate and graduate level psychology students, professors, and researchers as well as lab technicians involved in programming psychology experiments.
