Psychology / Unit 4 Psych 0390 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Signal Detection Theory
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The idea
Signal detection theory holds that detecting a faint stimulus depends on the observer's decision criterion as well as on sensitivity.
In practice
A radiologist under pressure to miss nothing reports more faint shadows, gaining detections and false alarms together.
Where people slip
Sensitivity and criterion are separate. Changing the criterion trades one error type for the other without improving vision.
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