Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics

A classic. Written in 1966 by David M. Green and John A. Swets, this book summarizes the application of signal detection theory to the analysis and measurement of the human observer's sensory system. 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 statistical 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 discrimination. The concepts of the ideal observer and energy detector are presented and compared with human auditory detection data. Signal detection theory is applied to a variety of other substantive problems in sensory psychology. Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics is an invaluable book for psychologists dealing with sensory perception, especially auditory, for psychologists studying discrimination in other cognitive processes, and for human factors engineers dealing with man/machine interfaces.