Memory and the theory of signal detection
Abstract
Discusses the use of signal detection theory as a model of the decision process in memory in terms of the problems of identification and testing. Identification refers to the matching of elements of the formal theory with constructs constituting a theory of memory. A number of issues are raised concerning the identification of the sensory continuum, the decision axis, and the distinction between signal and noise. The use of detection theory is not a theoretically neutral method of dealing with response bias; the validity of its use and the manner of its application depend heavily on certain assumptions about the memory system. The form of the operating characteristic can be used to test a number of these assumptions but such tests are relatively insensitive. The use of detection theory in the analysis of cued-recall data poses additional problems and is meaningful in the context of some, but not all, theories of recall. (26 ref.)