Tables of d’ for detection and localization

A detection and localization (DAL) procedure (Hershman and Lichtenstein, 1967) is one in which at most one of k noisy observation intervals contains a signal. The observer must detect the signal (if present) and locate it in the proper interval. Tables are given for the extraction of d’ values from the percentage of correct responses made in such experiments.     

Vibrotactile signal detection

The theory of signal detectability was applied to vibrotactile sensitivity in two experiments. The first experiment showed The psychometric function to be satisfactorily linear when a sensitivity index of the d family was plotted against the signal intensity expressed in decibels. The second experiment yielded receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves of a familiar form for the yes-no and rating response methods. Reasonably consistent estimates of sensitivity were obtained in the second experiment from the yes-no. rating, and forced-choice methods. The sensitivity indices examined were d’ and d_e’, based on Gaussian density functions; A, based on Rayleigh density functions; and the distribution-free indices, P(A) and F(C). For each type of index a tendency was observed for the forced-choice value to be lower than the yes-no and rating values.     

Speech identification and “knowing that you know”

Twenty-five Ss heard a random list and a context (food-elated) list of 50 words masked in white noise for a total of three trials each. The Ss were required to write the word and indicate their certainty that it was correct. Confidence rating accuracy (Type 2 d’) was greater for context than for random lists (p < .001). Probability correct also improved with context (p < .001). Unlike the context factor, repetitions led to greater probability correct (p < .001) but did not lead to changes in Type 2 d’. The results were interpreted as support for a feedback model of context and confidence rating accuracy.     

SDT analysis of binary decisions and sensory intensity ratings to noxious thermal stimuli

During three sessions, each of 24 Ss responded to noxious thermal stimuli, using the following judgments: binary decision, S responded “high” or “low”; sensory intensity rating, S rated his sensory experience along a thermal intensity continuum; and concurrent report, S’s binary decision was followed by an intensity rating. The binary-decision d’ was significantly higher than the rating d′, suggesting that Ss could not maintain multiple thermal criteria in a consistent fashion. The criteria for pain obtained with single and concurrent intensity rating judgments did not differ. These results suggest that the most efficacious and valid method for the study of experimental pain is to obtain concurrent responses, and to use binary decisions to compute d’ and sensory intensity ratings to locate S’s criterion for reporting pain.     

Repetition and confirmation of messages received by ear and by eye

A rating method was used to obtain operating characteristics for 60 heterogeneous words. A single message was heard in noise, or seen briefly in a tachistoscope. It was repeated until it had been assigned to the highest accuracy category (“confirmed”) or sent a maximum of six trials. The comparisons showed that it matters little whether reception is by eye or by ear. Whether within a trial or over successive repetitions, accuracy of reception is a direct function of the confidence rating and is relatively independent of the intelligibility level. Neither do the accuracy of reception or the distributions of rating categories change markedly over trials. Although no direct test was made, it appears that accuracy of reception is not lessened by the task of rating. Both visual and auditory data are fitted reasonably well by predictions made from a simple stochastic model based on the assumptions that (1) intelligibility, (2) probability of a correct acceptance, and (3) probability of an incorrect acceptance remain constant over successive repetitions. The model fits the visual better than the auditory data, as might be expected, since conditions of reception are more homogeneous over trials for vision than for audition.     

Visual imagery lowers sensitivity to hue-varying,but not to luminance-varying,visual stimuli

Visual sensitivity (d′) is reduced if a subject is instructed to maintain a visual image while the target is presented (the Perky effect; Segal, 1971). This effect, typically .6 d’ units in magnitude for a colored target presented briefly on a uniform white background, is abolished if both target and background are white. (This was found with simple and complex visual images, and with FC and YN signal-detection methods.) It is concluded that visual imagery may lower the sensitivity of a psychophysical chromatic channel, but not that of an achromatic channel.     

Effect of manipulated prestige‐car ownership on both sex attractiveness ratings

Previous studies have shown that male attractiveness can be enhanced by manipulation of status through, for example, the medium of costume. The present study experimentally manipulated status by seating the same target model (male and female matched for attractiveness) expressing identical facial expressions and posture in either a ‘high status’ (Silver Bentley Continental GT) or a ‘neutral status’ (Red Ford Fiesta ST) motor‐car. A between‐subjects design was used whereby the above photographic images were presented to male and female participants for attractiveness rating. Results showed that the male target model was rated as significantly more attractive on a rating scale of 1–10 when presented to female participants in the high compared to the neutral status context. Males were not influenced by status manipulation, as there was no significant difference between attractiveness ratings for the female seated in the high compared to the neutral condition. It would appear that despite a noticeable increase in female ownership of prestige/luxury cars over recent years males, unlike females remain oblivious to such cues in matters pertaining to opposite‐sex attraction. These findings support the results of previous status enhancement of attractiveness studies especially those espousing sex differences in mate preferences are due to sex‐specific adaptations.     

结构化面试中评分量表对评分准确性的影响

采用2(组内变量:量尺大小(25分和9分))×2(组间变量:评分方法(相对和绝对))的混合实验设计探讨评分量表对115名大学生新手评委评分准确性的影响。对于评分准确性,采用Cronbach1955年提出的四个指标,Elevation(EL)、Differential elevation(DE)、Stereotype accuracy(SA)、Differential Accuracy(DA)。结果发现,评分方法只在SA上主效应显著,量尺大小在只在DA上主效应边缘显著,评分方法和量尺大小在DE、SA和DA三个指标上均有交互作用。总体上看,在结构化面试评分中,对于评分准确性,相对评分量表优于绝对评分量表,小量尺量表优于大量尺量表。     

Impact of an interactive anti-speeding threat appeal: how much threat is too much?

This study investigates the impact of an interactive television public-service announcement (PSA) containing an anti-speeding threat appeal on feelings of telepresence and behavioral intention. In a 2?×?2?×?2 between-subjects factorial design with 213 participants, the level of threat evoked by a traditional PSA, by the interactive part of the PSA (dedicated advertising location or DAL) and by the preceding program context are manipulated to be either low or high. The results support the assumptions of the Extended Parallel Processing Model with regard to the effect of the level of perceived threat and perceived efficacy in an interactive media environment, and the important role of telepresence as a processing variable. The results of the three-way interaction effect of threat evoked by the program, the PSA and the DAL on telepresence show that when the threat levels of the program and the PSA are both either low or high, exposure to the threatening information in the DAL does not generate a significantly higher feeling of telepresence. However, when a low-threat program is followed by a high-threat PSA, the threat level of the DAL has a positive effect on telepresence. The same trend is found with a high-threat program and a low-threat PSA, although the effect of the threat evoked by the DAL on telepresence is not significant at conventional levels. Finally, there is a positive effect of telepresence on the behavioral intention to reduce speeding, which is partly mediated by the viewer's perceived efficacy to follow the recommended behavior.     

Finite-state recall revealed by backward learning curves constructed from confidence ratings

Two experiments were carried out to show that the constancy of Type II d’ in recall is not an artifact, but is due to finite-state processes as suggested by Bernbach (1967). The following conclusions were reached: (1) The constancy of Type II d’ is not an artifact due to the inclusion of intralist intrusions in the class of incorrect responses; (2) backward learning curves constructed from confidence ratings gave clear evidence of all-or-none recall; (3) recall appeared to be all or none whether the subjects learned by rote or with a mnemonic; (4) the discriminability index derived from Luce’s (1959) choice theory did not exhibit constancy over trials, unlike Type II d’ and despite the fact that backward rating curves indicated all-or-none processes.     

Consumer Preferences for the Predictive Genetic Test for Alzheimer Disease

The purpose of this study was to assess consumer preferences for predictive genetic testing for Alzheimer disease in the United States. A rating conjoint analysis was conducted using an anonymous online survey distributed by Qualtrics® to a general population panel in April 2011 in the United States. The study design included three attributes: Accuracy (40 %, 80 %, and 100 %), Treatment Availability (Cure is available/Drug for symptom relief but no cure), and Anonymity (Anonymous/Not anonymous). A total of 12 scenarios were used to elicit people’s preference, assessed by an 11-point scale. The respondents also indicated their highest willingness-to-pay (WTP) for each scenario through open-ended questions. A total of 295 responses were collected over 4 days. The most important attribute for the aggregate model was Accuracy, contributing 64.73 % to the preference rating. Treatment Availability and Anonymity contributed 20.72 % and 14.59 %, respectively, to the preference rating. The median WTP for the highest-rating scenario (Accuracy 100 %, a cure is available, test result is anonymous) was $100 (mean?=?$276). The median WTP for the lowest-rating scenario (40 % accuracy, no cure but drugs for symptom relief, not anonymous) was zero (mean?=?$34). The results of this study highlight attributes people find important when making the hypothetical decision to obtain an AD genetic test. These results should be of interests to policy makers, genetic test developers and health care providers.     

An MMPI-based empirical model of malingering and deception

The empirically-based model of malingering and deception described by Rogers (1984b) was operationalized using MMPI and clinical interview data. Subjects (N = 159) were patients committed to an inpatient forensic hospital as ‘Incompetent to Stand Trial’ or ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’. Inter-rater reliability was acceptable for the 11 criteria used to define response styles. Each subject was categorized into one of five response style groups: ‘Reliable’, ‘Malingering’, ‘Defensive’, ‘Irrelevant’, or ‘Unclassifiable’. Factor analysis of the rating criteria yielded four factors, three of which are comparable to the assigned groups, providing some validation for the constructs underlying these groups.     

Structural aspects of face recognition and the other-race effect

The other-race effect was examined in a series of experiments and simulations that looked at the relationships among observer ratings of typicality, familiarity, attractiveness, memorability, and the performance variables ofd’ and criterion. Experiment 1 replicated the other-race effect with our Caucasian and Japanese stimuli for both Caucasian and Asian observers. In Experiment 2, we collected ratings from Caucasian observers on the faces used in the recognition task. A Varimax-rotated principal components analysis on the rating and performance data for the Caucasian faces replicated Vokey and Read’s (1992) finding that typicality is composed of two orthogonal components, dissociable via their independent relationships to: (1) attractiveness and familiarity ratings and (2) memorahility ratings. For Japanese faces, however, we fond that typicality was related only to memorahility. Where performance measures were concerned, two additional principal components dominated by criterion and byd’ emerged for Caucasian faces. For the Japanese faces, however, the performance measures ofd’ and criterion merged into a single component that represented a second component of typicality, one orthogonal to thememorability-dominated component. A measure offace representation quality extracted from an autoassociative neural network trained with a majority of Caucasian faces and a minority of Japanese faces was incorporated into the principal components analysis. For both Caucasian and Japanese faces, the neural network measure related both to memorability ratings and to human accuracy measures. Combined, the human data and simulation results indicate that the memorahility component of typicality may be related to small, local, distinctive features, whereas the attractiveness/familiarity component may be more related to the global, shape-based properties of the face.     

Detection models: Experimental tests with electrocutaneous stimuli

Contemporary psychophysical procedures were employed to determine the nature of the process for detecting rectangular electrical pulses delivered to the skin. Earlier experiments had shown that the somatosensory system is exceedingly responsive to small changes in the energy of an electrocutaneous stimulus, suggesting that sensory noise may be relatively unimportant in this modality. However, a rating scale study showed that both the high-threshold theory and Luce’s low-threshold theory cannot describe the detection process. The form of the ROC curve is consistent with a signal-detection model that assumes a greater variance for the signal plus noise distribution than for the noise distribution. Additional support for signal detection theory came from an experiment that examined the likelihood of a correct second choke when the first was incorrect in a four-alternative forced-choice paradigm. Therefore, the sensory excitation caused by internal noise can sometimes be greater than the excitation produced by an added stimulus. Electrocutaneous detection differs from auditory or visual in that d’ increases at a greater rate as stimulus intensity changes.     

Effect of Quality Characteristics of Peer Raters on Rating Errors in Peer Assessment

Little research has been done on the effects of peer raters’ quality characteristics on peer rating qualities. This study aims to address this gap and investigate the effects of key variables related to peer raters’ qualities, including content knowledge, previous rating experience, training on rating tasks, and rating motivation. In an experiment where training and motivation interventions were manipulated, 24 classes with 838 high school students were randomly assigned to study conditions. Inter-rater error, intra-rater error and criterion error indices for peer ratings on four selected essays were analyzed using hierarchical linear models. Results indicated that peer raters’ content knowledge, previous rating experience, and rating motivation were associated with rating errors. This study also found some significant interactions between peer raters’ quality characteristics. Implications for in-person and online peer assessments as well as future directions are discussed.     

Driving simulator study of the comparative effectiveness of monolingual and bilingual guide signs on Chinese highways

As China has become more attractive for foreigners to travel or work, some Chinese-English bilingual guide signs have been adopted on the highways for the convenience of foreign drivers. This research examined the effectiveness of Chinese-English bilingual guide signs on highways in China for drivers with different language backgrounds. The study involved three different groups of participants: Chinese (Group C), foreigners who passed the Chinese proficiency test HSK (Group FC), and foreigners without Chinese proficiency test (Group F). A driving simulator and an eye tracker were used to obtain eye movement and driving behaviour data for both monolingual and bilingual guide sign scenes. The results showed that, for Groups C and FC, their performance in the two scenes had little difference when the number of Chinese place (destination) names on the sign was 5 or less. However, the performance of Groups C and FC in the bilingual guide sign scene was worse than that in the Chinese guide sign scene when the number of place names exceeded 5. Moreover, the participants’ performance worsened as the number of place names increased for all different groups within the same scene. Thus, the threshold of the number of place names for bilingual guide signs on highways appears to be 5. Actually, the English place names on the bilingual guide signs did not have much practical effect on the drivers, since the letters of the place names were too small to be quickly seen and the translation was inaccurate.     

Sequence redundancy,rating dimensions,and the exposure effect

Two experiments investigated Zajone’s (1968) hypothesis that mere repeated exposure to stimuli is a sufficient condition to enhance individuals’ attitudes toward those stimuli. In the first experiment, no significant differences in preference were obtained following exposure to high- and low-redundancy sequences of nonsense syllables. In the second study, the effects of repeated exposure were measured along several rating dimensions, revealing significant differences between dimensions. These results were discussed in terms of the limiting conditions of the exposure effect.     

The experience of road environments under two lighting and traffic conditions: Application of a road environment construct list

The aim of this study is to find out whether the different accident rates on two roads may be explained by drivers' different appreciations of these roads. Therefore a rating scale specially developed for the evaluation of drivers' experience of the road environment was used. The study is based on the assumption that experience of the road environment is an important factor in driving behaviour. An experiment was carried out in which two roads were compared in daylight and darkness, with and without traffic. The roads were presented on films. Subjects' evaluation scores appeared to be founded on three factors, which explained 66.8 per cent of the variance. The factors were named ‘hedonic value’, ‘activational value’ and ‘perceptual variation’. Composite scores were constructed from the rating scale scores for each factor, per road, and condition. This revealed that the two roads differed on all three factors. Ambient lighting and traffic conditions also influenced the values of the factors and some interactions were found. The range of scores for one road was greater than for the other. The road that ranked lowest on activational level and perceptual variation, especially during daylight conditions with no traffic, was ranked highest on hedonic value. This combination of conditions and experiences could explain the higher rate of ‘incomprehensible’ single vehicle accidents on that road compared with the other.