PSYA01H3 Lecture Notes - Detection Theory, Subliminal Stimuli, Absolute Threshold
Document Summary
Studied how external world in represented in mind. Studied the difference threshold (point where difference is noticed) of stimuli. Showed mathematical principles that exist in the mind. What people wanted to know was the absolute threshold (how sensitive our sensory systems are what is the weakest stimulus that they are sensitive to). People say we can present stimulus that our conscious won"t pick up but our subconscious will. Involves a number of trials: a stimuli is or is not presented. False alarm: identified a stimulus when there wasn"t one. Miss: did not identify a stimulus when it was presented. Correct negative: correctly identified when a stimulus wasn"t present. Misses and correct negatives give us no data, as they show what is left over after counting hits and false alarms. Bias: a tendency to pick a certain thing for some answer. Line: where hit rate equals the false alarm rate. This is what should occur when people are just guessing.
