Goals of this tutorial: Every day we have to make decisions about uncertain
events like, 'Is that my phone ringing or one on the television?', or, 'Is the
person talking to me telling the truth?' In this tutorial, you will learn about the
Signal Detection Theory (SDT) model of how people make decisions about uncertain
events. This tutorial explains the theory behind signal detection, covers several
SDT measures of performance, and introduces Receiver-Operating Characteristics (ROCs).
The tutorial is at an introductory level, but also has optional sections appropriate
for more advanced students and researchers.
What do I need to know? This introductory tutorial builds upon other WISE
tutorials. Our hypothesis testing tutorial is particularly
appropriate, and it is also helpful to be comfortable working with
z-scores.
What do I need? For certain calculations, you may use either your own table for
the standardized normal distribution (z) or the WISE p-z converter
provided by this tutorial. Java and JavaScript must be
enabled on your browser.
Answers to questions: You will be asked to answer questions along the way.
Approximate answers and hints are provided so you can check your work. Detailed solutions
are available, but you should try to answer the questions on your own before consulting
the detailed solutions. You will learn much more by doing the exercise questions
yourself than if you merely read them and the answers.