A NEW THEORY OF VISUAL DETECTION

Abstract

A theory of visual detection is presented in which the visual system is considered a communication channel with internal noise. Experimental results confirmed the role of variables which were not purely sensory. The ability of subjects to detect visual signals was measured in one session in which the probability of signal existence was 0.8 and in a second session in which the probability was 0.4. In the second session the actual criteria of seeing changed and the subjects reported seeing things which they were unable to see. The assumptions of this new theory were compared with those of the conventional psychophysical theory.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1953
Accession Number
AD0017742

Entities

People

  • J.a. Swets
  • W.p. Jr. Tanner

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Communication Channels
  • Detection
  • Visual Signals

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Regression Analysis.