Three experiments were conducted to determine which of five response bias indices (β, c, B", B'H and B"D) defined by the theory of signal detection provides the most effective measure of the observer's willingness to respond in a vigilance task. The results indicated that the traditional parametric bias index β was an inadequate measure of response bias in every respect, whereas the newer parametric measure c was the most effective of all five indices. When the three nonparametric measures (B", B'H' and B"D) were examined separately, B"D emerged as the most effective nonparametric index. We recommend that vigilance researchers use c rather than β to measure bias when a parametric model is involved and B"D instead of B" and B' H when a nonparametric model is used.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baddeley, A. D., & Colquhoun, W. P. (1969) Signal probability and vigilance: A reappraisal of the “signal-rate” effect. British Journal of Psychology, 60, 169–178.
2.
Caldeira, J. D. (1980) Parametric assumptions of some “nonparametric” measures of sensory efficiency. Human Factors, 22, 119–120.
3.
Colquhoun, W. P., & Baddeley, A. D. (1964) Role of pretest expectancy in vigilance decrement. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68, 156–160.
4.
Colquhoun, W. P., & Baddeley, A. D. (1967) Influence of signal probability during pretraining on vigilance decrement. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73, 153–155.
5.
Craig, A. (1979) Nonparametric measures of sensory efficiency for sustained monitoring tasks. Human Factors, 21, 69–78.
6.
Cronbach, L. J., & Gieser, G. C. (1953) Assessing similarity between profiles. Psychological Bulletin, 50, 456–473.
7.
Davenport, W. G. (1968) Auditory vigilance: The effects of costs and values on signals. Australian Journal of Psychology, 20, 213–218.
8.
Davenport, W. G. (1969) Vibrotactile vigilance: The effects of costs and values on signals. Perception and Psychophysics, 5, 25–28.
9.
Davies, D. R., & Parasuraman, R. (1982). The psychology of vigilance.London: Academic.
10.
Donaldson, W. (1992) Measuring recognition memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 121, 275–277.
11.
Green, D. M., & Swets, J. A. (1966). Signal detection theory and psychophysics.New York: Wiley.
12.
Grier, J. B. (1971) Nonparametric indexes for sensitivity and bias: Computing formulas. Psychological Bulletin, 75, 424–429.
13.
Hodos, W. (1970) A nonparametric index of response bias for use in detection and recognition experiments. Psychological Bulletin, 74, 351–354.
14.
Ingham, J. G. (1970) Individual differences in signal detection. Acta Psychologica, 34, 39–50.
15.
Jerison, H. J. (1967) Signal detection theory in the analysis of human vigilance. Human Factors, 9, 285–288.
16.
Jerison, H. J., Pickett, R. M., & Stenson, H. H. (1965) The elicited observing rate and decision processes in vigilance. Human Factors, 7, 107–128.
17.
Levine, J. M. (1966) The effects of values and costs on the detection and identification of signals in auditory vigilance. Human Factors, 8, 525–537.
18.
Long, G. M., & Waag, W. L. (1981) Limitations on the practical applicability of d' and βmeasures. Human Factors, 23, 285–290.
19.
Mackworth, N. H. (1948) The breakdown of vigilance during prolonged visual search. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1, 6–21.
20.
Mackworth, N. H. (1961). Researches on the measurement of human performance. In H. W. Sinaiko (Ed.), Selected papers on human factors in the design and use of control systems (pp. 174–331). New York: Dover. (Reprinted from Medical Research Council Special Report Series 268, 1950, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office)
21.
Macmillan, N. A., & Creelman, C. D. (1990) Response bias: Characteristics of detection theory, threshold theory, and “nonparametric” indexes. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 401–413.
22.
Macmillan, N. A., & Creelman, C. D. (1991). Detection theory: A user's guide.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Macmillan, N. A., & Kaplan, H. L. (1985) Detection theory analysis of group data: Estimating sensitivity from average hit and false-alarm rates. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 185–199.
24.
Matthews, G., Davies, D. R., & Holley, P. J. (1993) Cognitive predictors of vigilance. Human Factors, 35, 3–24.
25.
Parasuraman, R. (1979) Memory load and event rate control sensitivity decrements in sustained attention. Science, 205, 924–927.
26.
Parasuraman, R., & Davies, D. R. (1977). A taxonomic analysis of vigilance performance. In R. R. Mackie (Ed.), Vigilance; Theory, operational performance, and physiological correlates (pp. 559–574). New York: Plenum.
27.
Parasuraman, R., Warm, J. S., & Dember, W. N. (1987). Vigilance: Taxonomy and utility. In L. S. Mark, J. S. Warm, & R. L. Huston (Eds.), Ergonomics and human factors: Recent research (pp. 11–23). New York: Springer-Verlag.
28.
Pollack, I., & Norman, D. A. (1964) A nonparametric analysis of recognition experiments. Psychonomic Science, 1, 125–126.
29.
Richardson, J. T. E. (1972) Nonparametric indexes of sensitivity and response bias. Psychological Bulletin, 78, 429–432.
30.
See, J. E., Howe, S. R., Warm, J. S., & Dember, W. N. (1995) Meta-analysis of the sensitivity decrement in vigilance. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 230–249.
31.
Simpson, A. J., & Fitter, M. J. (1973). What is the best index of detectability?Psychological Bulletin, 80, 481–488.
32.
Snodgrass, J. G., & Corwin, J. (1988) Pragmatics of measuring recognition memory: Applications to dementia and amnesia. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117, 34–50.
33.
Swets, J. A., & Kristofferson, A. B. (1970) Attention. Annual Review of Psychology, 21, 339–366.
34.
Warm, J. S. (1984). An introduction to vigilance. In J. S. Warm (Ed.), Sustained attention in human performance (pp. 1–14). Chichester, England: Wiley.
35.
Warm, J. S., & Jerison, H. (1984). The psychophysics of vigilance. In J. S. Warm (Ed.), Sustained attention in human performance (pp. 15–60). Chichester, England: Wiley.
36.
Williges, R. C. (1969) Within-session criterion changes compared to an ideal observer criterion in a visual monitoring task. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 81, 61–66.
37.
Williges, R. C. (1971) The role of payoffs and signal ratios in criterion changes during a monitoring task. Human Factors, 13, 261–267.
38.
Williges, R. C. (1973) Manipulating response criterion in visual monitoring. Human Factors, 15, 179–185.
