The Effects of Display Code and Its Relation to the Optimal Decision Statistic in Visual Signal Detection

Abstract

This study examined the effects of display element arrangement on observers' performance in both Yes/No and Four-Alternative-Forced-Choice (4AFC) visual signal detection tasks. Observers were given four independent informational sources whose values were drawn from either a signal or noise distribution, depending on the task and type of trial. The information was displayed graphically in one of six formats constructed from a combination of two factors: 1) whether the display elements were arranged to produce an emergent feature, and 2) whether or not the magnitude of the emergent feature was monotonically related to the optimal decision statistic (for the Yes/No task). Arranging the line graph displays to produce an emergent feature improved Yes/ No performance and impaired 4AFC performance. Due to the highly efficient performance produced by the angular element code, it was not possible to determine whether visual signal detection was affected by the relationship between the emergent feature and the optimal decision statistic.

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