Integration of Multidimensional Signal Detection Theory with Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory

Signal detection theory (SDT) has proven to be a robust and useful statistical model for analyzing human performance in detection and decision making tasks. As with many models extensions have been proposed in order capture and represent the real world to a greater degree. Multidimensional Signal Detection Theory (MSDT) has had success in describing and modeling complex signals, signals that are comprised by more than one identifiable component dimension. Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory (FSDT) has had success in modeling and measuring human performance in cases where there exist ambiguity in the signal or response dimension characteristics, through the application of fuzzy set theory to the definition of the performance outcome categories. Multidimensional Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory (MFSDT) was developed to accommodate simultaneously both the multidimensionality of a signal and the fuzzification of outcome categories in order to integrate the two extensions. A series of three studies were performed to develop and test the theory. One study's purpose was to develop and derive multidimensional mapping functions, the aspect of MFSDT where MSDT and FSDT were integrated. Two receiver operating characteristic (ROC) studies were performed, one simulated and one empirical. The results from both ROC analysis indicated that for perceptually separable and perceptually integral complex stimuli that MFDST is a viable methodological approach to analyzing performance of signal detection tasks where there are complex signals with ambiguous signal characteristics. ; 2015-12-01 ; Ph.D. ; Sciences, Psychology ; Doctoral ; This record was generated from author submitted information.