Alsop, B. (2004).
Signal-detection analyses of conditional discrimination and delayed
matching-to-sample performance.
Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
82, 57-69.
Quantitative analyses of stimulus control and reinforcer control in conditional
discriminations and delayed matching-to-sample procedures often encounter a problem;
it is not clear how to analyze data when subjects have not made errors. The present
article examines two common methods for overcoming this problem. Monte Carlo
simulations of performance demonstrated that both methods introduced systematic
deviations into the results, and that there were genuine risks of drawing misleading
conclusions concerning behavioral models of signal detection and animal
short-term memory.
Key words: simulations, signal detection, delayed matching to sample,
conditional discrimination