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In a book
review published 30 years ago in JEAB, Nevin (1969) drew
attention to similarities between fundamental concepts in signal detection theory
and in behavior analysis. He focused particularly on two higher-order measures of
performance developed within the framework of signal-detection theory--one expressing
the independent effects of stimulus differences and the other expressing the
independent effects of motivational or incentive variables. He raised the
possibility that analogous higher-order measures might be formulated and
applied to data from conventional operant conditioning procedures, yielding
measures that might indicate the independent effects of discriminative
stimulus properties and reinforcement variables.
Since that review, a solid body of empirical studies and theoretical analysis has emerged derived from signal-detection-like conceptions of contingencies. Two such contributions deserve particular note. One is a paper by White and Wixted (1999) which appeared in the January issue of this journal; the other is the paper by Davison and Nevin (1999) in the present (May) issue. Both papers attempt integration of a substantial and diverse set of data, and they report similar predictions for some important and revealing cases. Yet, interestingly, the accounts are derived from quite different conceptions of signal detection. Their appearing so close together in time--indeed, they were under review during overlapping periods--is an encouraging sign of scientific progress and provides an instructive opportunity to compare the evolution of related theoretical approaches.
--Richard L. Shull, Editor |
| 1969 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | May | John A. Nevin. Signal detection theory and operant behavior: A review of David M. Green and John A. Swets’ Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics. 12, 475-480. |
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| 1999 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | January | K. Geoffrey White and John T. Wixted. Psychophysics of remembering. 71, 91-113. |
 (267K) |
| 71 | May |
Michael Davison and John A. Nevin.
Stimuli, reinforcers, and behavior: An integration.
71, 439-482.
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(447K)
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