Response bias: Characteristics of detection theory, threshold theory, and "nonparametric" indexes.

Abstract

Models of discrimination based on statistical decision theory distinguish sensitivity (the ability of an observer to reflect a stimulus-response correspondence defined by the experimenter) from response bias (the tendency to favor 1 response over others). Measures of response bias have received less attention than those of sensitivity. Bias measures are classified here according to 2 characteristics. The various bias statistics are compared on pragmatic and theoretical grounds, and it is concluded that criterion location measures have many advantages in empirical work